Six (musical)


Six is a British musical with book, music, and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. The musical is a modern retelling of the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII presented as a pop concert, as the wives take turns singing and telling their story to see who suffered the most due to Henry and should, therefore, become the group's lead singer.
The musical was first presented by Cambridge University students at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017. It has since gone on to professional productions in the West End and internationally.

Plot

The show opens with the six Queens performing an opening number in pop-concert, girl-group fashion introducing themselves. They also welcome the audience to the performance. They address the crowd and tell them that this show will feature a competition, and whoever had the "biggest load of B.S." to deal with from the man who married them, Henry VIII, will become the lead singer of the group. They perform in the order in which they were married to Henry. Catherine of Aragon starts off and recounts her marriage to Henry and later annulment, and almost being put into a nunnery when he began lusting after Anne Boleyn. When Aragon claims that she is the winner, the other Queens mention Anne and how she overlapped with Aragon during the former's marriage, resulting in said annulment, and Anne recounts her time as Queen with Henry and her eventual execution. She then continues to argue that she deserves to win the competition due to her execution and further begins to sing a new solo "about the moment found out Catherine of Aragon had tragically died". This attempted solo is interrupted by the other queens. Jane Seymour then announces it is her turn to recount what she put up with, but the other Queens mock her for not having as much to deal with as, in her words, she was "the only one he truly loved". Jane admits that while she may have been lucky for not having to suffer at his hand, she still stood by him throughout all his faults.
The story then shifts as the Queens are suddenly turned into members of Hans Holbein's painting studio, talking about how they make the women he paints look beautiful for their portraits. In a set-up parodying Tinder they present three women: Christina of Denmark, Amalia of Cleves, and Anna of Cleves, Amalia's elder sister. When Henry "swipes right", so to speak, on Anna, they all assume he will marry Anna and that they will have a happy, long-lasting marriage. Of course, their union is ultimately ill-fated as he rejects Anna, and she pretends to make a big deal about how she is then forced to live in a beautiful palace in Richmond as a result, though she is not really complaining. She then boasts about her riches and how since she remained unmarried after her divorce, there is no man around to tell her what to do, meaning she is able to do anything she pleases. After the Queens point out how Anna's life did not sound that difficult, Anna says "Oh, well, back to the palace". As Katherine Howard is next to go, the Queens belittle her for being "the least relevant Catherine", but Katherine retaliates by mentioning flaws in the other Queens' reasons for winning, such as how Anne Boleyn wasn't the only beheaded wife and how Jane Seymour only died due to natural causes. She then recounts her life and the men who abused her, leading into her marriage to Henry as she breaks down, fully realising the trauma she suffered from her relationships and how these "all-powerful men" led to her eventual beheading.
As the Queens continue to squabble about who should win the contest, a frustrated Catherine Parr puts a stop to it. Questioning the point of it all, she brings up the fact that they are remembered solely by their shared connection to Henry, not as individuals. When they refuse to listen, claiming she has no story to tell that involves Henry, Parr tells her story, and of the accomplishments she made independently of Henry. The other Queens, realising that they have let themselves be defined by Henry for so long, stop the contest and declare that they do not need his love to feel validated as people. With only five minutes left in the show after the fact, they decide to use their remaining moments on stage to "rewrite" the stories they told and sing for themselves for a change, singing together as a group rather than as solo artists and writing their own happily ever after.
In all of the live performances of the show as of July 2018, the Queens perform an encore number that is not featured on the Original Cast Recording, which is a mashup of all the songs performed in the show called "Megasix". The audience is encouraged by the Queens to film this portion of the performance – the exception is on all USA engagements of Six after the Chicago premiere due to union rules.

Musical numbers

† Not included on the Studio Cast Recording.

†† Included as part of "I Don't Need Your Love" on the Studio Cast Recording.

Productions

Writing and Edinburgh Fringe

The idea for the musical came to Toby Marlow while studying in his final year at Cambridge University, and despite uncertainties from collaborator Lucy Moss, the pair wrote part of the show while studying for their final exams. Marlow had been selected in late 2016 by Cambridge University Arts Society to write a new musical to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, and the initial six wives' concert concept came to him later during a poetry class when he decided to get his friend Moss involved. Marlow read Antonia Fraser's "The Six Wives of Henry VIII", while Moss viewed a documentary series, "Six Wives" by Lucy Worsley. At their first writing session together, they watched a 2011 Beyoncé concert and story-telling performance, . The world premiere production of Six took place at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, presented by Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society.

Professional debut and UK tour (2018)

The Edinburgh production and a subsequent showing back in Cambridge attracted the attention of producers Kenny Wax and Global Musicals, and they gave the show its professional debut on 18 December 2017, performing initially on four Monday nights although this was increased to six performances at the Arts Theatre. A studio recording was released on 13 September 2018, featuring the original Arts Theatre cast.
Six began its first UK tour on 11 July at the Norwich Playhouse, returning to the Edinburgh Fringe on 1 August 2018. Six transferred to the Arts Theatre in the West End with an opening night on 30 August. The production closed on 14 October prior to continuing its UK tour. The UK tour ended on 30 December 2018 in Glasgow.

West End (2019)

The musical re-opened for an initial 16-week run at the Arts Theatre on 17 January 2019. Directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage with choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, set design by Emma Bailey, and musical supervision by Joe Beighton, the initial run has since been extended until January 2021.

North American tour (2019)

Six had its North American premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in May 2019. Directed by Jamie Armitage and Lucy Moss, the Chicago premiere was produced by Six's London producers with the addition of Broadway producer Kevin McCollum. According to Chris Jones the Chicago production was a likely Broadway tryout. Toward the end of the extended Chicago run, where Six broke box office records for the CST, it was announced the show would go to Broadway in 2020. The production moved to the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts in late-August and September 2019, and made its Canadian premiere at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre in November. The production moved to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 29 November through 22 December, prior to its Broadway debut.

Norwegian Cruise Line (2019)

On 6 August 2019, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that they would be showing performances of Six on three of their ships at different times. The shows began in September 2019 on Norwegian's Bliss and will run until 2022.

UK tour (2019–2020)

A second UK tour of Six was officially announced on 5 September 2019. The production opened on 24 October 2019 at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford. The tour was scheduled to run until 25 July 2020, concluding its run at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down theaters however, a deal was struck between the Society of London Theatre and U.K. actors union Equity; ensuring that West End and touring performers who are currently under contract will be able to continue on those preexisting terms and restart rehearsals or performances with revised dates once the shutdown ends.

Australia and New Zealand (2020)

Six had its Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House, in January 2020. It will then move to Melbourne's Comedy Theatre in mid 2020 and Adelaide's Her Majesty's Theatre in late 2020 as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. The Australian production is produced by Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Linda Bewick. At some point, it is set to open in Wellington, New Zealand's Opera House.

Broadway (2020)

Six began Broadway previews on 13 February 2020 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. On the day of its scheduled Broadway premiere, 12 March 2020, all Broadway theatres were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Six planned to open when Broadway performances resume. Moss and Armitage again direct, with choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, set design by Emma Bailey, costumes by Gabriella Slade, sound by Paul Gatehouse, lighting by Tim Deiling, and orchestrations by Tom Curran. The original principal cast is the same as the show's 2019 North American tour.

Utilita Live from the Drive-In UK Tour (2020)

On 29 June 2020, it was announced that Six would be due to embark on an open-air UK Tour in August and September 2020, playing drive-in style at venues such as showgrounds, racecourses and airfields, starring the 2019-20 West End and UK & Ireland Tour casts. The performances would have taken place in compliance with the HM Government's COVID-19 social distancing measures.
However, on 15 July 2020, promoters Live Nation announced the cancellation of the tour over fears of potential localised lockdowns as result of the COVID-19 pandemic; mainly owing to the fact that many of the planned locations were those emerging as hot-spots for the virus.

Chicago (2020)

On 4 August 2019, at the final performance of the Chicago premiere, it was announced that Six would return to the city at the Broadway Playhouse in 2020. It is scheduled to begin 24 November 2020, after a postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to run to 21 March 2021.

Principal cast

Notable West End replacements

  • Anne Boleyn: Courtney Bowman
  • Catherine Parr: Danielle Steers
Show co-creator Toby Marlow also filled in as Catherine Parr for two West End performances on 28 July 2019, due to a cast-wide illness.

Reception

In a review of the Arts Theatre production, Dominic Cavendish of The Telegraph called the show "gloriously – persuasively – coherent, confident and inventive". Lyn Gardner of The Guardian wrote, "It may be cloaked in silliness, but Six makes some serious points about female victimhood and survival."
In a review of the Chicago production, Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune praised the show as "dynamic" and a "blast", with a "sense of humor and spirited radicalism." Marlow and Moss are "gifted comic writers," he said, and he praised the "musical force of the intensely committed and talented actresses" in the Chicago cast. Jones suggests the show could use 10 more minutes of material that gets away from the plot's singing contest conceit, and toward the emotional center of the characters. He also thinks the orchestration of the songs could be more substantial. Jones believes Six has an audience that is ready for it, in part because it gets to a complex historical paradox and treats it with verve, the memories of women in history being tied to the life of a man. Hedy Weiss of WTTW praises the musical as "sensational", singling out each performer in the Chicago cast. Weiss also thinks the show makes a convincing case for each character, and in addition to praising the writers, notes the "dynamite direction by Moss and Jamie Armitage, and powerhouse music direction by Roberta Duchak" as well as, "Gabriella Slade’s glittering costumes... and Tim Deiling’s arena-style lighting". According to Rachel Weinberg of Broadway World, "Six carries out joyful and anachronistic takedown of the patriarchy" through the performances of a "brilliant" cast and a book and score with an inventive and sensational compositional method. Jesse Green of The New York Times wrote that the musical is "pure entertainment", the writing is "wickedly smart", the "terrific singers" of the Chicago cast sell the show "unstintingly", and the production values "befit a splashy North American premiere with Broadway backing."

Awards

Original West End production

Chicago theater

Original Broadway production

The original Broadway production was in previews starting February 13, and was set to open the day New York City's stay-at-home order was announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.