‘SIX’: (Left to right) Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour), Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard), Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn), Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves), & Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr). Photo: Joan Marcus.

SIX
Written by Toby Marlowe & Lucy Moss
Directed by Lucy Moss & Jamie Armitage
Choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
(877-250-2929), sixonbroadway.com

By David NouNou

Broadway has reopened with a lot of fanfare and shows announcing at the onset “we’re reopening Broadway.” Most of the reopening shows are musicals that have survived the Broadway closure of 19 months, and new shows that have opened are the proverbial canaries that are sent down the coalmine to see if it’s safe. Ironically, the show that was ready to open the night Broadway totally shut down back in March 2020 was Six. So, the only show that has the right to claim “Broadway has officially reopened” is Six. It has definitely been worth the wait.

Here is an original musical that I had the great pleasure to see in June 2019 in London with my partner. My first thought back then was that it would be a crime if this show didn’t transfer to Broadway, to which my partner replied “would it be as meaningful to American audiences as it is in Britain?” Let me give you a resounding yes. Never has English history been as entertaining as is demonstrated in Six. It does for the history of the House of Tudor and the British throne what Hamilton did for American history—it actually makes history fun. This is no easy task in 2021, a time when some know very little about world history prior to the year 2000, let alone the 1500s. Six entices younger generations, weaned on social media and memes for most of their information, to turn off their smartphones for 90 minutes, experience live theater and learn about the past. It is also pure joy for audiences of all ages—a life-affirming, colorful tonic bringing hope and light to a city and world just now coming back after nearly two years of a bleak, dark pandemic.

Written by Toby Marlowe and Lucy Moss, the premise is which of Henry VIII’s wives had the worst lot in life being married to Henry as illustrated in the brilliant opening number “Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.” This song sets the tone and the mood that is about to unfold. There is Catherine of Aragon (Adrianna Hicks), divorced; Anne Boleyn (Andrea Macasaet), beheaded; Jane Seymour (Abby Mueller),  died of complications from childbirth; Anna of Cleves (Brittney Mack), survived; Katherine Howard (Courtney Mack), beheaded; and finally, Catherine Parr (Anna Uzele); survived.

The score is an absolute delight from The Queens’ opening “Ex-Wives” to their closing number “Six.” The sound and rhythm are both so infectious and reminiscent of the 1990s “girl power” pop group The Spice Girls, but with better voices, singing and dancing. The choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille and direction by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage both constantly keep the queens on the move and the action never lags.

Not since Moulin Rouge has there been such exquisite costumes (Gabriella Slade) and brilliant lighting (Tim Deiling) on Broadway. Though not as epic, but still eye-popping and visually appealing. The Ladies in Waiting consists of an all-female band with a sound that makes it hard to sit still in your seat.

The six queens are all brilliant with their own unique individual identity, so it is difficult and unfair to single out one over the other. They all deserve equal kudos and all have rich, vibrant voices and effervescent stage presences. Toward the end of the show, the question is asked what was so great and memorable about Henry VIII? Let me end it with these Six exquisite queens. Long may they reign on Broadway.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 7, 2021
Reviewed at October 6, 2021 press performance.

‘SIX’: Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon, center) with (left to right) Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn), Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr), & Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard). Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘SIX’: (Left to right) Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard), Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour), Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr), Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn), & Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon). Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘SIX’: Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour). Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘SIX’: Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves, center) with (left to right) Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr), Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn), & Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon). Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘SIX’: Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard, center) with (left to right) Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn), Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves), & Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr). Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘SIX’: Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr, center) with (left to right) Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn), Abby Mueller (Jane Seymour), Brittney Mack (Anna of Cleves) & Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard). Photo: Joan Marcus.

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PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON: Alex Sharp is brilliant in ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.’. Photo: Joan Marcus

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
Written by Simon Stephens
Based on the novel by Mark Haddon
Directed by Marianne Elliott
Barrymore Theatre
248 W. 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.curiousonbroadway.com

 By Scott Harrah

Over the past decade, there have been very few truly great stage dramas. The History Boys, August: Osage County and now, direct from the United Kingdom, add The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to the preeminent list.

This explosive story demonstrates that great original theater— the type that overwhelms the senses and restores one’s faith in quality, live entertainment that actually says something— is definitely possible. Based on Mark Haddon’s eponymous 2003 bestseller, the story starts out with a proverbial bang and, for the most part, never lets up. Christopher Boone (the outstanding Alex Sharp) is a troubled 15-year-old in suburban England. As the play opens, we see that a big, furry dog named Wellington has been brutally murdered with a pitchfork. Christopher desperately tells the dog’s owner, Mrs. Shears (Mercedes Herrero) that he didn’t kill Wellington, but she still calls the police.

What follows is a series of disturbing events, all of which take the audience on a theatrical roller-coaster ride. Everything is shown from the perspective of this scared young lad, moving from an English garden to a train station to fast-paced London. The boy is determined to find the dog’s killer, but this proves to be no simple task because Christopher isn’t your average teen. Although it is never clarified, he has all the signs of Asberger’s syndrome or autism, for he has trouble communicating, screams if anyone touches him, but yet he is a genius at mathematics.

The Curious Incident is a rare blend of traditional and experimental theatrics and high-tech special effects, adapted by Simon Stephens, along with painstaking direction by Marianne Elliott (War Horse), and innovative scenic and costume design by Bunny Christie, lighting design by Paule Constable and video design by Finn Ross. Yes, the scenic and technical designers are as much the stars of the show as the actors because we are treated to a visual feast of everything from starry skies and geometric patterns to a pulse-churning scene on the rails of a London Underground station, using projections, eerie music and lighting on an ever-evolving set.

Gimmicky? Not really, because all the technical wizardry gels beautifully with the storyline, fleshed out by 15 actors, some playing multiple roles. Because the lead is so demanding, Taylor Trensch plays Christopher at certain performances.

Beneath the flashy phantasmagoria before us is a solid narrative, with a cast giving their all, for at its core, The Curious Incident is a story about a boy’s rocky relationship with his complicated parents. Of particular note are Ian Barford as Christopher’s caring father, Ed; Francesca Faridany as his bighearted teacher, Siobhan; and Helen Carey as the kind, elderly neighbor lady that offers him cake and orangeade and tries to be his friend.

Perhaps there’s a little bit of Christopher Boone in all of us: Facing life’s daily battles, having to be brave, uncertain of what lies ahead. It is the ingenious depiction of these very human emotions that makes The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time so heartbreakingly real, touching and exhilarating, and unlike any drama Broadway has seen (or will likely see) in many years.

AN ILLUMINATING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE: (left to right): Helen Carey, Mercedes Herrero, Alex Sharp (kneeling), Richard Hollis, David Manis & Ben Horner in ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

FLYING HIGH: (left to right) Mercedes Herrero, Alex Sharp (above), Richard Hollis & Jocelyn Bioh. Photo: Joan Marcus

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 10, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on October 9, 2014

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