Ever since I first heard Don’t Lose Ur Head back in 10th grade, I became obsessed with the production’s pop/history/feminism mixture. The near infinite times I have listened to every single song on the soundtrack have put the album on my Spotify Wrapped for six years. With 90 minutes of almost nonstop singing and dancing, it is both a vocally and physically exhausting feat to perform a role in this musical. Now the time has come for me to pick up my pen and microphone to review the movie adaptation of what I believe is the greatest musical ever produced: SIX The Musical Live!
The musical reimagines the lives of King Henry VIII’s six wives as members of a modern day pop band: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. It’s essentially a competition where each woman tells her story to prove she suffered the most at Henry’s hands and should be the lead singer of said band. In the end, they realize that the whole idea of being grouped together by association to a man is in itself sexist. So through the power of high energy pop music and feminism, they decide to abandon the competition.
The creators of the show based each queen’s musical style on real life pop stars. Catherine of Aragon draws from Beyonce’s fierce attitude, which you can hear clearly in her ballad against Henry’s baseless divorce. Anne Boleyn was based off of Lily Allen and Miley Cyrus’ defiance of how a queen should behave when her husband cheats on her. Jane Seymour was based off of Adele’s emotional ballads (Heart of Stone makes me cry regularly). Anna of Cleves embodies Nikki Minaj’s bold style, and the outfit change she makes halfway through her song shows that perfectly. Katherine Howard was based on the struggle between knowing one’s physical beauty and not wanting to be controlled which she shares with Britney Spears. She was desired by men all her life and wanted no part in their objectification. Finally, Katherine Parr has the soul of Alicia Keys with beautiful songs centered on subjects of social issues and feminism.
It was originally produced on the West End in London and achieved major success. It reached more people in multiple global productions and multiple translations, including many Broadway productions. I have seen it both live and on screen, and do not prefer one over the other, as the movie is a recorded version of the original West End cast in their original roles.
Why then, you ask, is this movie so special if it isn’t any different from the live musical? I’ll tell you why. First is because it is now permanently preserved, and you can endlessly replay it. The second reason is the wonderful opening montage that highlights the relationship between all the women in the show and the connections they forged through this musical. Visually, it was nothing extraordinary, but it succeeded in preserving the quality of the sounds and visuals of the show. That is, of course, an important part of any movie, and my one and only criticism.
If you are looking for a movie to watch, I could not recommend this movie any more.
