Imagine merging the energy and fun of the Spice Girls and Brittany Spears with the humor and ridiculousness of Tina Fey’s Girls5eva and you might be able to picture the super-fun new musical Six, now playing at the San Diego Civic Theatre.
The show, with a book and lyrics by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, who also co-directs alongside Jamie Armitage, tells the story of the six wives of Henry VIII set in the style of a concert. As the show starts, the wives: Catherine of Aragon (Khaila Wilcoxon), Anne Boleyn (Storm Lever), Jane Seymour (Natalie Paris), Anna of Cleves (Olivia Donalson), Katherine Howard (Courtney Mack) and Catherine Parr (Kelsee Kimmel) – introduce themselves as a girl group called, The Six. They’re competing amongst themselves to see who had the worst experience (and death!) with ole’ Henry. Each Queen then takes center stage and tells their story of life with the King that feature plenty of catchy songs and kick-butt choreography, courtesy of Carrie-Anne Ingrouille.
The lyrics are hilarious at times and each style of musical number, which ranges from pop to rock and light rap, fits perfectly from Queen to Queen.
Usually, I try to spotlight some of my favorite performances in a show, but it’s impossible in this one because each actress is knock-it-out-of-the-park fantastic. Their voices, presence and humor are spot on, each one of them working perfectly together. I’m not sure how long they’ve been on tour, but the chemistry they have together is such a joy to watch.
The audience loved every second of the show and one of the (many) reasons is because it empowers these women. Henry VII had no regard for them and their lives, but they take that almost as a badge of honor. They turn it around and empower themselves and make the King the loser in this, making themselves the heroes in their own stories. And you could feel that coming from the cast, feel that camaraderie, from the stage filter into the audience.
SIX is currently playing at the San Diego Civic Theatre. For more info and tickets: Broadway San Diego
