As soon as Broadway tickets went on sale for the first time since the pandemic, I jumped on the chance to see "Six" on Broadway. Six was in previews back in March 2020 and was about to open when Broadway shut down. Six is a rock musical about the six wives of Henry VIII competing to see who has the biggest sob story and deserves the most sympathy from the audience. The wives have modernized their tales of woe to include social media.
Wikipedia had a quick synopses of the thoughts behind the characters:
- Catherine of Aragon is modeled off a mixture of Lemonade-era Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and Jennifer Hudson.[4][5][6] Her solo "No Way" incorporates components of real-life Catherine's Blackfriars speech.[6]
- Anne Boleyn features elements of Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, and Lily Allen.[6][5] In full-fledged productions, the actor portraying Boleyn typically wears space buns, which signals character roots in Miley Cyrus.[6] Boleyn also sports green to pay homage to "Greensleeves", referring to the myth that states that Henry VIII composed the song for Anne.[6] Marlow and Moss weave in the "Greensleeves" musical motif throughout the score.[7]
- Jane Seymour emulates pop balladeers such as Adele, Sia, Rihanna, and Celine Dion.[5] Seymour's costume design consists of a black and white corset design which alludes to half-timbered houses.[6]
- Anna of Cleves radiates Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé's "Feeling Myself", Lorde's "Royals", and Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX's "Fancy".[5]
- Katherine Howard's story is recontextualised through her depiction which parallels young, sexualised pop stars like Britney Spears and Ariana Grande.[5] Katherine's costume design also features a choker, serving as a representation of her being beheaded.[6]
- Catherine Parr's characterisation draws inspiration from Alicia Keys and Emeli Sandé.[5]
My initial reaction to the show was: "Wow! That was fun!" I thanked Ashley for the suggestion, turned to Don to ask what he thought and he said, "It wasn't my favorite." Fair enough, but as the women are taking their curtain calls, the reaction should be a big giant grin, after all we just sat through a high-energy show in a packed theater.
As we walked to the PATH station, we talked it through and dissected our opinions. I loved it because it is a fun way to talk about history (like Hamilton in that way). It is high energy; and historic for having an all woman cast and band (the four-woman band calls themselves "Ladies in Waiting.") It breaks the fourth wall with the Queens talking to the audience (rock concert style), which Don did not like. He particularly hated when the last Queen (Catherine Parr) said (paraphrasing here) "I don't want to compete, we should all be getting along with each other," something he said she does every night so it must get old.
Six does no follow the traditional musical theater pattern (no "want" song in the third slot). Overall, though, still a lot of fun! It is only 80 minutes long and no intermission. I enjoyed it and started listening to the soundtrack again (which is in British English because it is the London cast).
In late August we saw "Pass Over," one of the first shows to open on Broadway. The Covid rules felt better managed this time around. Staff checked our IDs and proof of vaccination while we waited in line. One minor problem was while I remembered to make sure Ashley had her vaccination card, I forgot to remind her to bring ID. She linked her picture to her school ID online and they accepted it -- possibly helped that we all have the same last night. As they checked our status, they gave us a handstamp so all the ticket taker had to do was scan our electronic ticket (are ticket stubs a thing of the past?).
The theater was packed! The energy was high! People are craving live entertainment. Ashley enjoyed the lighting. No moving sets. Lots of choreography. No costume changes. No ensemble -- just the six Queens and four Ladies in Waiting (band).
No stage dooring. People did gather tightly around the stage door, but autographs
were not signed, just a loud cheer and a wave as they left to go home. Playbill had a QR code we could scan for a virtual signed Playbill. Speaking of Playbill, this one had 2 1/2 times the number of pages as the one for Pass Over had the night we went.
The real treat, though, was spending time with Ashley.
PS: We bought these tickets before we knew were going to have an exchange student. Yoran stayed with my parents and had cousin time.
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