SIX

 

Divorced! Beheaded! LIVE!

    Time to talk about everyone's favorite ladies: The Queens of SIX! Grace and I have been listening to the soundtrack non-stop, so I felt like this show was the purr-fect one for this week's critique. SIX follows the individual stories of the wives of King Henry the VIII of England, in the form of a one-act pop concert. Not only does this show have some incredibly catchy tunes, but the overall message is beautiful and needs to be shared with the world. Enjoy! 

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                                     SIX on Broadway

History

    Writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss teamed up to create a musical based on the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. SIX made its premier at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, with members of the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society performing. SIX made a professional debut in December of 2017, and a tour was launched in the UK in July the following year. A cast album was released in September. SIX made its West End debut (featuring a few new cast members) on January 17, 2019, and is set to run through 2021. 

    A US version of the musical was cast and made its debut at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in May of 2019. The show began breaking box office records, and they were able to secure the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway, with previews set to begin Feburary 13, 2020. Opening night was scheduled for March 12, 2020, but that same day, Broadway was forced to close all theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Who's in the Cast?

    The original Off-West End cast consisted of Renée Lamb as Catherine of Aragon, Christina Modestou as Anne Bolyen, Natalie Paris as Jane Seymour, Genesis Lynea as Anne of Cleves, Amie Atkinson as Katherin Howard, and Izuka Hoyle as Catherin Parr. These talented ladies are featured on the professional album cast recording. When the show shifted to the West End, Jarnéia Richard-Noel, Millie O'Connell, Alexia McIntosh, and Maiya Quansah-Breed took over as Aragon, Boleyn, Cleves, and Parr, respectively.

    The Broadway cast, whose performance this review is based upon, consists of Adrianna Hicks as Aragon, Andrea Macasaet as Boleyn, Abby Muelle as Seymour, Brittney Mack as Cleves, Samantha Pauly as Howard, and Anna Uzele as Parr. 

Overview

    Our concert opens with dynamic piece entitled "Ex-Wives," where our Queens introduce themselves and their legacy. In order, we have Catherine of Aragon (divorced), Anne Boleyn (beheaded), Jane Seymour (died), Anne of Cleves (divorced), Katherine Howard (beheaded), and Catherine Parr (survived). For this review, I'll be calling them Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, Howard, and Parr: 3 Queens named C/Katherine and 2 named Anne can get confusing! After they introduce themselves, the Queens inform the audience that they are struggling to pick a lead singer for their band. They conclude that whoever had the hardest marriage to Henry, and the most struggles in life should be the lead singer. Needing an impartial judge, the Queens declare the audience to be the jury, and after hearing the stories of each Queen, decide who had it the worst. 

    Aragon, being Henry's first wife, dives into her story: After her first husband died, she married his brother: Henry. After trying and failing for years to bear a son, Henry started cheating on Aragon, and decided to divorce her and send her to live in a convent. Aragon tried to fight it, and continued to call herself Queen, even after her divorce and mistreatment (No Way). She claims she had it the hardest, but the other Queens instantly shoot her down, saying her marriage lost it's importance thanks to Boleyn, who played a major part in Aragon's divorce. 

    Up next, Boleyn describes Henry as so desperate to have her as a wife that he created the Church of England, in order to legalize his divorce to Aragon. However, he cheats on his Boleyn, and in retaliation she decides to "make him jel" by flirting with other men in court. She claims it was all in good fun and that Henry overreacted when he sentenced her to death by beheading (Don't Lose Ur Head). Boleyn declares herself the winner and begins to start another solo before being cut off by the other Queens, who are mad that she claimed the role of lead singer for herself. 

    Seymour jumps in, saying its her turn to sing (an incredible power ballad, I might add). The other Queens don't see the point, even quoting her, saying that she was the only wife Henry truly loved. She fights back, saying that although she was happy with Henry and bore him a son, she died before she ever got to experience motherhood. She also found struggles in standing by her king when he was in a temper and despite his flaws, noting how strong her resilience was, and yet, it seemed to be all for nothing, thanks to her early passing (Heart of Stone). Seymour thinks she had it the hardest, saying "what hurts more than a broken heart?" to which Boleyn responds, "a severed head," shutting down her argument.

    Cleves, the next wife, said that Henry decided to look outside of England for his next spouse, and the Queens describe the portraits of the famous painter, Hans Holbein (Hous of Holbein). This is how Henry learned about Cleves, and decided to marry her based off of her painting. However, her painting did not accurately portray her true appearance, and they divorced after 6 months. After their divorce, Cleves moved to a mansion in the country and was rich beyond belief, thanks to a gracious settlement on Henry's behalf. Cleves knows she did not have a hard life, and mocks her own "tragic" story (Get Down). 

    Aragon, Boleyn, and Seymour fight again over who had it the hardest, and Howard interrupts, ending their argument and telling her own story. Upon first glance, her story seems flirtatious at most, but looking deeper it's revealed that she was taken advantage of by multiple men throughout her life, starting at a young age. It is for this reason that Henry has her beheaded, for promiscuous crimes, although they were not her fault (All You Wanna Do). 

    The Queens continue fighting after her song, until Cleves throws Parr into the spotlight, giving her a chance to sing, as the final wife. Parr initially declines to sing, acknowledging how ridiculous it is to compare traumas, but the other Queens mock her until she is resigned to telling her story. She had been married many times before, losing all of her husbands to death. She fell in love with another man, whom she wanted to marry, but then King Henry claimed her for marriage and she had to cut of relations with her true love. She finds inner strength and recognizes her successes after her marriage to Henry, and tells the other Queens that although they all had their individual struggles, they're all here and they're stronger together. She even thanks Henry for bringing all of the Queens together, and they quit comparing themselves to each other. They let the audience know that it's "messed up" to compare them to each other, and declare each of themselves a leading lady. They collectively dump Henry, and decide to live for themselves and be who they are (I Don't Need Your Love). They flip the story, saying they're not famous for just being one of six wives, but that Henry is famous just because of his incredible and individual wives. They still acknowledge that their lives didn't have happy endings, but since they're rewriting their story, at their concert, with their own voices, they're going to come together as one and sing about who they truly are (Six). 

Thoughts

    SIX is an incredible performance about women finding their true identities. Although the characters are from hundreds of years ago, the message plays really well into modern times: that instead of dragging each other down, women should raise each other up. Sure, it was definitely fun to watch the Queens compete, and their stories were told through fun pop songs, but the message of the show could not be clearer, which I love. Some stories or shows have messages that are meant to be interpreted by individual viewers, but in SIX, the Queens let the audience know what the takeaway is, which I find both informative and unique. 

    Due to the imperative nature of the show, I feel as though I cannot go too deep into comparing the performances of the Queens. Each of their displays was powerful and emotional, yet still unique. Instead of comparing the Queens, I'm going to list my favorite aspects of each, starting with Aragon. The way Adrianna Hicks portrayed Aragon was incredible. She showed immense strength of character, and a sassy approach to the misfortunes of her character. Andrea Macasaet gave Boleyn an incredible amount of bubbliness, spunk, and drama, which made her enjoyable to watch. Abby Mueller provided an incredibly moving performance as Seymour. Her passion played so well into the struggles of her character's life. Brittney Mack was phenomenal as Cleves. She had so much sass, spunk, character, and a sort of "badass" vibe, which was so entertaining to watch. Samantha Pauly was able to portray the troubles of Howard so well, starting out cheerful and self-assured before realizing the traumas of her struggles and the suffering that came with them. And Anna Uzele was fantastic in her role of Parr, bringing heart, passion, and fire to her character. Each of these ladies played completely different characters, yet their stellar performance showed how anybody can be unified, no matter the differences between them. 

    I recommend this show to anyone who feels like they're in a constant struggle, no matter what the issue is, because seeing 6 females overcome their own problems and growing confident will do wonders to your own self. If you like pop concerts of any kind, this show is definitely a must-see. Even history nerds would love to see history told from the POV of the Queens instead of Henry. 

    I do not have enough good things to say about this musical. I did not expect to see any cats on stage, considering it was a pop concert, and there were no mentions of a cat, so I am slightly disappointed. But I can genuinely say that I do not think a cat would have made (much) of an improvement. The show was stellar. I am begging you, if you have the chance, take the time to watch it. 

    

Ratings

Find the rating scale here.

Soundtrack          ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Acting                  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lighting               ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Set                        ⭐⭐⭐

Overall                 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat rating             ⭐

Best song: All of them!

Best actor: All of them!

Best (and only) set: The stage

Fun Facts!

• In keeping with the feminist theme, all of the members of the band are female as well. 
• When an illness spread through the West End cast, incapacitating 2 Queens and several standbys, Toby Marlow (composer) and Genesis Lynea (original Cleves) stepped in and performed as Parr and Cleves, respectively. 
• The outfits and song styles for each Queen is based off of modern pop singers. Aragon = Beyoncé, Boleyn = Avril Lavigne, Seymour = Adele, Cleves = Nikki Minaj/Rihanna, Howard = Ariana Grande, and Parr = Alicia Keys.
• Aragon was married to Henry for 24 years before their divorce.
• Due to her role in the formation of the Church of England, Boleyn is the most well known Queen outside of pop culture.
• Seymour's place of rest is right next to Henry's, which adds to the belief that she was his "favorite" wife for having borne him a son and heir.
• Cleves actually outlived all of the rest of Henry's wives: Parr is credited with "survived" because she was married to Henry when he died. Due to her short marriage to Henry, she became known as The King's Beloved Sister instead of a queen (logistically).
• Howard was beheaded when she was 19 years old. Written accounts of her death say she was composed and resigned at the time of her death.
• Parr lived past Henry's death and went on to form schools for women to help further female education.
• Mary I of England, daughter of Aragon, inherited the crown when Henry passed. 

Works Cited

“Six (Musical).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_(musical).