Starring Najah Hetsberger, Gianna Yanelli, Kelsie Watts, Krystal Hernandez, Kay Sibal, and Taylor Marie Daniel as the six queens, Six features dazzling costumes, brilliant choreography and astounding vocals from all of the talented actresses who commanded the stage. The show also contains an important message about comparison and giving a voice and story to women who are usually remembered as the wives of someone else.
The lighting, the instrumentals, everything made the performance feel like a pop concert on steroids. The guitarist, drummer, and keyboard player weren’t in the orchestra pit but on stage behind the queens, making the production truly feel like a concert.
Each queen getting her own solo song was an amazing way to showcase their individuality. Two of the queens, Kay Sibal and Kelsie Watts, were contestants on The Voice–and it shows. The vocals, especially the powerful harmonies, encapsulated the audience from start to finish.
The “queenspiration” was another aspect of the show that made it all the more special. Each queen was given a few female music artists in the Playbill on whom their character’s musicality was based. Jane Seymour’s, for example, was Adele and Sia, while Anna of Cleves was inspired by Nicki Minaj and Rihanna.
The duration of the show was also unique but appreciated. At only 80 minutes long with no intermission, Six is relatively short for a Broadway. But it felt like just enough time to appreciate the queens, give them each their moment in the spotlight, and wrap up the show without any fatigue from the audience.
The plot was simple in theory: each queen wanted to be the leader of their band, and so they each took turns singing to convince the audience that they had suffered the most hardship as a wife of Henry VIII. With all the complex shows on Broadway, sometimes it’s nice to see one that, on the surface, seems straightforward (spoiler alert: it isn’t–but by the time you realize that, you’re already having a great time).
Six continues to play at the Lena Horne theater, sharing the stories of six women who refuse to be remembered only as wives of Henry VIII, but as individuals in their own right with their own voices and stories.