{"id":115484,"date":"2025-12-31T22:37:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/115484\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T22:37:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:37:12","slug":"more-than-bangers-six-a-stellar-story-in-musical-form","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/115484\/","title":{"rendered":"More than bangers, \u2018Six\u2019 a stellar story in musical form"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tReview:<\/p>\n

Delightful “Six” lets the wives of King Henry VIII share their own stories in the pop musical.<\/p>\n

DOWNTOWN \u2013 \u201cSix<\/a>\u201d has a soundtrack to die for. I knew that going in to see the popular musical playing at the Civic Theatre this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t Lose Ur Head\u201d has been one of my favorite sing-in-the-shower bangers for the last couple years (Carlina Parker, who played Anne Boleyn for the Tuesday performance I attended, has much better range than I). The energizing musical\u2019s opening track, \u201cEx-Wives,\u201d introducing the six queens famous for their marriages to King Henry VIII, is a similarly catchy bop.<\/p>\n

But seeing the show live brought so much more to bear than just humorous songs. Its delightful choreography, playful tone, quippy script, well-executed staging, spectacular lighting and audience interaction created an unforgettable night of storytelling. That electric connection between the six performers and audience reminded me why I love the adrenaline rush of live performance.<\/p>\n

\"Stylized<\/a>Emma Elizabeth Smith as Catherine of Aragon in the North American tour of \u201cSix.\u201d (Photo by Joan Marcus\/Broadway San Diego) <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics. \u201cSix\u201d debuted at the Edinburgh film festival in 2017; writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss developed the concept as students at Cambridge. It was picked up on London\u2019s West End in 2019 and Broadway, officially in 2021.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to brush up on high school notes to enjoy this historical remix, even if the opening track uses the mnemonic employed by many teachers to help students remember the fates of King Henry VIII\u2019s six wives: divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix\u201d turns history on its head in a pop concert-style show with aspects of a reality TV show as the queens compete in a trauma sing-off. This has less political analysis than \u201cHamilton\u201d or \u201cSuffs,\u201d and is more a fun way to engage with themes of female empowerment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix\u201d has a simple structure. The opening and closing songs feature the full cast of six women backed by four women in a band on stage. Inbetween, each queen shares her story in a solo in chronological marriage order with the other women providing backup vocals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix\u201d lacks an intermission, so another group number marks the mid-point in the 80-minute show. That song, \u201cHaus of Holbein,\u201d cleverly uses lighting to create a swipe right\/left dating app interface as King Henry VIII seeks his fourth wife. It\u2019s the perfect blend of modern trappings used to explain a historical event in a humorous way. Tim Deiling\u2019s lighting design had other transcendent moments, so it\u2019s no wonder he was nominated for a Tony Award in 2022 for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for \u201cSix.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Tasia Jungbauer as Catherine Parr in the tour of \u201cSix.\u201d (Photo by Joan Marcus\/Broadway San Diego)<\/p>\n

The musical isn\u2019t marked with multiple costume changes. Instead, the outfits of each queen have become iconic, with pins of each even sold as merchandise. Costume designer Gabriella Slade dresses each queen as a pop star on a world tour with influences of Tudor royal attire that also express aspects of each queen \u2014 which made the cast easier to differentiate.<\/p>\n

The flirty green skirt of Anne Boleyn speaks to her role as the fashionable mistress turned queen who ignited jealousy in the king. In contrast, Catherine of Aragon\u2019s staid gold attire nods to her Catholic devotion and stubbornness, combined well with the dignified posture of actress Emma Elizabeth Smith.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Aliz\u00e9 Cruz as Katherine Howard in the North American tour of \u201cSix.\u201d (Photo by Joan Marcus\/Broadway San Diego) <\/p>\n

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille\u2019s choreography also elevated the narrative with playfulness and taut expressions of movement. It wasn\u2019t the most complex dancing I\u2019ve ever seen in a Broadway tour \u2013 no acrobatics, tap dancing or kick rows. Instead it had the steps and arm poses of many a pop star. But it was the perfect expression of dance as storytelling, a common language people share, like a quick hip waggle as a euphemism for sex from Parker.<\/p>\n

The most moving dance occurred around 17-year-old Katherine Howard, played by Aliz\u00e9 Cruz with hair reminiscent of Ariana Grande. \u201cAll You Wanna Do\u201d describes the series of men who only wanted Katherine for sex in four choruses. But in that song, a hand on the shoulder communicated the grooming and abuse she faced starting at 13 years old. Cruz\u2019s distress and fear, inability to speak for herself and lack of choice was expressed through movement rather than explicit lyrics \u2013 and far more effectively.<\/p>\n

In addition to Parker, Cruz and Smith, the remaining queens were played by Kelly Denice Taylor as Jane Seymour, Hailey Alexis Lewis as Anna of Cleves and Tasia Jungbauer as Catherine Parr. Each had stunning vocals that matched the gospel and rock-influenced pop music.<\/p>\n

After the queens learn not to compete with each other, \u201cSix\u201d concludes that maybe we don\u2019t remember the six wives of King Henry VIII because of their connection to a monarch who founded the Church of England. Maybe we only remember King Henry VIII because of his six wives, whom he left the Catholic Church for. After all, I can\u2019t tell you much about the prior King Henrys or their singular wives.<\/p>\n

The national tour of \u201cSix\u201d plays at the Civic Theatre through Sunday. Find tickets at broadwaysd.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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