Starting this Thursday, the six wives of King Henry the VIII are coming to Chesapeake High School – and they each have quite the story to tell. The twist, however, is that they won’t just be telling their stories – they’ll be singing them.
From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the six wives of Henry VIII will take the mic to remix five-hundred years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st-century girl power. This new, original musical is the global sensation that everyone is “losing their heads” over.
With performances beginning this Thursday, February 12, the full-length adaptation of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ international phenomenon SIX will be modified for performance by teen actors especially for family audiences. This high-energy musical is approximately 80 minutes long with no intermission.
“Instead of focusing on the typical history book presentation of their lives, the show imagines what it would be like for Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr to discuss their stories through song in the present day. It starts as a competition between the six, playing to the audience as they tell their tales, but ends up as a reminder that even in the face of adversity, they are stronger together. They find sisterhood, friendship, and deliver (mostly) upbeat, pop-inspired songs along the way,” said Susan Murphy, Chesapeake Theatre Department’s publicity spokeswoman.
“This is a new endeavor for CHS Theatre Company for several reasons: the show has only six cast members, all of whom are women. In another first, the show is double cast, so two teams of six wives will take the stage throughout the eight-show run. This is also something different for us because the show is a concert-style musical, so the “fourth wall” doesn’t really exist and there is frequent interaction between the cast and the audience,” she said.
In Chesapeake’s production of SIX, there are 12 student cast members, 25 student crew members, and two students who are playing as part of the four piece live band that sits on stage with the Queens. Show times are 7:00pm on February 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22, and 2:00pm on February 15 & 22. SIX The Musical Teen Edition is presented in one act so there is no intermission. Tickets are available at the door, or can be purchased ahead of time at https://cur8.com/16924/project/129026.
