Review: SIX THE MUSICAL: TEEN EDITION at Mount St. Mary Academy

When I saw the cast list for SIX THE MUSICAL: TEEN EDITION, I knew I needed to review it for Broadway World. To be honest, I had no idea there was a teen edition, until I saw a friend whose daughter attends Mount St. Mary Academy, 3224 Kavanaugh Blvd., in Little Rock, post that they were performing Feb. 1-6. She graciously gave me her tickets to the sold-out show, and I have to say that these girls were professional quality. This show was suited well for them. They were amazing!  

Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and Directed by Jenny Moses, SIX is a pop concert where all six of King Henry VIII’s wives tell their part of the story and vie for who had the worse time as Queen. Here is a quick breakdown: 

Catherine of Aragon (Taylor Moore) was his very Catholic first wife. She sings No Way, where she tells him she has been faithful, and she is not getting a divorce despite moving in Anne Boleyn. 

Anne Boleyn (Lauren Lasseigne) is the reason King Henry breaks away from the Catholic Church. Once accomplished, he divorces Catherine of Aragon and marries Anne Boleyn. When she fails to give him a boy, he starts messing around with other women, and Anne does as well. She sings Don’t Lose UR Head, which is ultimately her fate. 

Jane Seymour (Isabella Nguyen) is the only wife he truly loved. Is it because she bore a son? Maybe, but she died while delivering the child. She sings Heart of Stone, which talks about her love and devotion no matter what King Henry put her through. 

Anna of Cleves (Annabelle Owen) was chosen by King Henry when he saw her picture, but when she made it to England, he decided she wasn’t pretty enough. So, they divorced, and she lived in her own castle and partied, as explained through the song Get Down. 

Katherine Howard (Maya Johnson) was the beautiful one that was sought after by many men. In her song All You Wanna Do, she talks about how the men treated her, including King Henry. In the end, she has an affair and is beheaded because of it.  

Cathrine Parr (Lizzy Darnold) is the wife who survives and brings his group of children closer to him before his passing. She sings I Don’t Need Your Love about a lover she had to abandon for Henry and to Henry who basically used her as a caretaker.  

By the end of the show, the Queens decide that the competition is dumb and then finishes the show by singing for five more minutes. There really isn’t a lot of noticeable difference between the touring show and the teen show, but maybe that is because the teens did this show so well that I didn’t feel like anything was missing.   

Now....these girls! They had so much energy, and the singing was absolutely amazing!  Nguyen played Seymour but doubled as Music Director. This girl is a powerhouse. According to Director Moses, Nguyen had the cast through the music by day two of rehearsal. Her ballad was heartfelt, and she commanded the stage.  

Another fun one to watch (and maybe my favorite Queen....ssshhhh...don’t tell the others) is Lauren Lasseigne as Anne Boleyn. She has one of the catchiest songs and is very playful until she gets to the part where she is desperate about not knowing what to do about her beheading. Lasseigne is just a sophomore, so I’m thrilled she will be around a little while longer.  

Taylor Moore and Annabell Owen both took on the choreography positions along with their characters, which was quite a bit since this was also a heavy dance show. They did a great job at getting the cast out on the catwalk through the audience. Also, Owen had no fear looking at people while she sang. That took a lot of guts and was very admirable. Moore reminded me a lot of the performer who was Catherine of Aragon during the touring production when they came through Little Rock at Robinson Center. She was so impressive.  

Not only was Lizzy Darnold Catherine Parr, but she was also one of the producers. Her ballad and speech at the end really tied the show together, but then also having duties of producing the show was an exceptional educational lesson. Set design is another great educational lesson, which is what Maya Johnson did when not singing about sexual abuse. I am thrilled that these girls had intense theatrical training under their drama teacher's tutelage. They are all going to be ahead amongst their peers.  

Before the show Director Moses thanked the audience and told us how MSM was able to perform SIX. 

“Theater doesn't happen without an audience. Theater doesn't happen without a community. I love that about theater, because you really do get to know people and you learn more about yourself and others, and you should be able to get along with people. Theater helps you learn that. Another thing I'm grateful for is the fact that we have the Rights to do SIX: The Teen Edition, which means we are PG13. Just be warned. Henry was a mess. You'll figure out the rest. But it just became available in August of this year in the US, and I was like, ‘ohh man, we got some amazing girls, some even are seniors. You know what? I'm gonna apply and just see what happens.’ And Yes. We are one of a very few schools that are able to do this production, and it has been just right, and I’m so grateful for that.” 

Broadway World realizes it takes a small army to put together a show. Other members of the Creative Team are Mady Reyes-Producer, Bella Angtuaco-Stage Manager, Sydney Kersey-Stage Manager, Caroline Cash-Light Design, Brianna Boggs-Set Design, Drew Powell-Costume Design, Valeria Mares-Makeup Design, and Lindsey Morris-Publicity.    

We would like to give a special thank you to Mount Saint Mary student Rhea Fitts for these wonderful pictures. These are fabulous!  

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