‘Six’ The Musical Delights at the Winspear
Rather than be remembered as “one word in a stupid rhyme,” the ex-wives of King Henry VIII in the opening song of the hit Broadway musical Six sing, “history’s about to get overthrown.”
If you haven’t seen Six yet, it’s probably safe to say you don’t remember the Tudor-era monarch’s six wives – Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr – as told in a high-energy concert complete with a band in the style of modern pop princesses like Beyonce, Ariana Grande, and Lily Allen.
The show’s presented both as a concert and contest, with the characters explaining to the audience that they’re fighting to determine which wife’s song is best and who had it the worst while married to the king.
Here’s what to know before you go:
- Written by two Cambridge University students Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss in 2017 and first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, the show went on to win the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2022.
- Like Lin Manuel Miranda’s smash hit Hamilton, which used rap to tell the stories of America’s founding fathers, Six uses contemporary pop music to tell the stories of the wives in a “histo-remix.” Each wife’s song is inspired by a different contemporary pop icon. Catherine of Aragon’s song was influenced by Queen Bey, while Anne Boleyn’s “Don’t Lose Ur Head” evokes the spunky style of Lily Allen, Jane Seymour’s ballad, the vocals of performers like Adele, Rihanna (Anna of Cleves), Ariana Grande and Britney Spears (Katherine Howard), and the R&B stylings of Alicia Keys (Catherine Parr).
- Six runs until Dec. 25 at the Winspear Opera House. For more information and to buy tickets, visit Broadway Dallas’ website.
