Six has generated a lot of hype and buzz. The tickets have become the must have for this Broadway season. A musical about the six wives of Henry the VIII does sound intriguing to say the least.
This is a very modern take of a Broadway show. Singing, dancing and the performances are very reminiscent of a pop concert. Forget any preconceived ideas you might have as it is nothing like you have seen before, unless you have been to a k-pop concert.
The idea of Six is for each wife to tell her story as it relates to her marriage to Henry VIII. We have Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleaves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr.
The presentation of the story is heavily influenced by Chicago, in fact the opening number made me think of the Cell Block Tango from Chicago, the broadway musical.
The narrative is about presenting the female perspective of the court of Henry VIII, which is a very intriguing concept. Understanding the motives of each wife, how they met Henry, their actual relationship with him and finally how they ended up divorcing or meeting their untimely death, is a fascinating story. But what we do need to remember is these stories come from history books and these books have been very subjective in their portrayal of these women and more often than not it wasn’t in a very positive light. So it is great to see Six go about to change this perception.
Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Six is very much a young person’s take of history. Lost of historical moments are covered but some substantial aspects are overlooked. The purpose of Six is to tell the female story, which it does do very well, but it also tries to reinvent the musical genre by taking choreography and well known elements from other productions and it does come across in moments like these a little unoriginal.
Choreography is by Carrie-Anne Ingroville and it is amazing. Yes there are aspects that have been taken from Chicago but there are other moments that do remind you of a pop concert and then other aspects that drag this musical to the 21st century with references to social media and the dance crazes that have exploded on TikTok, all of these are featured in Six and work very well with the story.
Andrea Macasaet as Anne Boleyn is very entertaining, engaging and very funny. She does bring a lot of humor to the role, which does uplift the story of someone who ended up losing her head during the reign of Henry VIII.
Brittney Mack as Anna of Cleaves presents a tremendous story about a woman who was shunned by the King as she didn’t match the portrait that he saw of her and offered to marry her sign unseen. Mack does a fantastic job captivating the audience in the role and presenting Anna of Cleaves in a sympathetic light.
Six is an interesting concept for a musical. Having six strong female leads each presenting their interpretation of the events surrounding their marriage to Henry VIII. Giving more women a voice is definitely important and Six is worth watching just for that aspect, but if you are a stickler for accuracy around history then Six might challenge you with the large omissions.
Six is currently playing on Broadway and limited tickets are still available.
