Divorced, beheaded, died… divorced, beheaded, survived! After an 18-month delay of its intended release, the six queens have at last arrived at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in a musical that features dazzling lights, glamorous outfits, and feminist themes.
On March 12, 2020, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s Lawrence Oliver nominated West End musical was set to make its Broadway debut after a highly successful 14 month run in the UK. Unfortunately, that was the exact date Broadway theatres shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The future of live theatre was uncertain, and with Six yet to premiere in New York, its popularity was still localized. In May 2021, though, Broadway announced that Six would make its official debut on September 17.
My excitement to see Six was undeniable as I walked across countless Broadway theatres listening to “Don’t Lose Ur Head.” All of 47th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues was backed up by a seemingly never-ending line. The queue was moving slowly as theatre fans rushed to find their vaccination cards and IDs. After the Broadway shutdown in 2020, theatres have implemented more COVID-19 protective measures to keep theatre fans safe. At the front of the line, I was reminded by the ticket checker and the usher who directed me to my seat to keep my mask on at all times. The theater was packed; there were no open seats. Broadway’s desire to keep people safe was not overpowered by the need to make money. Finally, I sat down with the signature bright purple playbill in my hand, ready to watch a musical I had listened to non-stop for over a year.
Six, co-directed by Moss and West End director Jamie Armitage, tells the story of the six wives of Henry VIII of England as they host a concert. This concert is also a competition with each of the queens making their case for why they believe they had the worst time as the wife of Henry. After the introductory ‘Ex-Wives’ song, which dispels each of their fates, each queen gives a solo song arguing why her trauma was worse than everyone else’s. Marlow and Moss fashioned each character after various modern-day pop stars. Director of lights, Tim Deiling, captures the multiple colors of the Six wives and gives this musical the exact concert-like feel it is looking to replicate. Costume designer Gabriella Slade provides each queen with a ravishing plastic-and-foil costume dazzled in jewels to show their similarities while each possessing a different dominant color to portray their uniqueness.
The first wife, who is performed brilliantly by Adrianna Hicks, is Catherine of Aragon. Moss and Marlow modeled her as a mixture of Lemonade-era Beyonce, who she commemorates by wearing yellow. Inspired by Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Hudson, and Shakira, paying homage to Aragon’s Spanish upbringing. Aragon establishes herself from the beginning as the first, the original, and the most potent queen in her song “No Way.” In this solo, Aragon recounts Henry leaving her humiliated after cheating on her with Anne Boleyn, trying to send her to a nunnery, and later divorcing her.
Boleyn, played by Andrea Macasaet, tries to one-up Aragon with her solo, “Don’t Lose Ur Head.” While Henry did cheat on Catherine with Boleyn, he was also very promiscuous during his second marriage, which motivated Boleyn to “flirt with a guy or three just to make him jell,” which encouraged Henry to decapitate her. Boleyn is designed in green to pay homage to the classic English folk song “Greensleeves,” and features Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, and Lily Allen elements.
The most riveting solo belonged to Katherine Howard, played by the intriguing Samantha Pauly, parallels modern young sex symbols including Britney Spears and Ariana Grande. Her flamboyant “All You Wanna Do” song details all of her past relationships and emotional trauma, similar to Taylor Swift or Katy Perry. Her costume is sparkled and purple and features a choker to showcase her beheading.
Six features a star-studded group of characters who all capture the essence of their characters very well. The musical has segments where it is entertaining, breathtaking and the cast shares a great cohesion that makes this show an absolute must-see. The elements of modern-day rock, pop music influence, and historical precedent pay homage to the 16th century, while blending in contemporary components. The orchestration of Tom Curran and the superb drumming of Elena Bonomo turn this retelling into a mosh pit in Midtown. no way you will leave the Brooks Atkinson Theatre unhappy after watching Six.
While Six has bouts of joy and fantastic modern theatrical rhythm, its message falls short of a more significant point. The first hour of Six is entirely upbeat songs detailing the lives of each of the Six wives within their marriages to Henry, and this angle works very well. However, when trying to figure out who won the contest, the queen’s point is that only speaking about these wives concerning their marriages to Henry plays into the patriarchal structure we live in today. While the message is very true, the musical is an exact culprit of this message. All we hear about in the lives of the queens concerning Henry is why they are linked and why they are called Six. Six attempts to focus on a much larger societal narrative, but at the end of the show, all fans are replaying “All You Wanna Do” and “Don’t Lose Ur Head” in their minds rather than thinking about the unjust way the six wives are remembered. Simply throwing in an important communal message after ignoring it for over an hour does nothing to the point you are trying to make, and this is where Six loses consistency as a musical.
Although Six is an entertaining if flawed musical,one important caveat to take away, Broadway is back! The last 18 months have been difficult for theatre fans, but with the return of Broadway, the vibrance of stage performance has returned to New York City.
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October 29, 2021 at 01:27AM
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Broadway Returns with 'Six,' a Modern Day Rock Concert Telling a 16th-Century Story - The New School Free Press
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