HISstory is about to get overthrown! You may think you know their stories…
Divorced… Beheaded… Died… Divorced… Beheaded… Survived…
But you’re getting HERstory tonight (and every night through May 14th 2023) as Six the Broadway smash-sensation musical lands at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre! They are so much more than just six wives… of Henry VIII. They are a company of true triple-threat talent that will have you jumping to your feet, throwing your hands in the air, and screaming your heart out in support of all they have to give! Six by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss, is the stunning musical sensation that will blow your mind this 2022/2023 season— but don’t lose your head, because it’s just too good to miss! Directed by Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage with Choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, these Queens have come to SLAY! And slay they do as they drop beats, rewrite history, and give you everything they’ve got— which is royalty like no other and then some.
Every Queen needs a palace and Scenic Designer Emma Bailey delivers tenfold on the set for Six. Working closely with Lighting Designer Tim Deiling, who is in a category all his own when it comes to incendiary genius, Bailey serves up a set that’s fit for a queen while simultaneously having that pop-modern-edgy-minimalist feel. It’s basically the perfect set. Staged almost like a grandiose cross between an apse and an exedra, Bailey’s set hints to the time of the Tudors while still feeling pop-modern. Adorned by Deiling’s insane lighting fixtures, which race up and down the curved walls, the whole set becomes a seventh character in this production, as the show gives perpetual rock-pop-concert vibes. Deiling has flash spots, hot colors for each of the Queens, cooler moments for the lone subdued number in the middle of the piece, and his pièce de résistance? The UV-Blackout-Rave lighting to accompany “Haus of Holbein.” Conquering set and lights like emperors of their trade, Bailey and Deiling are true masters of balance and beauty when it comes to the scenic structure and lighting configuration which take this show from amazing to perfection.
Speaking of perfection, you’ll be hard-pressed to find more awe-inspiring costumes anywhere else on the National Touring circuit right now (except maybe out on the west coast, where the Aragon Tour of this same show is currently showing.) Costume Designer Gabriella Slade is fierce. Hands down. There is sequins and glitz for miles, with vivacious pops of color in each of these almost futuristic takes on Tudor style. You get Aragon in gilded gold, Boleyn in vixen-green, Seymour in shining black and white, Cleves in smoldering red, Howard in dazzling pinkish-purple-magenta, and Parr in blazing blue. There’s glitter in the fishnet stockings, rhinestones on the boots— some of which are ankles with huge heels, others go up to knee-high— and everything is sparkling for miles. There aren’t enough words to describe the incredible and astonishing sartorial selection that Slade has fabricated for these six Queens. Even the on-stage band has jumpsuits covered in glowing sparkles and stones. It’s out of this world impressive.
Impressive is another one of those words that doesn’t begin to do justice to the dance routines conceived by Choreographer Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. There’s a lot of motion happening on that stage. Every routine fits flawlessly to the beat and rhythm of the music and some of those moves are downright eye-popping (not to mention pelvis and hip popping!) “House of Holbein” features some serious rave-EDM house moves while “Sorry Not Sorry” has the cutest almost doll-like choreography. And there’s everything in-between featured all throughout this 90-minute, no-intermission, high-octane, non-stop show. Ingrouille understands that with all the flash needs to come substance and she puts rhythmic moves into these numbers, particularly “Queen of the Castle”, giving the Anna of Cleves character a chance to showcase all of her insane low-drop dance skills.
Divorced… Catherine of Aragon (Gerianne Pérez) is the first to catch the audiences’ eye. Sassy, classy, and loaded with vocal prowess, Pérez sets the tone and the mood for the evening with the first ‘solo’ sort of number of the evening, “No Way.” (Most of the numbers are done featuring a particular Queen with the other Queens doing both backing vocals and dance moves with a rare exception for both Jane Seymour’s “Heart of Stone” and Catherine Parr’s “I Don’t Need Your Love.”) You get this boss-b*tch vibe roaring out of Pérez in “No Way” as she drops beats, and flexes between true singing and rap-patter-verbiage. Confidence for miles when she struts and when she sings, you can feel the flames of ferocity bursting off of her in waves.
Beheaded…Anne Boleyn (Zan Berube) is off the charts when it comes to crazy talented. Berube is channeling a ferocious hybrid of Glinda from Wicked, Baby Spice of ‘The Spice Girls’ and some sort of wild chimera-beast that is Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift all rolled into one. Berube is an indescribable bouncing inferno of comedy, talent, and some serious facial expressions and body language that will have you in stitches throughout the entire performance. It’s like Glinda on glitterdust-steroids with powerhouse pop-blast vocals, spunky-chirpy personality coming at you hard and fast, and did I mention, she has the cutest Barbie-esque body-moves that roll her through “Don’t Lose Ur Head.” With a vocal affectation that really adds to the comedy of her character, Berube is wild and unhinged and you will love her! She’s a knockout in all the arenas— singing, dancing, comedy, personality— she’s magnificent.
Died… Jane Seymour (Amina Faye) is the odd-duck in the bunch. Presented early on with quirky, giddy, almost nerdy qualities to her character portrayal, Faye comes into the “Queen Contest” from a different angle. Worry not, because Faye is serving up ferocious vocals, on-point dance moves, and just as much flare and intensity as the other five queens, even if character of Jane Seymour is the ‘less tragic’ of the sextet. When she powerhouse barrels her way through “Heart of Stone”, you get the sense that this number could be a torch song from a three-hour Broadway epic. Her vocals are unstoppable and she earns herself thunderous applause and an ovation at the end of this number. Faye’s song is the first ‘slowdown’ in the performance; the lighting cools with her, the stage stands in perfect stillness and she stands front and center, powerhouse belting her face off to deliver the emotional tenacity of what its like being the one true love of Henry VIII.
Divorced…Anna of Cleves (Terica Marie) will make your head spin so hard it might just fall off. But don’t lose your head over this insanely talented performance that Marie is throwing down. Because she is the queen of the castle, as she outline for you during “Get Down.” Prior to this big showcase solo feature, the audience gets blasted into what is almost sensory overload during “Haus of Holbein” (featuring an EDM-House-Rave vibe, moves, and UV-blacklight craziness happening with all six of the queens.) So coming off of that flashy spectacle, Marie is not just on fire but a raging full-force inferno of beautiful power and powerful beauty as she lays down “Get Down.” And that number gets slain, lays down sung, and Marie is doing a thunder-strut dance all over its grave. Not to mention that rip-reveal in her costuming has the audience going nuts. Marie is so on fire in this number it’s a wonder the fire alarms aren’t ringing their heads off throughout the theatre.
Beheaded…Katherine Howard (Aline Mayagoitia) is another knockdown, drag-out sensation when it comes to slaying in the House of Henry VIII. I feel like we’re repeating the same adjectives here but fierce doesn’t begin to cover it and sassy is hardly holding a candle to what Mayagoitia is bringing to the table, particularly in her big number “All You Wanna Do.” She’s got vocals that burn like a conflagration that’s cause for alarm, she’s got dancing-struts that showcase her legs-for-miles movements, and she’s got an attitude that will not quit. Versatility and depth are also in Mayagoitia’s wheelhouse as this particular number, “All You Wanna Do” turns hella dark in a hurry at the song’s conclusion and she churns it out with just as much intensity, though in a very different vein, as when she starts the number.
Survived… Catherine Parr (Sydney Parra) is…sort of like Jane Seymour in the sense that she’s a little different. Parra’s character is the one that slams the production to a screeching halt because it’s going off the rails into questionable territory. She draws attention to the fact that they shouldn’t be competing for who had it worse, for what’s more tragic trauma or abuse, and yet she still comes out triumphant, vocally astonishing us with her raw, beautiful sound during “I Don’t Need Your Love”, regardless of how lyrically dissonant the first rendition of this song is. She’s singing a beautiful song, but the words are truly tragic, and the emotional intent behind it is devastating, a facet which Parra captures divinely. Holding her own with the other five queens, you can watch her dance with vigor, and sing backup harmonies with flawless blends all throughout the production, leading up to that moment where she breaks out and sends the show spiraling in a brand new direction.
As a sextet, Pérez, Berube, Faye, Marie, Mayagoitia, and Parra are unstoppable. From the moment they flash into existence under those intense blink-spotlights right through their carousel of narrative expression in “Ex-Wives”, you find yourself completely ensorcelled by their dominatrix magic. You’re hanging on their every word and their every move. It’s no wonder this show sells out everywhere it goes. These super-six are nothing short of sensational and truly astonishing. And when they bring the show to it wild conclusion with “I Don’t Need Your Love (Remix)”, “Six”, and “The Megasix”, you’ll be dazzled beyond compare.
You might just lose your head if you don’t find a way to get tickets to see Six for its limited engagement at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre. It’s an absolute stunner and not to be missed this spring!
Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission
Six plays through May 14th 2023 at The Hippodrome Theatre in The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center- 12 North Eutaw Street Baltimore, MD 21201. For tickets call (410) 837-7400 or purchase them online.
