It’s a pop concert-musical featuring the wives of Henry VIII
About as slick as they come, the musical SIX starts with a bang and doesn’t let up for 75 minutes of high-energy numbers all centered around the wives of King Henry VIII. And while it’s not a full-fledged history lesson, the six cast members each tell their version of their own story as it relates to the famous king who wed them all — and beheaded two of them.
But you won’t see Henry on stage, nor any men at all. The story of SIX is handled exclusively by the actors portraying the wives and a four-piece, female backing band that drives the show with the power of a freight train.
SIX has been a juggernaut on stages around the world, starting from humble beginnings at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and moving to a 2019 premiere on the West End and on to Broadway in 2020. COVID interrupted the run until 2021, and now it’s got two North American tours up and running alongside others in Canada, Australia and the UK.
More of a concert than a traditional musical, the simple framework is each of the six wives being featured telling her story while the others back her up. The queens are clad in fantastical costumes designed by Gabriella Slade that look more like armor than women’s dresses and which function almost as their own characters. With a set defined and characterized by spectacular lighting effects, this is a Really Big Broadway Show that delivers an impactful intermission-less spectacle that’s quite a bit of fun. And while it’s prime demo may be teenage girls (of which there were plenty on opening night Tuesday), it’s the kind of show that just about anyone can enjoy for its high energy, bit-time production values and themes of female power.
Read John Moore’s “Six things to know about ‘SIX’” in the Denver Gazette.
The SIX in shades | Photo: Joan Marcus
After a showstopping introductory number (“Ex-Wives”), the queens decide to have a competition to see who’s got the best/worst story. First up is Gerianne Pérez as Catherine of Aragon. She’s the one who, when she couldn’t deliver a male heir, was divorced by Henry in an act that led to his creation of the Church of England to get around Rome’s anti-divorce stance. In a formidable, layered gold dress and spiky tiara, Pérez sets the bar for all the women when she belts out “No Way” in a voice as big as the Buell while commanding the devil-may-care stance and humor that all of the wives will display.
Next up is Anne Boleyn, played by spitfire blonde Zan Berube. With a voice that hits spectacular highs and an attitude to match, her character is perhaps the most aggrieved and teen-like (her song is “Don’t Lose Ur Head”). She was, of course, the first of the six to suffer the grim fate of beheading and reminds her fellow wives of it whenever they dare suggest their lot was worse (excepting, of course, the other beheadee, Catherine Howard). Sporting a wild green dress with a skirt that looks like it was fashioned out sheet metal and her hair done up in spiked knobs, Berube is a formidable presence who commands the stage while drawing plenty of laughs.
As Jane Seymour, Amina Faye is the most sympathetic and, allegedly, the one Henry loved most. She died in childbirth, and her song is one of great loss and pain. Clad in black, Faye belts out the powerful “Heart of Stone” with tremendous power and grace. When she winds down with a line about her loss being the greatest, Berube prances up and delivers a zinger about beheading being worse. It’s a great transition from serious back to the lighthearted and defiant air that characterizes most of the show.
At this point, the audience has been treated to three extraordinary vocal performances, and the next three are right at that level as well. As Anna of Cleves, Terica Marie is hilarious as the German import who, according to Henry, wasn’t nearly as pretty as her pre-nup painting depicted her. Anna is more invested in winning the competition than all the rest and vamps, vogues, struts and cavorts throughout to great effect.
As Anna of Cleves, Terica Marie gets a lot of the laughs in ‘SIX.’ | Photo: Joan Marcus
The next beheading victim is Katherine Howard, played with great verve and vanity by Aline Mayagoitia in a purple bustier ensemble. She may have been the hottest back in the day, but she didn’t last long before Henry accused her of adultery and relieved her of her head. Finally, there’s the one who lived, Catherine Parr, played by Adriana Scalice singing “I Don’t Need Your Love.” The song describes her non-Henry lover, Thomas Seymour and reminds the others that they shouldn’t be wholly defined by their Henry years.
While all of the queens have their moment, the rest are never idle. They’re a mischievous crew, engaging in live photo-bombing, sticking out their tongues, making rude gestures, taking selfies and generally creating an amusing background for whatever else is going on. In the end, they determine that a competition is a silly thing to engage in and come together for a rousing finale presenting them as a unified front. (There’s also a post curtain-call extra song at the end.)
Compare to many touring Broadway shows, SIX has a nice long run through Dec. 24, so there’s plenty of opportunity to get out and see what’s arguably the best thing to come through the Buell this season.
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