‘Six: The Musical’ Is The Perfect Show For Las Vegas

SIX: The Musical, the Broadway hit playing at The Venetian’s Palazzo Theatre in Las Vegas, is the most exciting, exuberant powerhouse of a show to come along in a long time. I can’t stop thinking about it and I’ve been listening to the soundtrack on repeat, belting out the Tony Award-winning songs, since I left the theater. For a show about the six wives of Henry VII – none of whose lives had happy endings – that’s quite an accomplishment.

In so many ways, SIX: The Musical is the perfect Las Vegas show. It’s fast-paced, with a rocking soundtrack and a cast of badass women who have smart mouths and amazing voices. They’re dressed in breathtakingly sparkly outfits, dripping jewels and are sassy as hell. They are Queens. Literally.

It’s hilariously obvious from the opening number, Ex-Wives, which begins, “Divorced, beheaded and died/Divorced, beheaded, survived” – a mnemonic device many kids learned in school to remember the women’s fates – that the show is going to take an irreverent approach to history, transforming it into her-story. It reframes the narrative of Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr to recognize them as individuals rather than just as the six wives of a narcissistic king.

The show makes events that happened 500 years ago fascinating and relevant by taking the format of a modern-day singing competition, with the Queens vying to be lead singer of their own girl band. (By the way, the real girl band – the female musicians providing the beat onstage behind the Six – is excellent.) Each Queen has her own musical inspiration, from Beyonce to Adele to Avril Lavigne, and each gets her turn in the spotlight. Each one is magnificent and easily lives up to their Broadway counterpart.

The Palazzo Theatre is an ideal venue for Six: The Musical because it’s intimate, with small tables set up in one row of the orchestra, giving you the feel of being a VIP at a concert. There’s plenty of room for standing ovations, which the cast enthusiastically received as the audience got to their feet, applauded wildly and, well, screamed their heads off.

SIX: The Musical is an exhilarating celebration of girl power, resonating strongly with Las Vegas audiences, which are often made up of bachelorette party celebrants, guests who like to dress up and BFFs who support and empower each other. If you want to see what joy and confidence look like, check out the crowd as they leave the theater after the show.

As an aside, another good reason to see SIX: The Musical in Las Vegas is because you can use the money you save on the Broadway ticket to indulge in the pre-theater menu at Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano in The Venetian. The three-course price-fixe menu is fit for a queen, featuring impossible-to-choose-from items like ligurian focaccina and the most delicious porchetta. Do yourself a favor and heed our server’s advice to share so you get to taste everything.

SIX: The Musical is only scheduled to run through May 7 so get your tickets now. I hope its run at the Palazzo Theatre will be extended and the Queens will get the well-deserved equivalent of a Las Vegas residency. Long may they reign.