Review: SIX at Rochester Broadway Theatre League

If your memory of history class is a little fuzzy, or you're not up to snuff on the English Reformation era, or you just want to see a stage full of divas absolutely slay for 80 straight minutes, RBTL has got the show for you. "Six" is in town for a few more days, and it's a spectacle of historic proportions.

From Stageagent: "'Six' is a modern retelling of the lives of Henry VIII's six wives: Catherine of Aragon (Gerianne Perez), Anne Boleyn (Zan Berube), Jane Seymour (Amina Faye), Anna of Cleves (Terica Marie), Katherine Howard (Aline May Agoitia), and Catherine Parr (Sydney Parra). They have come together as a band to stage a pop concert and invite the audience to hear their stories. They cannot decide who should be the lead singer, so they initiate a competition, or singing battle, to see who suffered the most as Queen. Each wife believes they had it toughest and they belittle each other's attempts to prove their hardship. However, they become frustrated that their place in history is defined by one man. Together, they decide to pick up the pen and the microphone, and re-write their own stories."

"Six" has less in common with a traditional musical and more in common with the Superbowl halftime show. Each of the six queens is musically styled after a well-known pop star (Beyonce, Adele, Avril Lavigne, Shakira, Rihanna, etc.), and each gets to take a turn making the case that their story is the most tragic, channeling the voice and stage presence of that particular artist and putting on a show that is a feast of lights, sounds, special effects, and high-octane energy. If American Idol was zoomed back in time and plopped into the Tudor era, I imagine the experience would be largely reminiscent of "Six."

The diversity of musical selection ensures that "Six" has something for everyone. If punk rock is your thing, Anne Boleyn's "Don't Lose Ur Head" will have you looking for the nearest mosh pit. If hip-hop is what moves the needle, Anna of Cleves' "Get Down" is a straight banger that will make that booty shake. And if you're looking to cry, Jane Seymour's "Heart of Stone" is a soaring and powerful ballad that is sure to reduce you to a puddle of tears on the floor of the Auditorium Theatre.

"Six" is a total whirlwind, a fun and exhilarating ride blending everything from Broadway to Billboard to AP History. It's playing until May 21st, for tickets and more information click here.