Broadway Review: SIX THE MUSICAL (Brooks Atkinson Theatre)

WITH SIX YOU GET POWDER-KEG SOUL

What if the six wives of one of history’s bad boys, King Henry VIII,  formed a pop girl group and held a concert where they belted out tales of their superstar lives, secret loves and tragic ends? You’d have Six, the hit British import from London’s West End now playing at the Brooks Adkinson Theater, NYC. You don’t have to watch PBS to get sucked into the medieval backstories of these six “queens” whose young lives were forever changed by their rendezvous with destiny.

(l-r) Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour), Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard),
Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn),
Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves), & Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr). Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

Performed chronologically in order of marriage, each wife gets her chance center stage as she takes on the style of a contemporary rock diva. The King’s first and longest-wed wife, Hispania Catherine of Aragon (ADRIANA HICKS) sings her anti-divorce anthem “No Way” a la Beyoncé, announcing: “My loyalty is to the Vatican — so if you try to dump me, you won’t try that again!”  Second wife Anne Boleyn (the fresh and adorable NICOLE K YOUNG-MI LAMBERT at my performance) delivers the bouncy “Don’t Lose Ur Head” as a Cindy Lauper-like response to Henry’s rage when he suspects her infidelity – and finally beheads her. That the queens take selfies and throw each other shade between songs like a junior high sleepover totally works in this female empowerment production backed-up by the all-girl band.  Henry’s fave wife, Jane Seymour (the commanding KERI RENE´ FULLER), torch sings “Heart of Stone,” reminiscent of  Adele’s “Hello.” Two wives later, Katherine Howard (the radiant SAMANTHA PAULY) arrives as a pink, ponytailed Ariana Grande, with a bubble gum song titled “All You Wanna Do.” All the queens perform vocal gymnastics that could easily earn any one of them the title of American Idol winner.

(l-r) Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour), Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard),
Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn),
Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves), & Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr). Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

The concert, which runs a breakneck 80 minutes total, wraps up with a profound question: What does all this girl power add up to if all we do is remember these heroines as the wives of a famous man? Realizing they have been robbed of their individuality, the women reject victimhood and wrap up the night by rewriting their stories, singing together as a group of how their tales might have ended had Henry never been involved. Mic drop!

Being almost completely sung through, Six is perhaps the most innovative rock-opera since Jesus Christ Superstar as it puts a modern, insightful spin on historical figures whose lives and deaths defined an era. A surefire hit.

photos by Joan Marcus

Six the Musical
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
open run
for tickets, visit SIX