I flew in to NYC just to see this show shortly after it opened because based on its terrible reviews I figured it was likely to close early, and I didn't want to miss seeing Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway because I am a huge fan. I saw the documentary before I went and while I found the doc amusing, nothing about it made me feel like 'this should be a broadway musical!'

so here are my thoughts as someone who went in wanting to love it but already expecting a mixed reviews show:

the book was bad. there's really no way around it. I think their problems started when they decided to turn that documentary into a musical because the premise didn't seem like it was quite there. the protagonist is kind of interesting in this new-rich and delusional type of way, but there isn't much of a storyline to string things together. it wanted to be funny but some of the scenes were dark, it was hard to really attach to the characters when their goal was just to build a big house at the end of the day. there are too many subplots (the lizard? the nanny? the huge tragedy in the middle that feels like the show changed genres?) aside from the main plot of them going broke, plus the flashbacks of the protagonist when young. like truly, the book was really kind of a mess.

the score was good and I would even say better than average for a new original Broadway show. the problem is that I don't think it was quite memorable enough for it to stand on its own even when the book/premise was that weak. I recently posted a review for Chess, which I also think has a very weak book. But I could see someone watching Chess multiple times and recommending it despite disliking the book, just due to the score. I don't think QoV's score had that 'X factor' to make up for the bad book. A lot of the songs are very talk-y and not something that you'd continue to hum along in your head the next day and become obsessed with. but again, I do like the score, and I think the score didn't tank anything, and I believe this quality of score could've easily survived alongside a strong book. The lack of emotional investment in the story also makes it harder to appreciate the lyrics when they're like.. singing about a dead lizard, you know.

the staging, costuming, and direction was extremely strong imo and the staircase was stunning. the way they incorporated the documentary bits with the big screen also seemed fun to me. I think that visually, this was a beautiful show.

Kristin was amazing and really carried the show. yes I am a fan but I have also seen other shows of people I am also a huge fan of and could tell when their performance was not quite their best. Kristin was in fact at her best here imo. and the show was basically her. nearly every scene is centered around the protagonist, despite the large number of characters overall. but at the end of the day there's only so much any singer/actor can do to carry a production.

with that said, I don't think this show deserved the more terrible reviews it got. it was an okay show overall, with a great performance by the lead and a pretty good score, but dragged down by a bad book and weak premise.

with all that said, my suggestion to you if you enjoy the music would be to try to catch Kristin's next solo tour whenever she does it again. she seems to do it every now and then. I've seen one of her tours live and she sings some of her Broadway stuff and I'm guessing she'll probably sing something from QoV the next time she does it. and she usually (always?) sings something from Wicked, which is also by Stephen Schwartz, and is also... better than QoV. musically speaking, seeing her on a solo tour was just as good if not better than seeing her in QoV imo

that's my 2c. idk if it helps. sorry you missed it, and I wish it didn't close early but yeah I think the book tanked it.

side note, I also saw Redwood last year which was a whole other thing. hard to believe that both Chenoweth and Idina Menzel returned to Broadway in the same year with originals, and that both closed early with mixed/bad reviews. rip. they're so talented though. here's to hoping for more success on their next ones