Six the Musical

"Six" is a British pop musical written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss while they were studying for their final exams at Cambridge University. It tells the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII, as they compete to decide who will lead the group based on how much they suffered while married to Henry.

Plot
The show begins with the six Queens introducing themselves in chronological order through a pop song. They welcome the audience to the performance ("Ex-Wives"). They then inform the audience that the concert will feature a competition between the Queens based on who had the worst experience with their common husband, Henry VIII. The winner of the competition gets to be the lead singer of the band ("Ex-Wives (Reprise)"). Catherine of Aragon is the first contestant to perform, recounting that despite how loyal she had been to him during their relationship, Henry wished to annul his marriage to Aragon and move her into a nunnery when he began lusting after Anne Boleyn, much to her anger ("No Way"). Aragon then declares herself the winner; however, the other Queens mention Anne and how Henry's desire to be with her led him to annul their marriage ("Anne Boleyn (Interlude)"). Anne ridicules Aragon about how Henry wanted to be with her instead, but she soon begins to complain about his infidelity and decides to flirt with other men to make him jealous, leading to her eventual arrest and execution ("Don't Lose Ur Head"). After her solo, Anne also proclaims herself the winner of the competition and begins to sing a second song "about the moment [she] found out Catherine of Aragon had tragically died". However, she is interrupted by the other Queens before she can even finish the first line. Jane Seymour announces that it is her turn to perform, but she is mocked for having had an easy time with Henry. She admits that while she may have been the one that Henry truly loved, she states that his love was conditional because she had produced a male heir. Despite this, Jane remained by Henry's side despite his many faults ("Heart of Stone").

The story then shifts as the Queens pretend to be members of Hans Holbein's painting studio, explaining how they make the women that he paints look beautiful for their portraits ("Haus of Holbein"). They parody a dating app by presenting a choice of three women for Henry to marry: Christina of Denmark, Amalia of Cleves, and Anna of Cleves, who is Amalia's elder sister. Henry chooses Anna of Cleves and the Queens are excited because they believe that the two will have a happy, long-lasting marriage ("Haus of Holbein (Playoff)"). However, their union is ultimately ill-fated as he decides to annul their marriage after meeting Anna in person due to her supposed non-resemblance to her portrait. Anna pretends to complain about how she is "forced" to live in a beautiful palace in Richmond as a result of the annulment and soon begins to boast about her riches and how she is able to do anything that she wishes ("Get Down"). The other Queens point out that Anna's life wasn't actually that difficult and she ultimately ends up disqualified from the competition. During Katherine Howard's turn, the Queens belittle her for being "the least relevant Catherine". She retorts by mentioning flaws in the other Queens' reasons for winning before recounting her romantic history, having had many suitors even as a child. At first, Katherine brags about her attractiveness; however, she soon realises the emotional trauma and abuse she faced in these relationships and how they led to her beheading ("All You Wanna Do").

As the Queens continue to argue about who should win the competition, Catherine Parr attempts to put a stop to it by pointing out how the contest defines them solely by their connections to Henry rather than their individual accomplishments. The Queens mock her and refuse to listen to her, so Parr begins to tell her story, beginning with a letter to the love of her life explaining that she has to leave him because Henry wishes to marry her. She then recounts the accomplishments she made independently of Henry, such as how she was a writer and an advocate for women's rights ("I Don't Need Your Love"). The other Queens, realising how long they have let themselves be defined by their marriages to Henry, stop the competition and declare that they don't need his love to feel validated as people ("I Don't Need Your Love (Remix)"). With only five minutes left in the show, they decide to use the remaining time on stage to "rewrite" their stories and sing together as a group rather than as solo artists, writing their own happily ever after ("Six").

In live performances, the Queens perform an encore number called "Megasix", serving as a mashup of all of the songs in the show (minus "Haus of Holbein"), serving as the show's bows; the audience is encouraged by the Queens to film the number in most locations.

Songs
† Not included on the Studio Cast Recording.
 * 1) Ex-Wives - The Queens
 * 2) Ex-Wives (Reprise) - The Queens †
 * 3) No Way - Catherine of Aragon
 * 4) Anne Boleyn (Interlude) †
 * 5) Don't Lose Ur Head - Anne Boleyn
 * 6) Heart of Stone - Jane Seymour
 * 7) Haus of Holbein - Company
 * 8) Haus of Holbein (Playoff) - Company †
 * 9) Get Down - Anna of Cleves
 * 10) All You Wanna Do - Katherine Howard
 * 11) I Don't Need Your Love - Catherine Parr
 * 12) I Don't Need Your Love (Remix) - Catherine Parr & the Queens ††
 * 13) Six - The Queens
 * 14) Megasix - The Queens †

†† Included as part of I Don't Need Your Love on the Studio Cast Recording.

Original Edinburgh and Cambridge Production

 * -|Original Cast =

Original Arts Theatre Production

 * -|Original Cast =

UK Tours

 * -|2018 =

West End Production

 * -|2019 =

North American Tours

 * -|2019 =

Boston

 * -|2019-2020 =

Bliss Cruise Productions

 * -|2019-20 =

Breakaway Cruise Production

 * -|2019-20 =

Australian/New Zealand Tour

 * -|2020 =

Broadway Production

 * -|Original Cast =

Trivia

 * Before deciding on the title Six, Toby and Lucy brainstormed many other possible names for the show.
 * They also considered the titles Sixth Harmony and Little Six, which are plays on popular girl groups Fifth Harmony and Little Mix.
 * While writing the show, Toby and Lucy considered adding Hans Holbein as a character, as well as including the queens' children as backing vocalists; however, they instead decided that the cast would be comprised of the queens alone.
 * There is one joke song in the musical, Wearing Yellow to a Funeral; however, it is not an actual song, as Anne is cut off by the other queens after only singing a partial line.
 * On 24 April 2020, Six released a video of every cast member of the show at the time performing the Ex-Wives/Six mashup. The Six portion of the video included 3000 fan videos as well.
 * The video concept was developed by Grace Mouat and Danielle Steers.
 * Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, all productions of the show temporarily closed in March 2020.
 * In July 2020, a drive-in tour featuring the West End and 2019-20 UK Tour casts was announced; however, the tour was canceled before it begun after several cities experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases.
 * The West End production briefly reopened in December 2020 at the Lyric Theatre, but soon closed again due to tier 3 COVID-19 restrictions in London. It once again opened in May 2021.
 * The UK Tour production reopened in June 2021 in Canterbury, though the Hull run was rescheduled to April 2022 due to several cast members testing positive for COVID-19.
 * The Broadway production inititally closed on 12 March 2020, which was previously set to be their opening night. It did not resume until 17 September 2021.
 * On 1 August 2021, Six had its first show ever in which none of the principal actresses performed; instead, all six roles were filled by alternates and swings.
 * On 9 November 2021 during the Broadway production, Six had its first ever performance in which every role was played by a person of color. The cast was comprised of Adrianna Hicks as Catherine of Aragon, Andrea Macasaet as Anne Boleyn, Keirsten Hodgens as Jane Seymour, Brittney Mack as Anna of Cleves, Samantha Pauly as Katherine Howard, and Anna Uzele as Catherine Parr.
 * Nine days later on 18 November 2021, the West End production also had its first performance in which every role was played by a person of color. The cast was comprised of Paisley Billings as Catherine of Aragon, Amanda Lindgren as Anne Boleyn, Claudia Kariuki as Jane Seymour, Dionne Ward-Anderson as Anna of Cleves, Tsemaye Bob-Egbe as Katherine Howard, and Meesha Turner as Catherine Parr.
 * The principal cast of the upcoming US Tour, which is set to commence on 29 March 2022 in Chicago, will be the first to be fully made up of people of color.
 * Throughout Six 's four-year history, only one performance has ever been cancelled for reasons unrelated to COVID-19; the 14 July 2019 evening performance of the West End production.
 * Productions are being planned for China, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship.