“SIX the Musical”

Highly Recommended *****Before it went to Broadway, Chicago had an opportunity to witness “Six the Musical” at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier. This stunning 85 minutes of entertainment, written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss tells us the story of the six wives of Henry the Eighth. It is sparkling with energy as this cast of six amazing women and a band composed of all females, as well take us on a different trip into history. From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, this is a musical re-mix that reveals the history of the women that were “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded and survived, all in a contest where we , the audience, is asked to decide which is the better story.

Directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, this show is energy packed an done cannot help notice, all female! The choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille is powerful as each lady does their “own thing” with the other five as “back-up performers”. Even the “ladies in waiting”, the band is composed of females and is conducted by Jo Ann Daugherty ( and if you read further into the Playbill, you will see that the music supervision for the U.A. is none other than Chicagoan Roberta Duchak.

Jane and I thought that you, my readers would also like to get an opinion from a teen-ager, so we brought two of our granddaughters to see this amazing piece of work.

Sarah is 14 and is our dancer/actress. She has been onstage many times and is far more into theater than her younger sister, Rebecca (just about to turn 12). Here are her thoughts.

“I thought that they did a good job switching from song to song, the interaction with the audience was good. Funny jokes about the wives, by the wives and some amazing music using real songs, but making them their own, each telling their story. The dancing and energy was very high keeping the audience involved from start to finish.”

Rebecca who is more a sports fan than theater found herself glued to the action, the energy and the bright lights of a special night of theater. She was truly into it and talked about it on the ride home.

I looked over several times ( we were seated in two different areas) and I could see her radiant smile each time. As for Sarah, who was next to me, I could feel her excitement watching this performance. I think that young girls should definitely attend this one.

Now, lets look at the show and the “herstory” contained within: The stories of the six wives of King Henry the Eighth are played by Khaila Wilcoxon  as Catherine of Aragon ( her “No Way” is powerful), Storm Lever as  Anne Boleyn (“Don’t Lose UR Head” is hysterical),Jasmine Forsberg as Jane Seymour  (“Heart of Stone”), Olivia Donaldson as Anna of Cleves (“Get Down is one of the hottest numbers in the show”, Didi Romero as Katherine Howard (“All You Wanna Do”) and Gabriela Carrillo as Catherine Parr (“I Don’t Need Your Love”).

Each lady does their number as if in a competition and in between they all do numbers together. The opening “Ex-Wives” is a true mood setter and gets the blood flowing for the audience, many of whom were in full anticipation of every minute. This was Opening Night at the CBIC and all the  people had been waiting for the tour to start.  For those of you who have been waiting for a reason to return to the theater, THIS IS IT!

Inn the Playbill, there is a history on each of the ladies ( pages 10 and 11) and what was interesting was that each has a Queenspiration- modern day singers like Britney Spears (Katherine Howard), Adele (Jane Seymour),Shakira (Catherine of Aragon),Rihanna (Anna of Cleves)Alicia Keyes (Catherine Parr) and Lily Allen (Anne Boleyn). I could see some of this in the solo numbers they did. As we left the theater, I asked the girls who their favorite Queen was. Rebecca said Anne Boleyn, Sarah’s was Anna of Cleves. I would have to say mine was Catherine Parr. I guess one would have to say that everyone will have a favorite, but the entire performance will be one that you will relish for some time to come. It is rare for jane to say  what she said last night as we walked to the parking garage. “I want to see this again”! was what she said, not once but several times. I agree. This one is worth seeing more than once.

I reviewed this play/concert ( it can be either and both) three years ago and loved it then. Seeing it again, just makes me love it even more. You can see this powerful production through July 3rd at the CBIC Theatre located at 30 West Monroe with performances as follows:

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2p.m.

Tickets start at $39 and are available at www.BroadwayInChicago.com (where you will also find a lottery opportunity to win the right to purchase seats at $25)

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Six the Musical”.