Review: SIX: THE MUSICAL at Jacksonville Center For The Performing Arts

“Welcome to the show to the history remix.” Six: The Musical is unlike anything I have ever seen. The unique rock musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, reveals the lives of King Henry VIII’s six ex-wives is captivating from the minute the curtain drops to the final bows. The show opens with The Queens introducing themselves, but not with their names. In fact, they introduce themselves with the ends of their stories. “Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.” As the show progresses, the audience learns how each Queen met King Henry VIII, what parts of their relationship were like, and how the relationship ended. After the first number the queens decide it is a competition to see who has the most traumatic of circumstances. Due to the uniqueness of this show, I have the unique opportunity to review every character on stage and praise the band that gets to support them.

Queen number 1, Catherine of Aragon (Gerianne Pérez). Pérez presents Catherine of Aragon’s story in “No Way.” Pérez was a stunning opener. She presents her story in a powerful, upbeat song that reveals why the King left her… (spoiler: it’s not great). Not only does Pérez introduce the audience to Catharine of Aragon but gives the audience a better picture of how King Henry VIII was as a husband. This sets up the next Queens to paint very similar pictures of the infamous King (minus one, but we will get there).

Queen number 2, Anne Boleyn (Zan Berube). Berube does not let the audience forget how she met her end. The audience is introduced to the story in her number “Don’t Lose Ur Head.” History knows Anne Boleyn as one of the wives who was beheaded, Berube reminds the audience there was more to the story than this. She was executed and forced to leave a daughter behind that was essentially forgotten about by the King because he was only interested in a son as an heir to the throne. Throughout the “competition”, Berube presents Boleyn as having the “trophy” for most trauma due to her execution which keeps the audience laughing the entire show.

Queen number 3, Jane Seymour (Amina Faye), “the only one he truly loved.” Faye presented a powerful ballad, “Heart of Stone”, on Seymour’s relationship to King Henry VIII. Faye’s voice is truly astounding. I would be lying if I said there were not a few tears in my own eyes. Not only does the audience observe a stoic woman who truly tried to love an unlovable man, but a mother who is heartbroken she never had the opportunity to watch her son grow. Like Berube uses Boleyn’s beheading as a “trophy” to the “competition”, Faye uses Seymour’s son losing his mother as the “trophy” to the “competition.”

Queen number 4, Anna of Cleves (Terica Marie). Marie absolutely brought it for “Get Down.” King Henry VIII may have wanted to reject her after seeing her in person, but Marie proves you do not need a man’s approval to live a fulfilling life. Marie walks the audience through all the opportunities she had and the great life she lived because the King despised how she looked. And she does not keep this a secret. She clearly knows she is out of this “competition” and even states “yeah, it was pretty good.” Marie also had the only costume change in the show and the audience went absolutely bananas.

Queen number 5, Katherine Howard (Aline Mayagoitia). Mayagoitia present Katherine Howard’s story in an almost upbeat way in “All You Wanna Do.” As the song progresses, the audience can quickly see the parallels between history and current times. Mayagoitia envelops every girl who has ever said “But he is different.” The emotion she conveys when she realizes even the King will not be different is tangible to the audience as they were stunned almost into silence. Mayagoitia and Berube obviously must confront one another of who’s time with the King was more horrendous as they both found the same end in their relationships with him.

Last, but not least, Queen 6, Catherine Parr (Adriana Scalice). Scalice acts as the voice of the reason. She brings the Queens together to remember none of this should be a competition. They each were forced to go through horrendous encounters with King Henry VIII. Scalice shares Catherine Parr’s story of choosing a loveless marriage as a means to survive in “I Don’t Need Your Love”. “I’ve got no choice / With the King I stay alive / Never had a choice / Been a wife before, just to survive. / I don’t have a choice.” Scalice has the unique opportunity to unite the Queens that came before her to re-write their stories.

The last song in the musical gives each of the Queens the opportunity to re-write their stories in history. They each present what they wish their lives could have turned into. It gives the audience the opportunity to evaluate the pain and suffering each of the ex-wives had to face to survive in the era, and some of them still met tragic fates. While without King Henry VIII their names would be forgotten, their stories can be re-visited, especially after audiences attend this unique storytelling (just look at what happened to Alexander Hamilton because of Hamilton!).

I would be remiss to not mention the fantastic band on stage that were shouted out by the Queens. The Music Director/Keyboard, Jane Cardona. Sterlyn Termine on the bass. Rose Laguana on the guitars. As well as Kami Lujan on the drums. A band on the stage during the musical always presents something unique to the show, and these ladies were no different.

Audiences in Jacksonville went wild for Six: The Musical. It is unlike many musicals you will attend and is entertaining during every second. Six: The Musical will be in Jacksonville now through April 7th.