SIX THE MUSICAL, now on stage at the Palace Theatre, had an unusual journey to the Great White Way. Conceived by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the script had been a student project presented at Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Next it was staged in London’s West End, then in Chicago, for a pre-Broadway out-of-town residence, and then at sea aboard three Norwegian Cruise Lines ships.
Even its Broadway premiere was different. On March 12, 2020, the day SIX THE MUSICAL was scheduled for its Broadway opening (and, for which I had tickets), all Broadway theatres were closed due to Covid. Over a year later it became the first new musical to open on Broadway since the beginning of the pandemic (unfortunately, no tickets for this one).
The opening was met with smash reviews ("dynamic,” "a blast", “wickedly smart,” “carries out [a] joyful and anachronistic takedown of the patriarchy," "brilliant"), as well as enthusiastic audience response. That combination resulted in a box office gross of more than $1 million per week. It is still running to generally sold-out houses.
The musical, which is an exploration of Henry the VIII’s maniac drive for a male heir and the resulting consequences to the women he married, is a pop concert more than a traditional Broadway offering.
The highly stylized and glitzy production begins with stage smoke, a royal purple set, and lighting which silhouettes of six figures--the stars of the show--introduced, one by one, according to the manner of their relationship with the big guy: Divorced--Catherin of Aragon, Beheaded--Anne Boleyn, Died--Jane Seymour, Divorced--Anna of Cleves, Beheaded--Katherine Howard and Survived--Catherin Parr.
“Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived,” yes, the mnemonic taught in English history classes to assist students to remember Henry’s numerous wives and their life paths.
The concept is that the six ex-wives of Henry have been brought on stage to allow them to compete and allow the audience to determine who had the roughest royal reign.
As is the style with newer musicals, it has no overture.
Besides two group songs, each of the queens has her own signature solo song, which oftentimes has backup vocals and supporting choreography from the other queens.
The dynamic music is provided by The Ladies in Waiting: Sterlyn Termine (bass), Liz Faure (guitars), Caroline Moore (drums) with Katie Coleman conducting and on keyboards who are on-stage during the performance.
Is SIX historically correct? Kind ‘of. It’s a work based on real historical events and figures, but it does take artistic liberties in its portrayal of these characters.
“Catherine of Aragon tells how Henry wished to annul their marriage and place her in a nunnery when he began chasing after Anne Boleyn despite her being loyal to him during their marriage ("No Way").
In turn, Anne talks about how Henry wanted her instead of Catherine, then complains of the infidelity Henry partook in, which led to Anne flirting with other men to make him jealous and ending up dead/beheaded, all while covering her trauma and feelings with jokes and silly faces ("Don't Lose Ur Head").
Jane Seymour steps up to take her turn, but is ridiculed for having had an easy time with Henry. However, while admitting she may have been the only wife Henry truly loved, Jane claims that his love was conditional on her having produced a male heir, and that she stood by him despite his many faults ("Heart of Stone").
Themes relating to ideas of female beauty are explored in Hans Holbein's portrait studio. The Queens parody a dating app by presenting a choice of potential brides ("Haus of Holbein"). He chooses Anna of Cleves, but soon rejects her and annuls the marriage, suggesting she failed to resemble her profile picture.
She makes a show of complaining about living in a beautiful palace in Richmond, with an enormous fortune and no man to tell her what to do, but in reality, ends up bragging about it ("Get Down"). The Queens question this, and Anna admits her lavish lifestyle lacked actual tragedy and drops out of the competition.
The Queens then belittle Katherine Howard for being the least relevant Catherine, but in retaliation she enumerates flaws in the others' claims to winning. She then recounts her romantic history, having had many suitors even as a child, and at first relishes her attractiveness; however, she soon reveals the emotional trama and abuse she faced in each of these relationships as it is symbolized in the choreography with all the queens holding a hand on her ("All You Wanna Do").
As the Queens continue to fight over who is the true winner, Catherine Parr questions the point of the competition, which defines them by their connection to Henry rather than as individuals. The Queens nonetheless continue to argue. Frustrated, Parr recalls her separation from her lover, Sir Thomas Seymour, and arranged marriage with Henry, but instead of lamenting, she acknowledges her accomplishments independent of Henry ("I Don't Need Your Love").
The other Queens, realizing they have been robbed of their individuality, abandon the contest and declare that they don't need Henry's love to feel validated as people. They use their remaining moments onstage to rewrite their stories, singing together as a group rather than as solo artists, and writing their own 'hsppily ever-afters', had Henry never been involved ("Six").”
As a curtain call they perform a mashup of many of the songs from the show. Stay around to the very end and become part of the mash!
The cast (Gerianne Pérez, Zan Berube, Amina Faye, Terica Marie, Aline Mayagoitia and Sydney Parra) is uniformly excellent. These ladies have large and well-trained voices. They dance and act with total believability. They command and control the stage!
Jamie Armitage creatively directed the production along co-creator Lucy Moss. The dynamic and inventive choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille is spectacular as is the impressive lighting design (Tim Deiling) and sound design (Paul Gatehouse). Gabriella Slade’s impressive costuming is an important part of the mix with styles that might be worn by the likes of J-Lo or Beyoncé in a Las Vegas concert.
Capsule judgment: Younger audience members will be turned on by the musical style which is pop and hip-hop and literally invites them to yell, clap, sing and jump out of their seats as if at a rave. Those of a certain age and/or of conservative political/social attitudes may want to cover their ears from the beating sounds and “course” language. All in all, the clever concept of the show and the talented ensemble will enchant many more audience members than those who might be turned off. Me? I loved it!! More please, I want some more.
SIX THE MUSICAL is part of our KeyBank Broadway Series, and is here at Connor Palace for five weeks, through Sunday, September 10th, 2023. Remaining tickets for the run can be purchased on playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000. (Tip: best seating availability is in the weeks of August 28 and September 4.)
Added info:
Want a visual preview of the show?
Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqqtAo8WSI
Want to hear the score?
Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgEJK6Vk8Ro&list=PLF4ij7xFI0e9RIXcIFplbEVxqvwHC1VlL
Want to read the lyrics to get ready for understanding all the words?
Go to: https://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/six/six.htm
