“Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.” “SIX,” the pop musical tale of some of history’s most misunderstood women, has only grown in popularity since its Broadway debut in early 2020.
The story of “SIX” is inspired by the real wives of King Henry VIII, a Tudor monarch from the early 1500s. What has cemented these women as pillars of Tudor history is, get ready for it, there were six of them. And if we remember the old saying, “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived,” many of Henry’s wives met tragic ends. The musical aims to rectify this aspect of history by giving the queens a chance to tell their stories through a singing competition.
The show opens with the various queens performing the musical number “Ex-Wives.” Here we are introduced to Henry VIII’s six wives, who are now a part of a pop band. Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, is followed up by Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr.
Divorced: Catherine of Aragon begins the competition with the song “No Way,” where she informs the audience that she is unwilling to let Henry replace her after her inability to produce a male heir. After 24 years of marriage, Henry VIII decided to seek an annulment in the hopes of ending his marriage to Katherine so he could marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn. “No Way” sheds light on the tenacity of Katherine and her inability to back down, even to the King of England.
Beheaded: The next wife on the chopping block (get it) is Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded after having been found guilty of adultery. Anne’s song “Don’t Lose Ur Head,” covers her life with Henry all the way up to her execution at the hands of a French swordsman in the Tower of London. Lyrics such as “I’m sorry, not sorry ’bout what I said. Don’t lose your head,” showcase Anne’s flippancy towards the precariousness of her situation. That is until she says, “Oh my God guys seriously he actually wants to chop my head off!”
Died: Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII, explains how her life was not as great as some may have thought, even though she is considered by many to be the only wife out of six who Henry VIII ever truly loved (“Heart of Stone”). Jane’s song is much slower as she laments a life that she did not get to spend with her son, who would become the boy king Edward VI, due to having died mere weeks after giving birth to him. This is evident by the line “But I hope my son will know, he’ll never be alone.”
Divorced: The fourth wife of Henry VIII is Anna of Cleves, a German princess, who Henry famously divorced a mere six months after their marriage because he said she was far uglier than her portrait had made her out to be. A hilarious moment in the musical occurs when the search for a new queen is depicted as if it is happening through a dating app. Anna then boasts about getting to live the rest of her life without someone else telling her how to live it (“Get Down”).
Beheaded: Katherine Howard is Henry VIII’s youngest wife at just 17 years old (to his 49), who was beheaded after standing trial for adultery. Katherine has arguably the most gut-wrenching song as she recounts her life of being controlled by the much older men around her (“All You Wanna Do”). Many audiences are stunned into silence upon the end of Katherine’s song, especially when she sings the lines “I thought this time was different. Why did I think he’d be different? But it’s never, ever different!”
Survived: The final queen to sing is Katherine Parr. Katherine Parr is the last of Henry wives and explains how she was essentially forced into marrying him, as she could not say no to the king, and had to give up the love of her life, Thomas Seymour (“I Don’t Need Your Love”). Katherine soon realizes that she, along with her fellow queens, are much more than just the six wives of Henry VIII. The musical ends with the showstopper, “Six,” where all the queens get to rewrite their stories and get their happy endings.
Whether you love history (like I do) or not, you should definitely see “SIX” if you ever get the chance!
