SIX the Musical: How Henry VIII's Six Wives Reflect the Influences of Contemporary Pop Queens
Jan. 25, 2022
"Divorced, beheaded, died…divorced, beheaded, survived!"
These six words sum up the fates of Henry VIII's six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Reconceptualized as a sparkling and spirited girl group, each queen in Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss' SIX gets her time to shine with her own feature song, but these 16th-century women are not the only royalty present in the musical. Each wife's number is inspired by modern-day pop queens, as described by Marlow to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
"Each Queen as we imagined her has a few parallels in the modern-day pop world, and each song is influenced by a number of contemporary singers," Marlow revealed.
Here's a rundown of each queen and her pop diva influences.
Divorced: Catherine of Aragon
Married to the king for 24 years, Catherine of Aragon is remembered as the unwavering queen who fought hard to keep her marriage intact. Her character in SIX is influenced by Beyoncé, radiating hardcore feminist energy in her song "No Way." Reminiscent of Queen Bey's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and "Run the World (Girls)," "No Way" is Catherine's declaration to Henry that there's no way he's going to tell her what to do. With strong-willed lyrics like "I've put up with your sh- like every single day / But now it's time to shh, and listen when I say" and "If you think for a moment / I'd grant you annulment, just hold up, there's / N-n-n-n-n-n-no way," Catherine asserts her dominance over her unfaithful husband. The sizzling instrumentals and unfaltering beat reinforce her persistence as she proclaims to Henry (in the words of show creator Lucy Moss), "'Sit down, shut up, I’m an independent woman.'"
Beheaded: Anne Boleyn
Known as the woman who Henry abandoned the Roman Catholic Church for and ultimately got her head chopped off, Anne Boleyn reflects the vivacious styles of Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen. Her spunky song "Don't Lose Ur Head" is refreshingly effervescent and unapologetic. Fun slangs like "LOL, say oh well / Or go to hell" and "Everybody chill, it's totes God's will" join forces with quirky puns such as "soon my daddy said, 'You should try and get ahead'" and "Don't worry, don't worry, don't lose your head" (get a head and lose your head, because remember she lost hers?), spotlighting Anne's carefree and feisty attitude. Spurred on by the buzzy, buoyant instrumentation, Anne audaciously declares "Mate, just shut up / I wouldn't be such a b- / If you could get it up," making sure everyone knows that she's really "Sorry, not sorry 'bout what she said."
Died: Jane Seymour
Although she gave Henry a son and was, according to her character in SIX, the one wife "he truly loved," Jane tragically succumbed to complications from the birth, with her tearful ballad "Heart of Stone" drawing inspiration from Adele and Sia. The solemn acoustic piano and slow tempo create a mournful tone as Jane laments, "Soon I'll have to go / I'll never see him grow," ruefully memorializing the queen's unfaltering loyalty to Henry and her grievous end. However, a pillar of strength rises from these somber depths; as revealed by Moss, "The idea was about the strength of choosing to love someone and committing to someone, and that being an equally valid feminist experience."
Divorced: Anne of Cleves
Though Henry decided to break their marriage after just six months, Anne of Cleves arguably had the best life out of all six queens. She and Henry maintained a friendship, and Anne eventually came to be called the "King's Beloved Sister." The King granted her a hefty allowance along with manors and palaces, and she ended up outliving his other wives, Henry himself, and his son. As a result, Anne's number, "Get Down," is a dynamic celebration of her life, filled with hip-hop and dance elements that call to mind the music of Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. With flashy lyrics like "Fill my goblet up to the brim" and "Got gold chains" boasting of her deluxe lifestyle, "Get Down" also exhibits influences from Lorde's "Royals" and Charli XCX and Iggy Azalea's "Fancy." Anne lets everyone know that she's better than any man, especially Henry, with "I'm the queen of the castle / Get down, you dirty rascal." Get down on your knees for Anne, everybody.
Beheaded: Katherine Howard
After 18 months of marriage to the king and getting convicted for adultery, Katherine Howard met the same fate as her cousin Anne Boleyn: she lost her head. Wedding the 49-year-old Henry when she was just a teenager, Katherine embodies, as Marlow described it, "young pop stars sexualized early on in their careers," such as Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Britney Spears. Her fizzy number "All You Wanna Do" is reminiscent of bubblegum pop, with its catchy chorus, sprightly melody, and danceable beat, yet a darker message lies underneath the bubblegum wrappers. Given her relationships with older men, Marlow and Moss conceptualized Katherine as the victim of sexual abuse. Through repeated lines like "All you wanna do, baby / Is touch me, love me, can't get enough see" and "You can't wait a second more to get / My corset on the floor," the show's creators underscore how the teen was taken advantage of numerous times. Samantha Pauly, who plays the ill-fated queen on Broadway, discussed the opposing forces at play in the song.
"I also have to make it clear things aren’t what they seem," Pauly explained. "It isn’t until the end of the song that people are like, 'I've been laughing the whole time; maybe I shouldn't [be].'"
Survived: Catherine Parr
Though in love with Thomas Seymour, Catherine felt obligated to say yes when the king proposed, so she was married to him from 1543 until his death in 1547. Her feature song "I Don’t Need Your Love" is a melancholy turned empowering R&B ballad influenced by the jazzy, soulful tunes of Alicia Keys and Emeli Sandé. Aided by soft and tender instrumentals, Catherine begins with a sorrowful goodbye by wistfully crooning to her love, "You know I love you, boy…And now the hope is gone," before the beat picks up and she turns her attention to Henry. As the other five wives join in solidarity, the number morphs from a slow, solitary lamentation into an invigorating, united chant, with all six queens declaring to the king "I don't need your love" in a stirring girl power anthem. The queens reclaim control from Henry, and just in case he didn't get the message, Catherine concludes by reaffirming, "We don't need your love."
From 16th-century Tudor queens to modern pop divas, the queens of SIX have clear ties to contemporary singers. Each woman is an amalgam of her historical self and today's pop queens, merging the past and present into a cosmic celebration of female empowerment.
These six words sum up the fates of Henry VIII's six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Reconceptualized as a sparkling and spirited girl group, each queen in Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss' SIX gets her time to shine with her own feature song, but these 16th-century women are not the only royalty present in the musical. Each wife's number is inspired by modern-day pop queens, as described by Marlow to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
"Each Queen as we imagined her has a few parallels in the modern-day pop world, and each song is influenced by a number of contemporary singers," Marlow revealed.
Here's a rundown of each queen and her pop diva influences.
Divorced: Catherine of Aragon
Married to the king for 24 years, Catherine of Aragon is remembered as the unwavering queen who fought hard to keep her marriage intact. Her character in SIX is influenced by Beyoncé, radiating hardcore feminist energy in her song "No Way." Reminiscent of Queen Bey's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and "Run the World (Girls)," "No Way" is Catherine's declaration to Henry that there's no way he's going to tell her what to do. With strong-willed lyrics like "I've put up with your sh- like every single day / But now it's time to shh, and listen when I say" and "If you think for a moment / I'd grant you annulment, just hold up, there's / N-n-n-n-n-n-no way," Catherine asserts her dominance over her unfaithful husband. The sizzling instrumentals and unfaltering beat reinforce her persistence as she proclaims to Henry (in the words of show creator Lucy Moss), "'Sit down, shut up, I’m an independent woman.'"
Beheaded: Anne Boleyn
Known as the woman who Henry abandoned the Roman Catholic Church for and ultimately got her head chopped off, Anne Boleyn reflects the vivacious styles of Avril Lavigne and Lily Allen. Her spunky song "Don't Lose Ur Head" is refreshingly effervescent and unapologetic. Fun slangs like "LOL, say oh well / Or go to hell" and "Everybody chill, it's totes God's will" join forces with quirky puns such as "soon my daddy said, 'You should try and get ahead'" and "Don't worry, don't worry, don't lose your head" (get a head and lose your head, because remember she lost hers?), spotlighting Anne's carefree and feisty attitude. Spurred on by the buzzy, buoyant instrumentation, Anne audaciously declares "Mate, just shut up / I wouldn't be such a b- / If you could get it up," making sure everyone knows that she's really "Sorry, not sorry 'bout what she said."
Died: Jane Seymour
Although she gave Henry a son and was, according to her character in SIX, the one wife "he truly loved," Jane tragically succumbed to complications from the birth, with her tearful ballad "Heart of Stone" drawing inspiration from Adele and Sia. The solemn acoustic piano and slow tempo create a mournful tone as Jane laments, "Soon I'll have to go / I'll never see him grow," ruefully memorializing the queen's unfaltering loyalty to Henry and her grievous end. However, a pillar of strength rises from these somber depths; as revealed by Moss, "The idea was about the strength of choosing to love someone and committing to someone, and that being an equally valid feminist experience."
Divorced: Anne of Cleves
Though Henry decided to break their marriage after just six months, Anne of Cleves arguably had the best life out of all six queens. She and Henry maintained a friendship, and Anne eventually came to be called the "King's Beloved Sister." The King granted her a hefty allowance along with manors and palaces, and she ended up outliving his other wives, Henry himself, and his son. As a result, Anne's number, "Get Down," is a dynamic celebration of her life, filled with hip-hop and dance elements that call to mind the music of Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. With flashy lyrics like "Fill my goblet up to the brim" and "Got gold chains" boasting of her deluxe lifestyle, "Get Down" also exhibits influences from Lorde's "Royals" and Charli XCX and Iggy Azalea's "Fancy." Anne lets everyone know that she's better than any man, especially Henry, with "I'm the queen of the castle / Get down, you dirty rascal." Get down on your knees for Anne, everybody.
Beheaded: Katherine Howard
After 18 months of marriage to the king and getting convicted for adultery, Katherine Howard met the same fate as her cousin Anne Boleyn: she lost her head. Wedding the 49-year-old Henry when she was just a teenager, Katherine embodies, as Marlow described it, "young pop stars sexualized early on in their careers," such as Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Britney Spears. Her fizzy number "All You Wanna Do" is reminiscent of bubblegum pop, with its catchy chorus, sprightly melody, and danceable beat, yet a darker message lies underneath the bubblegum wrappers. Given her relationships with older men, Marlow and Moss conceptualized Katherine as the victim of sexual abuse. Through repeated lines like "All you wanna do, baby / Is touch me, love me, can't get enough see" and "You can't wait a second more to get / My corset on the floor," the show's creators underscore how the teen was taken advantage of numerous times. Samantha Pauly, who plays the ill-fated queen on Broadway, discussed the opposing forces at play in the song.
"I also have to make it clear things aren’t what they seem," Pauly explained. "It isn’t until the end of the song that people are like, 'I've been laughing the whole time; maybe I shouldn't [be].'"
Survived: Catherine Parr
Though in love with Thomas Seymour, Catherine felt obligated to say yes when the king proposed, so she was married to him from 1543 until his death in 1547. Her feature song "I Don’t Need Your Love" is a melancholy turned empowering R&B ballad influenced by the jazzy, soulful tunes of Alicia Keys and Emeli Sandé. Aided by soft and tender instrumentals, Catherine begins with a sorrowful goodbye by wistfully crooning to her love, "You know I love you, boy…And now the hope is gone," before the beat picks up and she turns her attention to Henry. As the other five wives join in solidarity, the number morphs from a slow, solitary lamentation into an invigorating, united chant, with all six queens declaring to the king "I don't need your love" in a stirring girl power anthem. The queens reclaim control from Henry, and just in case he didn't get the message, Catherine concludes by reaffirming, "We don't need your love."
From 16th-century Tudor queens to modern pop divas, the queens of SIX have clear ties to contemporary singers. Each woman is an amalgam of her historical self and today's pop queens, merging the past and present into a cosmic celebration of female empowerment.