Flashy, Splashy, Glam and Glitzy SIX the Multi-Award Winning Pop Musical Hits the National Theatre
SIX the Musical
Broadway at the National
Jordan Wright
November 13, 2024
(Photo/Joan Marcus)
Six Tudor “Roses” burst onto the stage with such fire and ferocity the audience breaks into cheers. It’s clear from those seat-dancing they’re mega-fans. From the opening number, the cast of queens holds “court” (that’s us!) in their regal thrall. Backed by a sizzling hot, five-piece band, the ex-wives of Henry the VIII seductively recount inglorious tales of their spousal experiences – “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived”. It’s a quirky mnemonic learned by British schoolchildren to recall the horrible fate of Henry’s wives.
It might seem a quantum leap to take a historic era in British royal history and turn it into a pop/hip-hop/rap musical, but here it becomes a catchy vehicle for female empowerment. Based on their marriages to Henry, the wives regale us with the cruelties, infidelities and vagaries of a notoriously nasty king. But, as we all know, payback’s a bitch. Suffice it to say the from the moment these hot exes step out onto the stage, the audience is in on the fun… and what fun this crazy, amazing show is. On the night I was there, as one of the wives is describing her marriage, a man from the crowd yells out, “F*** that dude!” The audience went absolutely wild.
SIX The Musical is a rock concert experience – a flashy, splashy, glam and glitzy, rap plus sing concert with nine memorable numbers betwixt the wives’ accounts of what they suffered under the king’s edicts. Laid out as a contest for the audience to vote on which of the ladies suffered the worst injustices and penultimate punishments, they each make their case in a mashup of street-smart jargon and Valley Girl slang – “Sorry, not sorry”, declares Anne Boleyn after stealing Henry away from his first wife. It’s “herstory” against “his-story” and here the ladies’ come back from the grave with a royal vengeance. Breaking the fourth wall to appeal to the audience, the Queens settle their scores with song and dance while vying to win our vote. As these divas say, they have “the riffs to ruffle your ruffs”.
In sequential order we hear from Catherine of Aragon (Chani Maisonet) who channels Beyoncé and Shakira in “No Way”; to Anne Boleyn (Gaby Albo) whose inspiration is Lily Allen and Avril Lavigne in “Don’t Lose Ur Head”; to Jane Seymour (Kelly Denice Taylor) in “Heart of Stone” who is inspired by Adele and Sia to rap/sing her story; to fourth wife Anna of Cleves (Danielle Mendoza) in “Get Down” whose “Queenspirations” are Nicki Minaj and Rihanna; to Katherine Howard (Alizé Cruz) with “All You Wanna Do” who nails a mashup of Ariana Grande and Britney Spears; and lastly, the “soul” survivor Catherine Parr (Tasia Jungbauer) with the killer ballad “I Don’t Need Your Love”. Her avatars are Alicia Keys and Emeli Sandé. N. B. the six-part harmonies are gorgeous.
(Photo/Joan Marcus)
With book, music and lyrics by Tony Marlow and Lucy Moss and directed by Lucy Moss, SIX has garnered a total of 23 awards including the Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical and the show’s album has reached stratospheric streaming heights in its first month.
Originally performed in England by the Cambridge Musical Theatre Society, the costumes are shiny-punk sensational, the stage is laser-lit and the onstage band is insane. And although I thought I heard shades of Madonna in the Catherine of Aragon character and Lizzo in Mendoza’s portrayal of Anne of Cleves, you will no doubt detect the vocal stylings of your favorite pop stars.
Choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, Scenic Design by Emma Bailey, Costume Design by Gabriella Slade, Lighting Design by Tim Deiling, Sound Design by Paul Gatehouse and Orchestrations by Tom Curran.
Highly recommended!!! Jump on it. Tickets will be hard to come by.
Now playing through December 1st at National Theatre DC, 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information visit www.TheNationalDC.com or call the box office at (877) 302-2929.