Broadway at TPAC
Six Gets Five Stars!
“Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.” Henry VIII’s doomed struggle for a son led to his famous succession of six wives. While royal infidelity and killings are always given extra attention in history books, the additional significance of Henry VIII’s multiple marriages was the catalyst for England’s break with the Pope, who refused to annul Henry’s first marriage, thus establishing the Church of England and permanently altering global religion.
You’ll note that in my summary Henry’s wives are given almost no attention, except as passive objects Henry marries and discards. That’s because most of us never learned much about them. The new musical Six gives those women their proper attention. It’s 80 minutes long, with no intermission. A length like that seems to promise that it’s sharp and concise, with no filler or fluff, and that maybe it’s for those whose theatrical tastes are a little more mainstream than Bayreuth Festival. That is all true.
Six feels fresh, not so much in concept (rock-opera meets pop-opera meets UK’s response to Hamilton), but in content. The show writers are young (Six was written by Toby Morlow and Lucy Moss in their final undergraduate year at Cambridge), so all the humor and style and references feel completely contemporary and natural. The audience the night I attended, February 3rd, was mainly people in their twenties and thirties.
Six is more a concert than a typical musical: the six wives are competing to see whose story is the most tragic. The stage is set as if for a pop girl group, with the band playing in the back. The backdrop has light strips which are used to great effect. Besides their banter with each other, the six wives each sing a solo about their time with Henry VIII, as well as group numbers, including the belly-laugh inducing “Haus of Holbein,” a song of anachronistic humor treating Henry’s portrait painter of possible marriage options as a 16th century Tinder.
Both the dialogue and song lyrics are quick-moving, witty, as is the music itself: the opener “Ex-Wives” features the melody of “Greensleeves,” which is traditionally attributed to Henry VIII. It’s no surprise that Six won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics), or that it is currently on Broadway, West End, and on tour in the UK, the US, and Australia. Most of the songs are bouncing and energetic pop hits, giving the few ballads additional power by their contrasting effect. Since the style is pop diva, it requires a lot of the performers, since they need to be capable of everything A-list pop stars are. To give you an idea of the vocal skill (and sound), the show’s program provides each wives’s “Queenspiration.” Two examples: Catherine of Aragon’s are Beyoncé and Shakira, Katherine Howard’s are Ariana Grande and Britney Spears.
Not only is the on-stage band excellent, but all six performers are amazing singers. They’re each triple-threats with a talent for comedy. It’s difficult to settle on one aspect for each of them, but here goes: Emma Elizabeth Smith has such a full voice, Nella Cole is a wonderful dancer, Kelly Denice Taylor showcases surprising sweetness, Hailey Alexis Lewis has such boisterous power, Alizé Cruz is absolutely hilarious, and Tasia Jungbauer brings sophistication. Their group chemistry is fantastic, as is the choreography, which is almost nonstop, and covers a range of styles and moods, from goofy to sexy to every emotion.
The costumes are perfect. Somehow blending Tudor and contemporary superstar, they also make it so easy to distinguish the women from each other, which is important not only because half of them are named Catherine, but for people far from the stage; the sparkles, vibrant colors, and distinctive hair give emphasis to their different personalities.
Now how is a musical based on the tragic lives of a king’s discarded wives fun? You’ll have to see it yourself, but I will say Six addresses that potential problem, and gives each woman more attention they certainly ever have had in history classes. It also gives its humor bite, especially in “All You Wanna Do,” when Katherine Howard’s Me Too story begins funny and light and ends with rage.
Now I know I usually end my reviews recommending you see the show (because live theater is pretty much always worth it), but this time, when I say you should go see Six, I mean it even extra more than usual. There are still seats available, and I guarantee you’ll have a wonderfully hilarious time.
The US Tour of Six is at TPAC’s Jackson Hall February 3-8. See here for tickets and more information, and here for more information about the US tour. And seriously, go see it.
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A Nashville native and MTSU graduate, Grace Krenz is a reader, a writer, and an arts enthusiast. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two children.
