Last Updated on September 27, 2023, 7:40 PM | Published: September 27, 2023
Six: The Musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss kicks off its national tour stop with a bang in Oklahoma City. Running now through October 1 at the Civic Center Music Hall, the cast of Six tours the country and performs like the hottest girl group around.
But they’re not just pop stars. Six tells the story of 16th-century English monarch and supervillain Henry VIII’s doomed six wives, and it’s all true. The tell-all feels more like a pop/rock concert than a musical, and the audience is loving every second of the 90-minute event.
Six swept the nation and Broadway in the pre-pandemic years, winning accolades and hearts with its unique style of storytelling. The six performers on stage each represent a real-life Queen of Tudor England, and they are also modeled after modern-day performers, creating a mashup of history and pop culture that’s refreshing and educational.
Inside the Civic Center Music Hall, patrons stop at the newly renovated (and beautiful!) bar for pre-show drinks then rush in as the show starts. Six doesn’t have an intermission, but you won’t miss it. It’s fast-paced, bright, in-your-face, and simply exciting. Yes, musical theatre can be exciting, but not since the likes of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Spring Awakening has a show on the stage been this rock ‘n roll.
Six swept the nation and Broadway in the pre-pandemic years, winning accolades and hearts with its unique style of storytelling.
The Broadway Queens portraying the Tudor Queens are Gerianne Perez as Catherine of Aragon, Zan Berube as Anne Boleyn, Amina Faye as Jane Seymour, Terica Merie as Anna of Cleves, Aline Mayagoitia as Katherine Howard, and Kelsee Kimmell as Catherine Parr. Familiar pop personas like Beyonce, Lily Allen, Adele, Ariana Grande, and Alicia Keys serve as inspiration for the characters.
Costumes are part spaceship and part dress, but all fun and they spare not a single inch of breathing room. Special effects include strobes and digital light boards, and oh yeah, the music is really loud. Six is family-friendly but parents should bring hearing protection for the smallest of patrons.
Each performer gets her own solo number throughout the night, as the beleaguered ex-wives of one of history’s most tyrannical men finally get the chance to tell their own story. Together with the absolutely rocking all-female band, the dazzling women on stage pull at heartstrings as they bring the house down.
The performers have stand-out moments as they take turns singing and playing up the tale. Engaging the audience in a friendly competition, the wives set out to determine who had it the worst from their time being married to the infamous king. Nearly everyone remembers Anne Boleyn, of course, but Henry also executed another of his wives. Two others died, two he divorced, and one “lucky” queen managed to outlive him.
Shocking true story
The humanity behind the shocking true story shines through in this show. Yes, it’s fun to watch, but the real people who suffered through tyranny deserve to have their story told. There’s much more to “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived”; whole lives were lost at the whim of a man who is now remembered only for his cruelty.
This is the true appeal of Six. It’s gratifying to watch, sparkly and relevant, energetic, and fun. But it also gives voice to those who have been silenced by history and lost to time. The performers in this show are honoring history’s forgotten voices. Those voices are too often women, and Six is making space for these hidden figures to tell their own version of what happened to them. Finally, the world is ready to listen.
Tickets to Six are on sale now. The run is short, and it will likely sell out. Don’t miss it. Visit okcbroadway.com.
Please give a warm welcome on social media to Adrienne Proctor, our newest addition to our already impressive line-up of arts writers! More to come ….
Adrienne Proctor is a theater and arts writer in Oklahoma City. She's been contributing to the arts reporting space since 2017.
