Listen up and let me tell you a story!

Recently, I had the privilege of going to see the Broadway sensation SIX in the Brooks Atkinson theater. 

And let me just say that it was certainly a “histo-remix” if I say so myself…

“SIX”: The Musical is based on the infamous six wives of King Henry VIII during the 1500’s in England. As is explained at the beginning of the show, the wives were “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced beheaded, survived.” 

This type of humor permeates the show and makes history feel not only alive but also retold in a more modern, feminist way. While the story of the six wives is quite dark and evidently tragic, the humor intertwined with the stories in the show keep the laughs coming. 

Some of the comedic highlights include Jane Seymour introducing herself as “Jane Seymour the only one he TRULY loved,” while the other queens simultaneously respond with “Rude” and Anne Boleyn screaming, “Oh, my god, you guys seriously, he wants to chop my head off…” then proceeds to say softly, “I mean, I guess he just really liked my head…” in the song “Don’t Lose Your Head.”  The idea of mixing tragedy and comedy is not new.

As you can probably see this in other musicals like “Hamilton”. But in “SIX”: The Musical, mixing tragedy and comedy not only keeps the audience hooked but also truly involves them with the show.

But it isn’t just the humor that makes “SIX” a winner. The costumes and the overall design of the show stand out. The entire show feels like a concert, from the moment the curtains open to the moment the curtains fall. Each queen is given her own color and style. From Catherine of Aragon’s gold attire, to Anne Boleyn’s green outfit to Katherine Howard’s hot pink two piece, all costumes are simultaneously elegant but also kitsch — reminiscent of the outfits many female pop singers had during the Spice Girl-era. 

NO BUT my favorite part of the show was the music! The queen’s channel many pop musical influences. Jane Seymour sings a ballad that’s very similar to an Adele ballad. Katherine Howard channels an Ariana Grande pop number. Anna of Cleves has the R&B stylings of a Rihanna song. Each queen’s voice is also distinctive, and even though the show is only a quick 90 minutes, the music and voices completely make the experience worthwhile.

Samantha Pauly, who plays Katherine Howard, was definitely the stand out for me in the performance. While the other five queens had incredible songs, acting, and voices, Pauly’s Howard was equal parts emotional and funny.

“All You Wanna Do” starts off as a song that celebrates Howard’s sex appeal to the men she’s met in her life at an age as early as 13. But as the song continues we come to the devastating realization that her body was the only thing men really saw her for.

What makes this performance so powerful is the way that the audience realizes what men really viewed her for at the same time Katherine Howard does. Pauly shows excitement and superiority to the other queens at the beginning, but by the end she is emotionally exhausted and broken. Pauly’s range proves that she is a force to be reckoned with onstage, as it definitely takes a great actress to showcase such emotional turmoil, and I look forward to seeing her in other shows in the future. 

All in all, from the humor to the costumes, design to the voices SIX definitely gives everything you could want in a Broadway musical.

It is definitely one of a kind!