the mommy avenger

It takes a lot to impress me with a Broadway show. Many times if a show gets a lot of buzz and I go to see it, I can leave a little disappointed. Maybe too much overhype? I don’t know. All I know is there are a couple that are high on the list of others as their favorite shows that I can barely tolerate. SIX has gotten a lot of buzz and for a little while I ignored it, then I decided to give the soundtrack a listen. I don’t normally do this because I think you need to see the show to give the music some context. I was shocked that I was able to listen to the full soundtrack and absolutely love it without first seeing the show. I was instantly hooked and immediately many of the songs went into my playlist. I’ve never done that before!

But, there is a reason for this. SIX is written to be like a pop concert, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the music is super catchy and makes you want to listen to it over and over again. When back in New York this week, I knew the number one show I had to see was SIX*.

I haven’t felt this excited to see a show in a long time! For those unfamiliar with the premise of the show, all six of the wives of Henry VIII come together on stage to tell their version of the stories that the world has only heard from the perspective of Henry VIII.

We get a quick history lesson about each queen as she takes her turn on stage to sing us a melody inspired by the stylings of modern day musicians. Catherine of Aragon (Beyonce/Shakira), Anne Boleyn (Lily Allen/Avril Lavigne), Jane Seymour (Adele/Sia), Anna of Cleves (Nicki Minaj/Rhianna), Katherine Howard (Ariana Grande/Britney Spears), and Catherine Parr (Alicia Keys/Emeli Sande). Each rendition creates a thought-provoking viewpoint not before presented to us in history books. I applaud the writers of the music for taking a time period in history I thought very little about in high school and making me totally invested in now. You will be, too, because these are fantastic songs that you will want to listen to over and over again. The live performances far surpassed my expectations and I was blown away at how immensely entertaining this show was. The voices were absolutely amazing and some of the best I have heard on Broadway.

This is a very unorthodox Broadway musical. Rather than being your standard 2.5 hour performance with an intermission, it is a supercharged electric concert that will have you thoroughly entertained for 80 continuous minutes without a break. You won’t want it to stop, either, as it is just so good! While I love each and every song, some standouts for me were definitely “Heart of Stone,” “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” and “All You Wanna Do.” The “Haus of Holbein” is also extremely entertaining.

While I did know that the presentation of this show was in a concert format, I was surprised that there were so many empowering, uplifting messages that each and every one of the audience members took away from the night. I can’t rave about this show enough. It is one that surpasses the hype it got and one I want to go back to see again and again. It has secured a spot in my top 5 Broadway shows, which is hard to do! To learn more about SIX on Broadway and to book your own tickets, visit SIXonBroadway.com. SIX is playing at the Lena Horne Theatre 256 W 47th Street in New York City.

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over!

SIX is the winner of 23 awards, including the 2022 Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.

The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic’s Pick) and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for!”

The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 Million streams in its first month.

WRITTEN BY TOBY MARLOW & LUCY MOSS

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are my own*}