Concert (Live event) review #4: Six at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis
My fourth review on the blog for a live event is a little different. On April 25, 2026, my wife Allison and I attended a performance of the touring cast of the musical “Six” at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis, TN. While it is a Broadway show that is still running since 2021, the show is kind of a cross between a musical play and a pop-rock concert. There are six cast members, aka” The Queens”, each playing a modernized version of one of the six wives of Henry VIII (hmm, where have I heard another musical take on this idea…lol). In addition to the six talented singer-actresses, there were another four talented women on stage. Known as “The Ladies in Waiting”, they are the four band members who play the musical accompaniment for the show on guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, and they are an integral part of the show. The play was written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss.
The Queens are:
Catherine of Aragon: Emma Elizabeth Smith
Anne Boleyn: Nella Cole
Jane Seymour: Kelly Denice Taylor
Anna of Cleves: Hailey Alexis Lewis
Katherine Howard: Alizé Cruz
Catherine Parr: Tasia Jungbauer
The Ladies in Waiting are:
Musical Director/Keyboards: Valerie Maze
Bass: Yonít Spiegelman
Guitars: Rose Laguana
Drums: Camila Mannnitte Pereyra
The concept of the show is that the six wives are reimagined as a 21st century “girl group” in what they term a “Histo-Remix”. The purpose is to remember each of them on their own terms rather than in Henry VIII’s shadow. The story is framed as a competition between the six of them to see which one suffered the most, with the winner becoming the group’s lead singer. Each one gets a solo spotlight song pleading their case. There are also ensemble opening and closing numbers and one in the middle of the show. A running musical joke in the score is the use of the melody of “Greensleeves” which is often (wrongly) attributed to Henry VIII (Henry died in 1547, but the song, and even the Italian song style used for the song, did not appear in England until 1580).
The musical numbers are as follows:
“Ex-Wives" – The Queens
"No Way" – Catherine of Aragon and The Queens
"Don't Lose Ur Head" – Anne Boleyn and The Queens
"Heart of Stone" – Jane Seymour and The Queens
"Haus of Holbein" – The Queens
"Get Down" – Anna of Cleves and The Queens
"All You Wanna Do" – Katherine Howard and The Queens
"I Don't Need Your Love" – Catherine Parr
"Six" – The Queens
The show is a very fast-paced 80-minute enjoyable experience. All of the Queens are incredible singers and get to show their talents on their featured songs. If you’ve never heard the songs, I recommend the “Opening Night” version of the original Broadway cast live recording, which I will link to following this article; I can assure you that this touring company gave as much of an outstanding performance as the original cast did on that album.
I highly recommend this show as a great date night event if it comes to an area near you. It was a fun and worthwhile experience.
LINK FOR LISTENING:
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