5 reasons to see six on Broadway

On February 13, 2020, SES: The musical was supposed to open on Broadway. Instead, the same evening, the show has on a [then] Indeterminate hiatus, along with the whole of the main stem, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At that point, though Six There was a successful run in the West End, there was no guarantee that this pop music about the six women of Henry VIII would survive the 18-month closure. After all, it was a show with a completely original book and score, from an unknown team of writers, with no stars in the cast. The marketing of a show like it would have been a challenge for any Broadway show, less one to close just as it found the foot. But this story has a happy ending.

Not just done Six reopened after the closing in 2021, reopened it for an extremely receptive audience and Positive reviews. The show has since become one of Broadway’s most consistent hits, which still played to almost full houses in the Lena Horne Theater. It also runs in the West End. What is it about Six It caught the audiences on both sides of the Atlantic? Here are five reasons why we think at Playbill that you should see the show.

1. That catchy pop score

Six was written by the British team of Toby Marlow and Lucy Mosswho wrote the show back when they were at university for their friends to act. Since they were in the early 20s, their score has a pop sensitivity, with each character on stage that Sonies is modeled to another pop diva (from Beyoncé to Adele to Ariana Grande). In short, it is not the score that you think of when you think of a history music, which makes it a surprise of when the first chord strikes. Just like in Hamiltonusing rap and hip-hop to tell the story of a real revolutionary, Six Use modern pop music to immediately make historical figures related to the audience of today.

But that sonic anachronism may not work as well as the Six The score was not so catchy. If you write pop songs, a hook that can leave audiences is not just welcomed, it is a life or death requirement. And the score of Marlow and Moss has a lot of poignant hooks, from the vampy “no way” to the swoel “all you want to do,” to the heart -sensitive “heart of stone”. If you like pop music you will leave Six Want to listen to the cast album again immediately. And many people have – the role distribution has received more than one billion streams.

2. Forget history this is hair story

Most Americans know the general core of the story of Henry VIII and his six wives; He had six of them and beheaded two, one of whom was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I. But unless you are a history head, you probably don’t know much anymore. After all, the historical record is notorious for males. Well, prepare you to be trained at Sixwhile every woman of Henry VIII is going forward to tell her story – and to show the audience that she is more than “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.” One woman, Catherine Parr, even wrote books and advocated for women education. It is clear that all six women in history did not live in history, so that Marlow and Moss created an ingenious frame device. Because the show has a pop score, it is structured like a pop concert, where the six women are a girl group who each take turns telling their story and leading a killer solo. This means that every woman gets the chance to make a memorable impression on the audience, while we teach us about decades of British history within 80 minutes. For any student of history, this show is Catnip.

3.. The choir

Because every woman in Six is modeled to another pop song, impressive choir is a must. And the singing in Six Do not disappoint non-there are vocal runs, key changes and complicated harmonies (and a burning guitar solo solo courtesy of the woman’s female group). The first time that all six women harmonize together, let it rise the hair in the back of your neck; It’s so good. If you are the kind of musical theater fan coming to shows for impressive live singing, YouthIx More than liver.

But what also makes Six Feel so fresh, even after four years on Broadway, the Girl Group feels like a coherent unit in the middle of it. This is because each year a new crop women come to the show at the same time – which is usually chosen for their chemistry and how well their voices merge, while they also stand out individually. It encourages repeated visits so that fans can see a new group of queens that put their own flair and group dynamics to the material. Sure, Six May only have one set and have very limited costume changes – but the spectacle at this musical are all vocal pirot techniques.

4.. Inclusive, and impressive, casting

By this time you probably got the feeling that Six Is not here for complete historical accuracy – there is no heavy gown or medieval English here. Anachronism also extends to the cast. Take a page of Hamiltonwhich tells the story of America’s past using the citizens of today’s America, the Queens in Six are usually played by actors of different ethnicities and generations (they threw non-binary actors in the show-Marlow once stepped in as one of the queens for some performances). Because the show requires artists with a powerful choir and unmistakable presence of the stage, it is normal for former Six Queens to adopt other memorable roles after leaving the show. Samantha Pauly (The original Broadway Katherine Howard) is now in The big gatsby, Joy Woods (a Catherine Parr -replacement) is now in Gypsyand Jasmine Forsberg (a Jane Seymour replacement) will be seen next in Stephen Sondheim’s old friends. So if you’ve seen Sixwatch the actors in it, because you want to follow their careers.

Plus: The variety of people who are expanded makes the themes of female empowerment and ownership of self even more powerful for today’s audience. Around the world, the voices of women and trans/non-binary people are still marginalized. And, if Six It makes clear, an important way to fight back is to use your voice and scream hard/sing. This is a message that someone can relate to, especially …..

5. His teen fanbase

As Evil it came for it, Six entered the Musical Theater Canon by the power of teenage girls. If you are to a Six Execution, you will see that the audience tends to skew younger and more feminine. This is usually because adult women tend to see the show and then take the girls in their lives with them, proof of how the show proudly wears its female empowerment theme on its intoxicated sleeves. But these are not just the messages. The show is clearly modern in the way it speaks to audiences, and speaks to the generation of today in a language they understand and relate to, instead of talking to them. This is a big goal for any Broadway show, and Six Pass with flying colors. If you like theater and want to know what the younger generations are obsessed with now go over to Six.

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Photos: New queens of six take their 1st Broadway Bow