“Hamilton” opened the door for more musical history lessons. Now “Six” is taking full advantage.
Staged like a rock concert, it presents the six wives of Henry VIII as divas who want to know who had it the worst. In something of a sing-off, they tell their stories in song and dance like Destiny’s Child, never missing a moment to make like Beyonce.
Created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, it grabs with a “Chicago”-like opening number, then lets the queens sass and sashay their ways into the hearts of theatergoers. Thanks to stadium-like lighting and a sound system that would make Adele drool, “Six” pulls you into the story of those who were “divorced, beheaded, died; divorced beheaded, survived.” There’s more than a little contemporary spin on the circumstances, but this is hardly a “Masterpiece” entry on PBS.
So much, in fact, has been massaged into place, you’ll marvel at how slick Moss and co-director Jamie Armitage manage to make the show. This is timed and toned to within an inch of its life and yet there’s still an opportunity to play with the audience. Under these conditions, “Six” likely could run forever.Abby Mueller gets the big power ballad; Adrianna Hicks sets the show’s tone and Joy Woods has the duty to pull it all together.
While “Six” won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it should please the TikTok crowd’s sense of pace. It never lights too long on a subject and reaches a conclusion that, oddly, isn’t far off from ones other musicals have offered.