Six: The Musical

CRITIC’S PICK: The often-told gory story of Henry VIII, his hapless wives, and their Tudor-era hijinks is given a modern spin in a musical adaptation by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. The pair, students at Cambridge University in 2017, submitted the piece to the Edinburgh Festival “Fringe,” whereupon it enjoyed a lengthy sold-out run. London’s West End followed suit, as did Broadway in 2020. A soundtrack album released in 2018 became a hit as well. The cast in the U.S. touring production is Gerianne Pérez as Catherine of Aragon, Zan Berube as Anne Boleyn, Amina Faye as Jane Seymour, Terica Marie as Anna of Cleves, Aline Mayagoitia as Katherine Howard, and Adriana Scalice as Catherine Parr. Six “didn’t come out of a love of the Tudor period particularly,” Marlow told Smithsonian Magazine. “It came from us having an interest in the representation of women in musical theater, having women on stage doing funny and hilarious things.” Moss added, “What we were interested in doing was reframing the way that women have been perceived in history and telling their side of the story.” — Kevin C. Madigan