“Six”
ATG Broadway in Detroit Series at the Fisher Theatre
Detroit
Through Sunday, Nov. 8
There are some shows where, after you see them once, you feel no need or desire to see them again.
Then there are shows like “Six,” which has cultivated a fan base that shows up for multiple performances sporting tiaras — because, you know, it’s a tight, 90-minute, banger-packed feminist reclamation of Tudor history. Who among us couldn’t use more of that in their lives?
To wit: “Six” focuses on Henry VIII’s six wives, who are gathered on stage to share their stories and, ostensibly, to compete for who had it the worst in their time. But this is no stuffy period piece. Tony Award-winning costume designer Gabriella Slade has the actresses decked out in glittery, sexy, hyper-feminine armor and boots (and shiny, spiky crowns), working in patterns that visually suggest Tudor homes (and even maybe a portcullis?). Plus, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s Tony Award-winning score is nothing short of electrifying. So… to put it simply, these queens are more akin to Beyoncé than Elizabeth.
Catherine of Aragon (Christina Jones) kicks this so-called “histo-remix” off with the Latin-flavored rock anthem “No Way,” which tells how she arrived from Spain as a teen to marry Henry’s brother Arthur, who died. She then married Henry, only to be dumped after 24 years for young Anne Boleyn (Brittany Smithson) — a move that led England to break from the Catholic Church so Henry could get his divorce.
Next, Boleyn’s flirty, puckish song, “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” tells of her arrival from France and her seduction of Henry; but her extramarital flirtations enraged Henry and resulted in her famous beheading. Then Jane Seymour (Melina Savannah Cruz), who claims to be the only wife Henry truly loved (“Rude!” the others intone), delivers the show’s first ballad, “Heart of Stone,” which details how she gave birth to a son and heir, but then died soon thereafter.
From this moment of grief, the show’s energy shifts back into high gear with “Haus of Holbein,” a ravey, electronica-inspired number (with blue light-friendly props) that explains how the titular painter rendered portraits of beautiful women around Europe, which Henry used as a proto-Tinder to choose his next wife, German-born Anna of Cleves (the fabulously sassy Shelby Griswold). In “Get Down,” Anna explains that Henry felt tricked because she “didn’t look like her profile picture,” so she happily, defiantly lives in luxury before he annuls the marriage to marry Katherine Howard (Thabitha Moruthane), who explains, in the upbeat but heartbreaking “All You Want to Do,” that her life as a prized sexual object began at age 13. When she eventually cheats on Henry, she’s beheaded, leaving Catherine Parr (Nina Ann Nelson) — despite her deep love for another man — with no choice but to marry her king. She tries to talk herself into this life of denial with “I Don’t Need Your Love,” but as a coda, she confesses that she’s troubled that the only reason these six women are known to history, in the shallowest of ways, is because of their link to a famous man. So in the closing number, “Six,” the women each imagine idealized, empowering versions of the lives they didn’t get to lead, claiming the narrative for themselves, even if just for a few minutes.
This unique, energizing marvel of a show is a physical and vocal workout for its performers, who stay on stage nearly the entire run time, executing Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s sharp, pop-star choreography, backed by a kick-ass, all-female band (cheekily billed as The Ladies in Waiting). But it’s also, hands-down, the most fun, rollicking, and irresistible way to learn about history I’ve ever experienced.
Now you’ll excuse me while I grab a tiara for myself.
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