I try to describe this show, it’s like Motown meets a Las Vegas review, but with an historical twist. How ever you label it, it’s a fun romp between the Six wives of Henry The 8th, with lots of great competition and bitchiness.
SIX Wikipedia:
Six is a musical with music, book, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. It is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII, presented in the form of a singing competition/pop concert. In the show, the wives take turns telling their stories to determine who suffered the most from their shared husband but ultimately seek to reclaim their individual identities and rewrite their stories.
The musical premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, where it was performed by students from Cambridge University. Six premiered in the West End at the Arts Theatre in January 2019, and has since embarked on a UK tour. It premiered in North America in May 2019 and on Broadway in February 2020. Following a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it officially opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 3 October 2021 and has since launched additional touring companies.
A filmed stage production titled SIX The Musical Live!, featuring the original West End cast, was released in UK & Ireland cinemas by Universal Pictures on 6 April 2025. An international release date is set to be announced.
The six queens consort introduce themselves through biographical pop songs and explain that their band’s lead singer will be whoever they determine had the worst experience at the hands of their shared ex-husband, Henry VIII (“Ex-Wives”). Catherine of Aragon recounts how Henry wished to annul their marriage and place her in a nunnery when he began pursuing Anne Boleyn, despite her loyalty to him (“No Way”). The queens introduce Anne Boleyn (“The One You’ve Been Waiting For”), who boasts about how Henry wanted her instead of Catherine, but then complains of Henry’s infidelity, which led to Anne’s own flirtations with other men, which were the grounds for her beheading (“Don’t Lose Ur Head”). Jane Seymour steps up to take her turn, but is ridiculed for having had an easy time with Henry. However, while admitting she may have been the only wife Henry truly loved, Jane claims that Henry’s love was conditional, only guaranteed because she produced a male heir, and that she stood by him despite his many faults (“Heart of Stone”).
In late 2016, Toby Marlow was selected by the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society to create and write a new musical that would be presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017. Marlow, who was in their final year at Cambridge University, created a concept for a musical that would involve re-telling the story of King Henry VIII’s ex-wives.[7] They partnered with another student, Lucy Moss, who began working on a concept for the musical together.
As they began working on the musical, Marlow researched the ex-wives stories by reading Antonia Fraser‘s The Six Wives of Henry VIII, while Moss viewed a documentary series, Six Wives by Lucy Worsley. They also watched and drew inspiration from the 2011 Beyoncé concert and story-telling performance, Live at Roseland: Elements of 4.[8] The foundation for the musical was written over the course of approximately 10 nonconsecutive days.[9]
In developing the characters, Marlow and Moss were inspired by several real-life pop stars who were used as a composite and musical inspiration for the characters. The six ex-wives and their corresponding pop star inspirations are:
Catherine of Aragon: modelled on Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson
Anne Boleyn: modelled on Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen
Jane Seymour: modelled on Adele, Sia, and Celine Dion.
Anna of Cleves: modelled on Nicki Minaj and Rihanna.
Katherine Howard: modelled on Britney Spears and Ariana Grande.
Catherine Parr: modelled on Alicia Keys and Emeli Sandé.
This was my second time seeing this fantastic show, next time its back run don’t walk to see this amazing spectacle.
The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic’s Pick) and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for!”
The Hollywood Pantages Theater
6233 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
https://www.broadwayinhollywood.com/
