Diane and I travelled into Buffalo to Shea’s Performing Arts Center to watch Six: The Musical. We had seen Six on Broadway a couple years ago (you can read my review of that production here) and Diane wanted to see it again.
This musical retelling of the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII with pop music fired up the Sold-Out crowd. Catherine of Aragon, the first and longest-lasting of King Henry’s wives, takes on the musical style of Beyonce and Shakira. The last wife, Catherine Parr, performs her songs in the style of Alicia Keyes. Jane Seymour, who claims she’s the wife Henry “truly loved,” does a great Adele impression with “Heart of Stone.” Anna of Cleves, the German wife who Henry married because he fell in love with Han Holbein’s portrait of her, does a great mix of Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. You get the idea.
We enjoyed Six: The Musical as much the second time around as we did the first. If this touring company shows up in your neighborhood, don’t miss it! GRADE: A
Musical numbers:
- “Ex-Wives” – Company
- “Ex-Wives (Reprise)” – Company †
- “No Way” – Catherine of Aragon and Company
- “Don’t Lose Ur Head” – Anne Boleyn and Company
- “Heart of Stone” – Jane Seymour and Company
- “Haus of Holbein” – Company
- “Get Down” – Anna of Cleves and Company
- “All You Wanna Do” – Katherine Howard and Company
- “I Don’t Need Your Love” – Catherine Parr
- “I Don’t Need Your Love (Remix)” – Catherine Parr and Company ††
- “Six” – Company
- “The Megasix (Encore)” – Company †
Since I don’t like Beyonce, Shakira Rihanna, Nikij Minaj, etc I doubt I wouid like this. Even the poses of the singers in the picture looks like an episode of The Voice or America’s Got Talent.
Steve, you’re exactly right. SIX is designed to appeal to the audience that tunes into THE VOICE and AMERICA’S GOT TALENT by emulating pop stars like Beyonce, Shakira, Rihanna, and Miki Minaj. As I mentioned, our performance was Sold-Out. Normally musicals perform for a week at Shea’s, but SIX is booked for TWO weeks.
I’m with Steve. You couldn’t pay me to sit through this.
Michael, that fact that the actresses and the rock band are all females explains why most of the audience for SIX are women and girls.
I am seeing it next month. Although I have to admit that I will not know whose musical style they are imitating. Unless we go back to Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand.
Patti, you’re going to enjoy SIX with all its energy! Plus, you’ll learn a lot about Henry VIII’s wives that you didn’t know.
What Steve said, exactly. No interest in any of those singers, so NO interest in this show. That said, I’m glad you two enjoyed it.
Jeff, I really didn’t know the whole story of Henry VIII’s wives. SIX explains their fates with the rubric: Divorced, Beheaded, Died…Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. Plus, this is a High Energy musical!
Well, it gives you the story in a relatively short time frame. The Rick Wakeman album is shorter, but being purely instrumental doesn’t really supply many facts. I just watched the old 1970 six-hour BBC/Masterpiece Theatre version a few years ago, which did a good job with the story. I have a low tolerance for court intrigue — I can take it for a while but get tired of it easily. Otherwise I’d have read Alison Weir’s books by now. She has a one-volume non-fiction history and a six-volume novel series to choose from.
Jeff, SIX mainly hits the highlights of each of Henry VIII’s wives. The music is the attraction for most of the audience.
Oh boy, high energy pop! Gag me with a spoon!
Bob, high energy pop seems to sell. SIX has already had some sold-out performances in its first week here and there’s still another week to go. The young women sitting around us were excited by the music and the dancing!