CROWD-PLEASING ‘SIX’
Frothy, clever good-time show derived from terrible tale
They survived the old man with the meaty chicken legs and the messy beard. They survived 600 years of patriarchal history, of the underbelly of who-lives-who-dies-who-tells-your-story. And, believe it or not, the women of “Six” also survived the great pandemic closure of 2021.
Remarkably, the original stars of the Broadway musical were present on the stage Thursday and firing on all human cylinders, even though their show was beheaded in its prime some 19 months ago, missing its official opening, and maybe a Tony Award or two, by one day.
For those of us who were present at “Six” on that final scary Wednesday — March 11, 2020 — back when the world was a different place, heading to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre to see, or re-see, the British musical from Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss finally open felt cathartic.
Instead of running from the theater into the fresh air like a scared rat questioning its personal decision-making, this generally un-rodent like, vaccinated critic chilled out and nodded his rhythmic head for the entire proceedings.
Having fun, as this frothy, clever, goodtime show demands? One hundred percent.
All shows open in a temporal context they can’t always control. “Six,” especially at just 80 intermissionless minutes and with low costs, an existent YouTube fame, a gently progressive sensibility and a youthful target demographic, is as well-suited to this moment as any piece of live entertainment.
Some musicals move the formative bar of the art form, others have riveting story lines, a few have scores of aching beauty. This is not one of any of those musicals.
The Snapchat-friendly “Six,” which has already been a hit in London and Chicago, is a fine example of a resilient subgenre of populist musicals you might think of as really-clever-idea shows, which is to say modest attractions that work because of the strength of their concept. Here, Marlow and Moss (who share credit for book, music and lyrics) took the six wives of history’s lousiest husband and made a gamble that their various, mostly terrible fates (variously divorced, beheaded, died and survived, as you likely know) were far enough in the past that people could now find their life and times fun, especially if the women themselves were given voice and allowed to make their cases for their places in “herstory” from beyond the grave.
In essence, they took the familiar format of “Britain’s Got Talent” or “American Idol,” and built a mock-concert show around the wives both bonding as a group and competing for who had the worst time with their old man. It’s not a wildly original structure, of course, but it serves its purpose for a show that I think theater historians will see in the context of how the Broadway musical now is more willing and able to rely on immensely powerful character-identifiers, eclipsing the importance of anything they actually are doing.
Cleverly, the creators used real-life models for their Tudor divas. which gave the gifted costumer designer, Gabriella Slade, an eye-popping palette. They’re not precise matches by intention, but a rough guide is that Catherine of Aragon (Adrianna Hicks) is based on Beyoncé, Anne Boleyn (Andrea Macasaet) is Avril Lavigne, Jane Seymour (Abby Mueller) is a mix of Adele and Celine Dion, Anna of Cleves (Brittney Mack) is a mashup of Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, Katherine Howard (Samantha Pauly) is Ariana Grande, mostly, and Catherine Parr (Anna Uzele), the soulful survivor of the bunch, sings like Alicia Keys.
You’ll hear close echoes of themes in the musicals “Matilda” and “Hamilton” in the show’s signature numbers. In general, the music has a sampling gestalt that blends hip hop, K-pop, EDM, R&B and trad pop show tunes. Something for everyone is the intent, as is a very impressive determination to thoroughly distinguish these characters in a show dependent on appealing figures as its beating heart. And several of these numbers, such as “Ex-Wives, “Get Down” and the titular “Six,” stick in your head and slosh around there, quite pleasantly.
These immensely capable performers mostly have been trying to get to opening night for some two years now, and their comfort with their material and their persistent talent abides; it’s an ensemble show, and both Moss and the choreographer, Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, stage it simply as such, ensuring that you will leave more with a tableaux than a star performance.
Favorite wives and performers will differ, as was intended. I’m agnostic. But most audience members will feel this: “Six” is a practical, entertaining, well-executed, selfaware show that knows how to please its audience and delivers a soupçon of Broadway pizzazz and good humor without asking a lot or overstaying its welcome.
As such, it might well represent just the level of commitment Broadway audiences currently are willing to make.