SIX! The “Histo-Remix” We Need To Hear: PDX Show Review

This post is brought to you in partnership with Broadway in Portland. I received complimentary tickets to facilitate my post. Opinions are my own.

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. SIX is the new original musical sensation everyone is losing their heads over.

From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power!

In SIX, the six wives of Henry VIII form a pop-group and perform a concert – each wife performing a song based on the difficulties, challenges, and pain associated with having to be married to the king. As they compete to win the title of band-leader based on “who had it the worst” they step into their own power and begin to tell THEIR stories. These queens – the six – the women we remember because of who they married – they welcome us into their histo-remix, capturing our attention with electric energy, our hearts with their pain, resilience, and injustices endured, and our minds with the truths history often “forgets” to mention.

As I sat in the audience, the teacher in me was beyond thrilled to see another history-driven show hit the stage. I LOVE this. I love that music and story-telling are being used as vehicles for education. It’s powerful and exciting when people begin to become curious about the past. Learning about the stories of those who came before us can help us write our own.

As a mother of two girls, I felt grateful – grateful for the opportunity to watch an absolutely incredible fully-female (!!!) cast give six women their voice back. My daughter got to see women free to take up space, to speak up, refusing to be a footnote in someone else’s story. Hearing my daughter comment that she felt empowered after the show serves as a testament to the power of the cast, crew, and creators and to the incredible things that happen when everyone gets the opportunity to share their story.

And simply as a person who loves musical theater – I was straight-up delighted to just be in the room. And these six women – Khaila Wilcoxon, Storm Lever, Natalie Paris, Olivia Donalson, Courtney Mack, and Gabriela Carrilo – they are amazingly talented. Phenomenal is too small a word. When this tour ends, can they please form an actual all-girl group and go on tour? (Like seriously – please? I’d listen to them sing an Algebra textbook.)

When my daughter and I got back to our car, she asked if I actually had a favorite. Neither of us could choose. (Not sure how anyone could!)Each of these strong and talented women absolutely SHINED as they demonstrated the breadth of their artistry and absolute mastery of their craft. Above and beyond their skills as vocalists and dancers (seriously – can we take a second to recognize the athleticism and endurance required to put on this show?!), these six women masterfully portrayed the queens with authenticity – bringing a surprising level of warmth, vulnerability, and humor into stories once covered in darkness.

SIX has won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. (And once you see it – you’ll know why!)

SIX will be in Portland at the Keller Auditorium through July 30th, however this is understandably a sold-out engagement.

Didn’t get tickets to SIX this time? There are some INCREDIBLE shows headed to Portland for the ’23/’24 Broadway season!! (I cannot wait!!) The ’23/’24 season includes four Portland premieres (SIX, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Beetlejuice, and Girl from the North Country.) The Lion King makes its return to Portland (cannot wait to see it again!) along with Les Miserables, Annie, and Stephen Sondheim’s Company.

The next play headed to the Keller Auditorium will be Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. If you’re excited for this Portland debut, you can find out more about Tina: The Tina Turner Musical by clicking HERE.

For information about all of the upcoming shows and to grab your tickets, head to → https://portland.broadway.com/shows/