What a premise: each of the six wives of Henry VIII is a singer in a rock band fighting for diva supremacy and has to perform songs of woe to decide who got the worst deal being married to him. The worst tale of heartache is supposed to win over the audience, us. The choices were divorced, beheaded, died in childbirth, divorced, beheaded, or survived but broken-hearted.
At the time the touring company was in Grand Rapids (January 2023) this was the hottest ticket in town. I was dying to go again but at best you could get one single ticket, nosebleed, middle of the aisle.
There are elements of Chicago, School of Rock, and a rock show. As the wives vie for your affections, you go from one favorite to the next.
The cast is diverse, as several of the actresses are African American, as well as Latino and Asian. Each sings in a different genre, from hip-hop to pop to ballad to torch to the downright diva rock star. And every single cast member, from the wives to the band, was female.
The message is one of empowerment, asserting that even if they met their untimely demise, history has remembered their names and has looked unfavorably at their paramour.
It also turns a critical eye to society's patriarchial tendencies and what a woman has to do to retain some power for herself.
And the whole show was a serious bop.
I want to see it again. And based on its popularity, I predict it will come back.
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