“Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived! These are the opening lyrics of Six, an award winning pop concert-like musical written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss about the six wives of Henry VIII, which was showing in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theater February 21 to April 9. Six is a must-see!” – Zara Quiter, sixth grade
Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived! These are the opening lyrics of Six, an award-winning pop concert-like musical written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss about Henry VIII's six wives. Starring Khaila Wilcoxon as Catherine of Aragon, Storm Lever as Anne Boleyn, Jasmine Forsberg as Jane Seymour, Olivia Donaldson as Anna of Cleves, Didi Romero as Katherine Howard, and Gabriela Carillo as Catherine Parr, Six played in the San Francisco Orpheum Theater from February 21 to April 9, 2023.
These six queens are reincarnated into a modern day pop girl band, fighting for who should be the lead singer. To decide who would win this competition, they each sing a song, encouraging the audience to make up their minds, or vote, for who suffered the most. This fantastic, concert-like musical is a favorite of the Bay Area, and OSA!
The musical is around 85 minutes long, consisting of nine main* musical numbers.
For some background, Henry VIII, King of England from 1509 to 1547 was the father of Queen Mary I (whose mother was Catherine of Aragon), Queen Elizabeth I (whose mother was Anne Boylen), and King Edward VI (whose mother was Jane Seymour), among other children who did not live past childhood.
His famous and infamous six wives all began with Catherine of Aragon, who the king divorced because of his desire to marry another, and was followed by Anne Boylen who was beheaded, charged with adultery. Then came Jane Seymour, who was famous for being the only one Henry VIII truly loved, but unfortunately she died after giving birth to her son, Edward VI. Next up was Anna Of Cleves who came to England but was quickly divorced by Henry VIII because of her looks. Henry’s fifth wife was Katherine Howard, a young, stunning woman who Henry VIII quickly married after Cleves, but was charged with adultery and beheaded. Finally, there was Katherine Parr, who was separated from her love and married to Henry VIII, and when she outlived Henry in 1547 she quickly married Thomas Seymour.
The costumes, music, and vibe of this show make it stand out. Going back and forth from song to short scenes of dialogue, these six women and their band, The Ladies in Waiting, power the performance, keeping the audience enthralled from start to finish. With the high energy music and hilarious scenes, and remixes in between, no one can turn away from the stage.
Reeghan Walsh, an eighth grader, saw the show on Feb. 25. “I really liked how high energy the show was. I've seen a lot of musicals, and they have all been great, but this one got my adrenaline pumping. The way the actresses interacted with the audience, and the energy and excitement they brought to the stage definitely paid off,” Walsh said. “While I do feel bad for all of them for having to be married to Henry VIII, I would most likely have voted for Anne Boleyn. She had a daughter, and yet she still wasn't enough for him. Then when he started cheating on her and she did the same, he got angry and had her beheaded. He abused his power over all of them, but Anne Boleyn reiterated over and over again how getting beheaded sucked, and the more I think about it, the worse it seems to get.”
It makes sense that Anne Boleyn was angry with Henry VIII for him obviously courting Jane Seymour, and it’s reasonable that she would express her anger by flirting with other people. But does that justify her head being cut off?
“[My favorite queen was] Katherine Howard. First of all because of her costume. Also her song is my favorite,” Alex Stullman, a seventh grader said. Stullman would have voted for Katherine Howard, and said, “Getting raped at thirteen, and then again, repeatedly over her life, being emotionally manipulated and then being in an abusive marriage and being raped by his friend and then getting killed for it is horrible.”
Stullman brings up a good point. Many would agree that Katherine Howard suffered the most, before her marriage with Henry as well as during her marriage. Plus, she was beheaded.
“I really liked the music, but I also really enjoyed some of the dialogue scenes,” Hayley Schoeneman, a sixth grader, said. “Particularly Katherine Howard’s scene before her song because the dialogue was really funny.” Schoeneman added, “I would have voted for Katherine Howard or Anne Boylen because they were both beheaded. When you compare that to the other things, those don’t stand a chance. But Katherine’s life before being beheaded sounded harder than Anne’s.”
It is true that Anne Boylen’s life and Katherine Howard’s life were different from each other before meeting Henry VIII. Anne, as expressed in her song, “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” “Grew up in the French Court'' and had a comfortable life until her father suggested that she try to marry Henry. And it took much longer for her to finally marry him, because she had to get rid of Catherine of Aragon, and figure out how she could make it legal to marry him. Her song briefly skims over the fact that England had to break from the church for Henry and Anne to marry because “the pope said nope.''
Katherine Howard was born in England and was abused by many, even at the young age of 13, and her good looks were the death of her. When Henry finally married her, he was an old man and very ugly; his looks did not satisfy Katherine’s desires and therefore, she had an affair with another man at court, which led to her execution.
Another fan of the show, seventh grader Zanthe Jones-Gerachis said, “I didn’t expect Anna of Cleves’ wardrobe change. Also the dance routine for Katherine Howard I thought was really cool!” When asked who she would vote for, she said, “I have to say the last one Katherine Parr… every dude she was married to died, and then she was in love but she couldn’t be. And Katherine Howard who was jumping from person to person, and then being beheaded kind of sucks, so probably Katherine Howard.”
Of Katherine Parr’s many husbands, it’s true that she had married two men before Henry VIII. Before becoming queen, she had her eyes set on someone she actually loved, Thomas Seymour. After two political marriages, why couldn’t she be with her love? When Henry decided Katherine would be his sixth (and final) wife, she was very angry, but couldn’t say no. After Henry died, in under a year she married Seymour, and the court shunned her for it. She died from childbirth aged 36.
“All of the actresses were insanely talented, and the show portrayed a really incredible message of female empowerment,” said eighth grader Cecilia Tiles. “The songs are catchy (live and on the soundtrack), the outfits are amazing, and they truly keep the audience captivated the entire show.” Tiles went on to add, “It seems that King Henry brought all six of his wives sadness in some way. [Something that will stick with me is] the importance of not pitting women against one another, and how important it is to try not to compare one another.”
Although Six has already left the Bay Area, if you have a chance to see this phenomenal and empowering musical, you should! As Walsh said, “These were real women, who all married the same guy, and all suffered. The banter they all had on stage helped me to humanize them and remember that history is real. While this show was fun and amazing, Six was based on true events; all the characters in it are real women who actually went through what they're singing about.”
*Ex Wives, Ex Wives (reprise), “But there’s only one you need to hear from tonight…”, No Way, The One You’ve Been Waiting For, Don’t Lose Ur Head, Heart Of Stone, “Now, seeing as Henry was running out of women to marry in England…”, Haus Of Holbein, “So, I guess you already know what happened next…”, Get Down, All You Wanna Do, I Don’t Need Your Love, I Don’t Need Your Love (remix), SIX, The MegaSIX, and the Playout. You can listen to this on the live versions of Six on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as other music apps.
These six queens are reincarnated into a modern day pop girl band, fighting for who should be the lead singer. To decide who would win this competition, they each sing a song, encouraging the audience to make up their minds, or vote, for who suffered the most. This fantastic, concert-like musical is a favorite of the Bay Area, and OSA!
The musical is around 85 minutes long, consisting of nine main* musical numbers.
For some background, Henry VIII, King of England from 1509 to 1547 was the father of Queen Mary I (whose mother was Catherine of Aragon), Queen Elizabeth I (whose mother was Anne Boylen), and King Edward VI (whose mother was Jane Seymour), among other children who did not live past childhood.
His famous and infamous six wives all began with Catherine of Aragon, who the king divorced because of his desire to marry another, and was followed by Anne Boylen who was beheaded, charged with adultery. Then came Jane Seymour, who was famous for being the only one Henry VIII truly loved, but unfortunately she died after giving birth to her son, Edward VI. Next up was Anna Of Cleves who came to England but was quickly divorced by Henry VIII because of her looks. Henry’s fifth wife was Katherine Howard, a young, stunning woman who Henry VIII quickly married after Cleves, but was charged with adultery and beheaded. Finally, there was Katherine Parr, who was separated from her love and married to Henry VIII, and when she outlived Henry in 1547 she quickly married Thomas Seymour.
The costumes, music, and vibe of this show make it stand out. Going back and forth from song to short scenes of dialogue, these six women and their band, The Ladies in Waiting, power the performance, keeping the audience enthralled from start to finish. With the high energy music and hilarious scenes, and remixes in between, no one can turn away from the stage.
Reeghan Walsh, an eighth grader, saw the show on Feb. 25. “I really liked how high energy the show was. I've seen a lot of musicals, and they have all been great, but this one got my adrenaline pumping. The way the actresses interacted with the audience, and the energy and excitement they brought to the stage definitely paid off,” Walsh said. “While I do feel bad for all of them for having to be married to Henry VIII, I would most likely have voted for Anne Boleyn. She had a daughter, and yet she still wasn't enough for him. Then when he started cheating on her and she did the same, he got angry and had her beheaded. He abused his power over all of them, but Anne Boleyn reiterated over and over again how getting beheaded sucked, and the more I think about it, the worse it seems to get.”
It makes sense that Anne Boleyn was angry with Henry VIII for him obviously courting Jane Seymour, and it’s reasonable that she would express her anger by flirting with other people. But does that justify her head being cut off?
“[My favorite queen was] Katherine Howard. First of all because of her costume. Also her song is my favorite,” Alex Stullman, a seventh grader said. Stullman would have voted for Katherine Howard, and said, “Getting raped at thirteen, and then again, repeatedly over her life, being emotionally manipulated and then being in an abusive marriage and being raped by his friend and then getting killed for it is horrible.”
Stullman brings up a good point. Many would agree that Katherine Howard suffered the most, before her marriage with Henry as well as during her marriage. Plus, she was beheaded.
“I really liked the music, but I also really enjoyed some of the dialogue scenes,” Hayley Schoeneman, a sixth grader, said. “Particularly Katherine Howard’s scene before her song because the dialogue was really funny.” Schoeneman added, “I would have voted for Katherine Howard or Anne Boylen because they were both beheaded. When you compare that to the other things, those don’t stand a chance. But Katherine’s life before being beheaded sounded harder than Anne’s.”
It is true that Anne Boylen’s life and Katherine Howard’s life were different from each other before meeting Henry VIII. Anne, as expressed in her song, “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” “Grew up in the French Court'' and had a comfortable life until her father suggested that she try to marry Henry. And it took much longer for her to finally marry him, because she had to get rid of Catherine of Aragon, and figure out how she could make it legal to marry him. Her song briefly skims over the fact that England had to break from the church for Henry and Anne to marry because “the pope said nope.''
Katherine Howard was born in England and was abused by many, even at the young age of 13, and her good looks were the death of her. When Henry finally married her, he was an old man and very ugly; his looks did not satisfy Katherine’s desires and therefore, she had an affair with another man at court, which led to her execution.
Another fan of the show, seventh grader Zanthe Jones-Gerachis said, “I didn’t expect Anna of Cleves’ wardrobe change. Also the dance routine for Katherine Howard I thought was really cool!” When asked who she would vote for, she said, “I have to say the last one Katherine Parr… every dude she was married to died, and then she was in love but she couldn’t be. And Katherine Howard who was jumping from person to person, and then being beheaded kind of sucks, so probably Katherine Howard.”
Of Katherine Parr’s many husbands, it’s true that she had married two men before Henry VIII. Before becoming queen, she had her eyes set on someone she actually loved, Thomas Seymour. After two political marriages, why couldn’t she be with her love? When Henry decided Katherine would be his sixth (and final) wife, she was very angry, but couldn’t say no. After Henry died, in under a year she married Seymour, and the court shunned her for it. She died from childbirth aged 36.
“All of the actresses were insanely talented, and the show portrayed a really incredible message of female empowerment,” said eighth grader Cecilia Tiles. “The songs are catchy (live and on the soundtrack), the outfits are amazing, and they truly keep the audience captivated the entire show.” Tiles went on to add, “It seems that King Henry brought all six of his wives sadness in some way. [Something that will stick with me is] the importance of not pitting women against one another, and how important it is to try not to compare one another.”
Although Six has already left the Bay Area, if you have a chance to see this phenomenal and empowering musical, you should! As Walsh said, “These were real women, who all married the same guy, and all suffered. The banter they all had on stage helped me to humanize them and remember that history is real. While this show was fun and amazing, Six was based on true events; all the characters in it are real women who actually went through what they're singing about.”
*Ex Wives, Ex Wives (reprise), “But there’s only one you need to hear from tonight…”, No Way, The One You’ve Been Waiting For, Don’t Lose Ur Head, Heart Of Stone, “Now, seeing as Henry was running out of women to marry in England…”, Haus Of Holbein, “So, I guess you already know what happened next…”, Get Down, All You Wanna Do, I Don’t Need Your Love, I Don’t Need Your Love (remix), SIX, The MegaSIX, and the Playout. You can listen to this on the live versions of Six on Spotify and Apple Music, as well as other music apps.
