SIX: THE musical

Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and directed by Jamie Armitage and Lucy Moss, the Tony Award-winning musical, SIX, puts an engaging and modern spin on the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII. The queens spend the concert-style show holding a contest to decide which of them should be the lead singer of their band based on who endured the most suffering because of Henry VIII with the audiences ultimately being the judges. During the course of the show, the humorous script, high-energy performances, and catchy lyrics of SIX: The Musical allows the Tudor Queens to reclaim their stories and enforce modern messages.

Throughout the show, ideas of identity and empowerment are engrained in the plot and writing of the musical. A heavy emphasis is placed on empowering people to tell their own story and change the way they are perceived. This is most apparent in the portrayals of Anne Boleyn's "Don't Lose Ur Head" and Katherine Howard's "All You Wanna Do", but the idea isn't explicitly stated until nearly the end of the show by Catherine Parr in "I Don't Need Your Love." The effort put into the writing by Marlow and Moss to transform women previously perceived as conniving, manipulative characters into relatable, naive, emotional humans paid off immensely as audiences' perceptions of the six queens became increasingly positive and people who seemed to be evil villains in the past turned into likable and even admirable protagonists.

The book and music of Six: The Musical also draws people in, with high-energy dance numbers and emotional ballads and everything in between. The pop-style music is very catchy, and the lyrics are quite clever, many having double meanings with inspiration from incredible female stars like Beyonce, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj. Furthermore, the emotional journey the show takes audiences on is very balanced, starting off very upbeat and energetic with quite a bit of sass to a more somber, melancholy, and even tragic mood for the second third of the show while still leaving audiences with a satisfied and empowered, upbeat feeling at the end.

Six: The Musical is now approaching its fourth year running on Broadway, and the cast and creative team created a very interactive atmosphere for an enjoyable night. The musical, although perhaps a little short with an 80 minute run time and no intermission, makes for a fantastic experience and you're sure to clap your hands for the histo-remix.