At the beginning of The Six, Henry VIII's six painted wives promise that "history will change soon" and that they might get a break in the process.
Oh, and make this your story too!
Running through June 11 at Detroit's Fisher Theater, the Tony Award-winning production deftly synthesizes, elaborates, and places the legends of the 16th-century Kings in a modern, post-#meto... context that fits like a ring on a finger. Lots of laughs, funny or not. Created and brought to life by the British, six (natch) is not traditional music, but a pop concert and history lesson with the Spice Girls or your favorite KPop group as your tutor. It's certainly bigger (and probably more memorable) than learning everything from Wikipedia.
"Six" is energy in abundance. Running just under 80 minutes and in just one act, the show plays from start to finish ("MegaSix" as an encore no less) and never stops. Six is both a "group" and a show, and the queens seem to be competing to see who has had the worst experience with Henry and should therefore be the leader of the group until the last woman, Catherine Parr, be "saved". (yes, it includes a touch of Destiny's Child) tells the truth and real background. It unites them in a brotherhood that takes their collective power.
The message is heartfelt and relevant to our times, but humbly presented and by writers Toby Marlowe and Lucy Moss, it never feels pretentious or preachy.
