Royals who rock
The wives of King Henry VIII recast their stories and history in the Broadway musical ‘Six,’ playing this week in Norfolk
King Henry VIII divorced a Spanish princess; annulled his marriage to the daughter of a German baron; mourned his queen who died 12 days after she birthed a son; and had three other wives decapitated.
The fantastic stories of the six wives have often been told from the perspective of others.
But the wives are reclaiming them in the hit Broadway show “Six: The Musical,” which opens Tuesday at Chrysler Hall. Henry’s medieval queens are pop divas who remix classic interpretations of Tudor England.
Henry VIII ruled England between 1509 and 1547, a particularly fractious period for European politics. Religious reformers were critical of the Catholic Church, Protestantism was on the rise and France and the Holy Roman Empire were wrestling for control of the continent. Meanwhile, Henry was obsessing over having a male heir to continue the royal line. His obsession created a rotation of queens whose drama has been portrayed in several modern movies and TV shows.
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss began writing “Six” as students at Cambridge University in 2017, and the show became a hit. It is still playing in London’s West End and on Broadway. The musical won a 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score.
“Whether you’ve watched ‘The Tudors’ or ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ or read anything in the history books, you really got a perspective from the male historian gaze,” said Gerianne Pérez, who plays Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife. “But we’re reframing it … saying, here is what my life was really like with Henry.”
The musical begins as a reality show competition with each queen making a case for who suffered the most. Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Spanish monarchs, had been married to an older brother of Henry’s who had died. Catherine was then betrothed to Henry.
“I really think,” Pérez joked in a phone interview, “the fact that I had the longest amount of time with him should indicate that I had it the worst.”
They had six children, including two boys, but all but one daughter were stillborn or died as infants. After about 18 years together, Henry began petitioning for the pope to annul his marriage because of religious reasons stemming from her marriage to his brother.
“My whole song is very much like poking holes in his argument for why he has a legitimate claim to divorce.”
At one point, Catherine delivers a witty rap that explains her husband’s argument. During the interview, she gave a taste of how the rap goes:
“So you read a Bible verse, that I’m cursed, because I was your brother’s wife? You say it’s a pity, because quoting Leviticus, I’ll end up kiddie-less, all my life.”
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8138, colin. warrenhicks@virginiamedia. com
IF YOU GO
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday. 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday Where: Chrysler Hall,
215 St. Paul’s Blvd., Norfolk Tickets: Start at $40 Details: sevenvenues.com