SIX The Musical. Photo: James D Morgan
SIX the musical is 80 minutes of high-energy, girl power pop songs and a rewriting of 500 years of history. Or herstory rather.
The show title refers to the six wives of Henry the VIII, who come together to battle it out in a singing competition; spilling secrets about their shared ex-husband to decide which Queen takes the lead.
It first debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, West End in 2019 and Broadway in 2020.
Co-creator, composer and lyricist, Lucy Moss became the youngest female ever to direct a Broadway show when Six was taken to New York.
Moss told Culture 101 it all began with a manifesto.
"We had a six point plan which I think is the first kind of document in our Google drive... it was basically outlining the ambitions of the show and its quite funny cause they are quite grandiose even though I don't think we meant them beyond our friendship group.
"Sort of stuff like we wanted to show that six women and non-binary people can be funny on stage without men present, you know, stuff like that, and we wanted to show the parallel between the historical queens and today and we wanted to do it in a way that was actually relatable."
Moss said she wasn't always interested in Henry the VIII, but his six wives were a group of historical prominent women that came to mind.
"It's something that you can write a musical about and not have to pay anyone to do it.
"Keep the costs down and not be sued by anyone," Moss laughed.
She said the team then picked a major moment in each of the queens lives to "make the point of the parallels with today".
"For example Catherine of Aragon... she did this big speech at Blackfriars where she basically said sit down, shut up Henry. So we were like what are the pop references, what songs and artists fit in that - Beyonce, Shakira, Jlo - those kind of like girl boss female empowerment."
When it came to casting the characters, it was all about the individuals essence and group chemistry, she said.
"It's sort of an energy thing."
From the casting, fabulous costume creation, to well thought out mic hiding spots, the show really came together. But for Moss, it wasn't until people started making offers that she realised she created a hit.
"Even though the offers, compared to where the show is now, small offers, to me at the time I never dreamed it would be professional in anyway.
"I was like hang on, is this going to exist outside me and my friends."
In 2022, the musical won a Tony Award for best original score and has been nominated for a Grammy.
Moss described the moment they won the Tony award for best original score as "so bazaar".
"We really hadn't expected it at all, it was so surreal."
The hit musical is currently on at The Civic as part of the Auckland Arts Festival.
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