She first appeared about 8 a.m. on the 19th of May 1536. A beautiful young woman, married to the powerful Henry VIII, King of England, as she walks slowly, yet proudly toward Tower Green, belying the fate that soon awaited her.
Anne Boleyn was about to become the first English Queen ever to lose her head and her life by order of her husband, the King.
“I pray God save the King and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never,” she says with dignity to the small crowd before the sword ended her life.
Historians still debate Boleyn’s age, but she was either in her late 20’s or mid-30’s, and in a handful of years, together with Henry, she had changed the world. Boleyn was a smart, strategic woman who prompted the formation of the Church of England and a fracturing of the Holy Roman Catholic Church (along with many other cultural reforms).
Nevertheless, the words and imagery that execution, and others to follow in the 16th century still reverberate in the 21st century and the producers of the hit Broadway musical “Six” have found a format to allow all six of Henry VIII’s queens to finally have their own say.
It is girl power that even Henry VIII could not have imagined.
“From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power as the hit musical opens March 10 and runs through March 15.
This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over! SIX won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.
The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 million streams in its first month.
The current cast includes Emma Elizabeth Smith as Catherine of Aragon, Nella Cole as Anne Boleyn, Kelly Denice Taylor as Jane Seymour, Hailey Alexis Lewis as Anna of Cleves, Alizé Cruz as Katherine Howard and Tasia Jungbauer as Catherine Parr with alternates Reese Cameron, Anna Hertel, Carlina Parker and Abigail Sparrow.
Cole landed the prized role of Anne Boleyn after countless auditions, she said, but landing the role was “totally a dream come true.”
She said people respond to the show, especially women, because they see it as “girl power” as people see it all six former Queens on stage as metaphors for them, in all walks of life, as reclaiming the powers they’ve lost.
“I think because I think a lot of women and young women and just people you know, depending who you are, where you are, and your walk of life, they see themselves in this story, because I think everybody has felt oppressed in some way, and what they’re what you’re seeing is people reclaiming their power, and everybody can relate to that,” said Cole in an interview with ENE this week.
“Everybody can relate to saying to that inspired feeling of like, ‘no, I’m going to write my own story, and I’m going to take my power back and I’m not going to let you define me anymore,’” she added.
“I think that it really resonates with a lot of people. And I do think people leave feeling inspired and empowered and feeling like they can do that in their own lives,” she said.
Cole said she knows that because the six queens interact with the audience and consistently gather at their stage door after the show.
“They love the queens, and it’s so beautiful to receive. We get so much love. We really do. We can feel the audience, and how locked in they are with us, and like they’re super loud and always cheering. And we love that, and they get really excited,” said Cole.
“And then, after the show, our Stage Door is always crowded with people who want to take pictures and talk to us, and it’s just amazing.”
What’s more, the fans now come to the shows dressed in their best 16th Century attire.
“It’s so special to see all the little girls who come to our show and come dressed up, so it is special to feel like I can be a small role model in their lives or in that moment, but it’s universal. It’s absolutely universal,” said Cole.
“I think it’s really great to know the history of it, because it just, it kind of informs the whole piece, even though it is obviously it is only pop musical theater,” said Cole.
“We’re singing and we’re dancing and we’re acting, but it’s just good to keep in the back of your mind that these were very real people, and their circumstances were, you know, really intense, especially at that time, being a woman in the situations that they were in was very difficult. I think it’s always important to keep that in the back of your mind and remember that they are truly real people.
While Anne Boleyn is certainly one of the most popular of Henry’s six queens, each of the Queens have their own legion of fans, she said. “They love their queens,” said Cole, adding, “we get so much love.”
She thinks the costumes, the lyrics and music in “Six” oddly channels a 500-year-old history lesson into a powerful motivator for modern audiences.
“The play inspires me to think that one person can change the world. And I feel inspired, I feel emboldened by her (Anne Boleyn), to just kind of go after what I want and not be afraid to be seen or heard. I think she’s just a super inspiring person, and getting to step into those shoes every night, I see how it’s affected me and my confidence, and like, how I show up in the world and how I’m willing to be heard.”
Tickets start at $99 and information is available at scfta.org.