onstagepittsburgh.com: Welcome to the Queendom of SIX, where history is her-story, Henry VIII is merely mentioned, and the women he married get their turn in the spotlight.
That’s pretty much how the concert musical that has taken the UK and USA by storm begins, with the members of Henry’s ex-wives club telling audiences to forget what they think they know and prepare for a “histo-remix.”
5 comments:
I’m so excited to see this production again in Pittsburgh. Couple months ago, I was lucky and fortunate to see this production on Broadway and it actually changed my perspective in how story can be told and how I’m capable of doing as a woman in the theater industry. While I was watching the show on the Broadway, I paid extra attention to the costume and how they are being designed to show on stage. They are definitely not traditional clothing that we would expect to see in a show that is happening around Henry the eighth’s time. However, they did show the time that they were in and showing their characteristics. In the production in Pittsburgh, I look forward to any new costume pieces, set and just if the story will be told through a different way. This is such a fascinating and amazing show that is so impactful.
I heard the classic poem of “divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived” from history classes before ever hearing the cast album and I like the premise of the musical. I’m no historian, so I don’t know how accurate it is but nevertheless the idea of telling the women’s story as opposed to viewing them as just the various King Henry VII wives. What interested me most in the article is the discussion on understudies having a hard time getting into the rigid costumes which form the actor over time being made of materials like metal and plastic. I never thought of molding materials as an element of costuming in the context of someone who only dawns it for short periods of time or infrequently. I think I assumed in professional settings that understudies had their own costumes, but the idea of a costume with potential to want to shift into its original form or be unwilling to easily mold to the actor after sitting empty is a new one for me.
I am so excited to be seeing this show this weekend. I fell in love with this show when it first came out. I live the way it is still a musical but very unconventional and has a hugely different structure from any other show. The idea of having storytelling through a rock concert is brilliant and I can’t wait until I finally get to see it in person after learning the entire story and history of both the show and the queens themselves through both the score of the show and doing research inspired by it. That is actually one of the things I love most about the show. Yes it’s a fun and exciting musical but it also follows 6 people who history often forgets. It has inspired me and so many others to find out more about these Queens and learn their history. This show has definitely helped them to not be forgotten.
I’m glad I got to read this article before I see the show at the Benedum on March 19th! If anyone else is interested in the stories of these six monarchs, I highly recommend any of the novels by Philippa Gregory. In the interview with Point Park Alum Jana Larell Glover, she describes how the actors are able to bring their own version of the character to the role. I believe the industry standard is that no matter who is playing the character, it has to be done in the same way so that each audience gets the same show. While I understand why the industry has that rule, it has always seemed a bit unfair to me that only the actor originating the role gets to decide how the character is portrayed. It makes sense to me that in a production like SIX, where there are so few parts, but each role is a large one, there has to be some individualization.
SiX is good. I caught wind of it right as it began on the West End, and have been kinda following it along ever since. I thought the changes from the British version to the American version were charming to suit the different audiences. For example, Aragon’s line, “Remember us from your GCSEs?” is changed to “Remember us from PBS?”. “Mate” is changed to “bro,” and “fit” is changed to “hot.” I find that SIX was pretty innovative within its concept and structure. There was a bit of discourse about how it didn’t belong on Broadway because it “didn’t have a plot, it’s just a concert” or “it didn’t have two acts.” But - if SIX has songs and dialogue progressing a story, even if that story takes place during a concert… is that not indisputably a musical? SIX is also worth mentioning because of its costume design alone. It is fantastic. And furthermore, I haven’t ever seen the kind of treatment of swings like this show has. Swings are popular, considered part of the main cast, and get their own personal costume to wear universally, no matter what queen they’re covering. Part of me thinks that the new recognition for swings and understudies (which is wonderful) stemmed a bit from this attitude toward SIX.
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