SIX: The Musical Presentation (2023)

The Musical

A PRESENTATION BY THOMAS NGUYEN DON

Quick overview

what is "six" ?

• Theme: The 6 wives of Henry VIII
• Genre: Pop Musical
• A theatric piece allying music, choreography and driven by singing

• Subgenre: British Comedy
• Duration: 75 minutes + Encore
• 1 act containing 9 songs

The authors

Two Cambridge University students

Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss

13/01/1994 Born in London, UK

12/10/1994 Born in Henley-on-Thames, UK

• SIX was a play written by two university students of Cambridge as they were studying for their finals in the span of 6 months, in 2017, showing that even "amateurs" can shine the brightest.
• Marlow was a huge fan of Hamilton at the time.

First performances

Original cambridge student cast, UK (2017)

Original london & album cast, uk (2018-2019)

FIRST PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION AT THE ARTS THEATRE

official premiere at the edinburgh festival fringe

A worldwide phenomenon

West End, London + UK Tour

Canadian Tour

Poland & Hungary

Broadway, NYC

North American Tour

South Korea

Australian Tour

Upcoming: Switzerland, Germany and The Netherlands

NORWEGIAN BLISs cruise PRODUCTION

NORVEGIAN BREAKAWAY cruise PRODUCTION

Breakaway Cast (2023-2024)

Bliss Cast (2023)

Trailer

Original broadway cast (2021), NYC

Plot

Henry VIII/ Henry Tudor, King of England (not an actual character)

"DIVORCED, BEHEADED, DIED. DIVORCED, BEHEADED, SURVIVED."

Catalina de Aragón/ Catherine of Aragon Marriage: 1509 Divorce: 1533

Anna von Kleve / Anne of Cleves Marriage: January 1540 Annulment: July 1540

Catherine Howard / Katherine Howard Marriage: 1540 Execution: 1542

Jane Seymour Marriage: 1536 Death: 1537

Catherine Parr Marriage: 1543 Widowhood: 1547

Anne Boleyn Marriage: 1533 Execution: 1536

Original West End Cast (2019), London

SIX is a modern retelling of the lives of Henry VIII's six wives during the 16th century, qualified as a "historemix" of "herstory". Note: Parler de Hans Holbein

Original Broadway Cast (2021) UK Tour Cast (2019-2020) Original UK Tour Cast (2018) Original Australian Tour Cast (2020)

The play

HEART OF STONE

NO WAY

DON'T LOSE UR HEAD

HAUS OF HOLBEIN

EX-WIVES

I DON'T NEED YOUR LOVE

SIX

GET DOWN

ALL YOU WANNA DO

MEGASIX (ENCORE)

All "Queenspirations":

• Beyoncé/ Shakira, Avril Lavigne/ Lily Allen, Adele/ Sia, Nicki Minaj/ Rihanna, Ariana Grande/ Britney Spears, Alicia Keys/ Emeli Sandé
• The Spice Girls

• British pop concert
• A completely female group made up of 6 singers and 4 "ladies in waiting" (the band)
• 3 group songs and 6 solos
• A competition to become leader of the band

The message

turning history into "herstory"

"We're one of a kind, no category, Too many years lost in his story. We're free to take our crowning glory, For five more minutes! We're SIX !"

• Henry VIII is known for his 6 wives, not the other way around, i.e. history differs depending by who and how its told.
• Everybody becomes leader of the band
• They reclaim their history, celebrating their own identities instead of remembering their marriage with Henry

"SIX didn’t come out of a love of the Tudor period particularly, it came from us having an interest in the representation of women in musical theater, having women on stage doing funny and hilarious things."

toby marlow

"What we were interested in doing was reframing the way that women have been perceived in history and telling their side of the story." "With all of them, there was so much of interest beyond the moment they got married or divorced."

lucy moss

Source: Smithsonian Magazine

An experimental musical

a fun way to address history

• A pop concert musical
• A "historemix"
• A mix of pop culture and Tudor fashion

For example, Catherine of Aragon's costume is gold and checkered to represent her affiliation to the Spanish monarchy and her heavy influence after 24 years of marriage.

Inclusivity

A show for all women

Brittney mack (anne of cleves)

Thảo Therese Nguyễn (Anne boleyn)

sophie isaacs (katherine howard)

CANDANCE furbert (catherine of aragon)

West End Cast (2023), London

West End Cast (2019-2020), London

Original Broadway Cast (2021), NYC

Original Norwegian Bliss Cruise Cast (2019)

Neither height, shape, nor skin color matters in casting, as the main purpose of the musical is to retell a story about women.

A feminist show

The denunciation of the wrongdoings of history

Most historians agree the so-called "adultery" was actually years of sexual abuse by many men.

Catherine/ katherine howard

Beheaded at the age of 19 for adultery

Original Australian Tour Cast (2020)

Similar musicals

hamilton (2015)

The lightning thief (2017)

les misérables (1980)

Theme:Musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel

Theme: American War of Independence (1785-1793)

Theme:Greek Mythology

Thank you

For listening