A couple of days ago, I decided to enter the on-line lottery for left over tickets for the Broadway show (imported from London’s West End) “Six” for the second time. Last week I became a “standby” tempting me to try again this week. Long story made short, we ended up with first row seat at $35 (including fees) each. If only my stock picks would work as well 
Anyhow, the show is about the history of England’s King Henry IIV’s six wives and their experiences. It concentrates on the two divorces, two beheadings, one death in childbirth and single survivor.
It’s loud. Yes, it’s LOUD. It’s fairly cleaver. Decent rock concert with innovative costumes, but some of the words were hard to understand. The noticeably ethnically diverse actresses were apparently chosen, not for being pretty or having particularly “shapely” bodies, but for shear talent of singing and dancing. Some of the body shapes could be called short and “chunky” or tall and willowy, and unlikely to perform well - but they did. The show highlights how very, very good you have to be (not to mention lucky) in order to end up on the Broadway stage if you do not already have your own fame.
The show was rather short, at under two hours (compared to our recent marathon 3 hour-plus “Mr. Saturday Night” experience) - but that was long enough for it to make its point.
It was well worth the price we paid and was “rather” entertaining and certainly lively, but there are better options to spend the money a full priced ticket would have cost.
From an historical standpoint, according to the historical background described in the Playbill, either Henry IIV had some genetic issues, his wives were particularly unlucky or the medical/societal structure back then was lethal - even (especially?) at the top of the social ladder:
Catherin of Aragon: 1 kid who lived (Mary - became Queen of Scots, as well as England between 1553-1559), 2 died as infants, three stillborn, several miscarriages. Divorced and ended up in a convent.
Anne Boleyn: 1 kid (who became Elizabeth I of England) and at least two miscarriages as well as losing her head.
Jane Seymour: Died of hemorrhage after giving birth to a kid (who would become King Edward VI as a kid before dying at 15)
Anna of Cleves: No kids. Didn’t last long before being divorced because she didn’t look like her profile shot
Katherine Howard: Didn’t last long before losing her head because she fooled around before she got married. Parliament passed a law, at his request, stating that it was treason for a woman to become the king’s wife without “plain declaration before of her unchaste life” which allowed the king cover.
Catherine Parr: Married four times (third on was Henry). Survived Henry. Died during childbirth - kid from husband number four.
Jeff
