14 Things I Learned from Six Alternate/Dance Captain Collette Guitart's Workshop and Q&A

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Collette Guitart taught us the second chorus and the dance break of “No Way,” Catherine of Aragon’s song. She noted that she really relates to Aragon because of her own Spanish roots.

Guitart was incredibly kind and helpful throughout and emphasized that this was really difficult choreography that took her a long time to learn. “Even in rehearsal when we did this I didn’t put pressure on myself to get it in one day, I was like, ‘it’s not going to look good for like a week.’”

She had a few specific suggestions for how to get the attitude of the song down, specifically referencing the backup dancers in Beyonce’s Single Ladies music video. “We’re sort of those friends to Catherine of Aragon… Think about your own friend group. If one of your friends was being treated badly, you’d just be like ‘uh no, absolutely not.’ Put your own sass on top of it.”

On a personal note, this was definitely the hardest of the dance workshops I’ve done so far. I’d rank them from easiest to hardest as:

4.   Six (taught by Harriet Watson)
3.   Sorry not sorry (taught by Vicki Manser)
2.   Get Down (taught by Harriet Watson)
1.    No Way (taught by Collette Guitart)

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1. Hardest Queen to perform physically and emotionally:

Physically, Aragon, because of that  [gestures to dance we just did]

Emotionally is either Howard or Seymour. Seymour’s got the beautiful ballad and you don’t want to cry too much or get too emotional so you can still sing the song beautifully. And Howard has such an emotional journey through her song that it’s such a roller coaster because it’s such a really deep song and it starts out so funny; it’s really hard to do that even though the song is like 7 minutes.

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2. The Queens she initially auditioned for:

I did No Way (Aragon’s song) definitely. I think I had to do “All You Want to Do” (Howard’s song) too, which was terrifying because it’s really fun but it’s friggin hard. And Parr’s song, “I don’t need your love.” I didn’t end up signing Seymour’s song (Heart of Stone) throughout the whole audition process, but I did all the others.

3. Favorite part of Six:

The slow bit in “Six,” where it’s like “And now we’re one of a kind, no category.” At that point, all the audience is lit up and everyone is joining in together.

4. Has she ever collaborated with the Queens from other countries?

No, but we do had the random tour thing that happened, when he had jen and alisia? It’s totally random, that only really happens in time of need. We haven’t had a country cross over yet.

5. Her training:

I went to a performing arts college in Cambridge called Bodyworks Company. It was very dance heavy because I chose to go on a dance course. In your first year, you’re all trained to the same level and do the same thing. In the second year, you can either choose musical theater or a dance course. I wanted to become a better dancer, so I took that, and then outside I took private singing lessons.

6. Best advice for someone who has never danced before:

Do not put pressure on yourself and don’t compare yourself to others. You can look up to people, I certainly do, but you can’t compare yourself to anyone else because everyone is an individual. You’re never going to have the same talent as everyone else unless you’re like an identical twin. Whatever you’re doing, you just have to really enjoy it. Enjoyment comes first and that’s how you learn to love it. No comparison, because that can be a real soul crusher and that’s not what dancing is for. Dancing is meant to lift your spirit and all. The most important thing is that you’re enjoying yourself and it makes you happy.

7. Role as Dance Captain:

I have to know all the parts. I have to take warmup before the show, I have to do show watches a week. And those have to be different versions of the show with different alternates so I can give notes to everyone. I give notes to the girls; sometimes it’s not that they’re doing anything wrong, it’s just that they’ve gone so far into their character that they’ve lost the initial essence of the move. And sometimes if the girls have any questions, I’m sort of the person they go to to answer the question.

8. Favorite line in the huddle before singing “I don’t need your love” all together:

This isn’t my favorite but it got the biggest reaction from the audience – I didn’t hold my mic to my mouth but I  held it here [down by her chest so it could still pick me up] – and said “I’m so sorry about this guys, this is so embarrassing,” turning to the audience before going back into the huddle. They LOVED it. It was quite the naughty thing though, it’s not supposed to be about the individual there.

9. Advice for learning more about musical theater:

Go to as many show as as you can afford and figure out what you like. Is it contemporary? Is it old school Sondheim? Discovering that is not only fun, because you get to see loads of musicals, but it also helps you figure out what kind of musical theater performer you want to be.

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10. Tips on being a swing or alternate:

You need a swing bible. There is no person on this earth that can retain the information of an entire show just up here [points at head]. I think my brain is pretty good, like sometimes I don’t need to look at the Bible before going on a track, but I do it anyway, because if you mess up, even though everyone does it and you’re only human, you blame yourself. And you can only let yourself do it so many times before it becomes unprofessional

Stage Bible – I have a map of the stage for the covers I do. I put different colors for different characters and I mark out every single formation that there is in the show, even in the scenes where we’re quite static and don’t move too much. Like in Holbein, I’ve mapped that out; everyone changes their seat at every “tinder moment,” and you want to know where everyone is going and you don’t want to bump into them. You just want to have as much knowledge as possible before you go out there.

11. Are there any easter eggs in the choreography referencing history or the Tudors?

It’s all mental. There are bits in the show that, for example, in the song “Don’t Lose Your Head,” when she sings “I wouldn’t be such a b—if you could get it up.” She obviously didn’t say it like that, but she did say something like that, that her and henry’s sex life wasn’t going so well. There’re so many moments in thes how that they’re taking what they said in history and switched o modern life so we know what they’re saying and can go like OHHHH. We did loads of history research in the rehearsal process for this show. I was like /eye roll/ but it was SO INTERESTING. I learned so much more at Six than I ever did in history in school – Okay lies, I probably learned more in school, but I’ve retained more of it now.

12. How do you find remembering all the different choreography and harmonies?

It’s hard. It’s not easy, it’s a difficult job, but it’s also really rewarding, because I personally have that sort of brain at this point. I didn’t always, it’s all built up. My first few jobs gave me the knowledge of how to swing. If this was your first swing job, it would be mind blowing.

13. What was your most last minute show?

Manchester was WILD.

The shortest time getting ready was - Courtney was on for Seymour and she was having an allergic reaction and couldn’t stop coughing on stage. It wasn’t severe, she was fine, non-panic, but she couldn’t get rid of it and she couldn’t sing. Every time she opened her mouth, she couldn’t’ sing. We were so close to the end of the show, I was all packing up and everything. She came off at the beginning of  All you wanna do,” and they were like, we need you to go on for Seymour. I just had the rest of “All you wanna do” to get ready and had to finish out the show. They didn’t even make an announcement because they just wanted to carry on.

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14. Advice for auditioning for Six:

Be Yourself, because they want to see you and your personality. Have fun, because that’s all they want to see as well. Just have fun while you’re in the room. Look at them, they love a bit of eye contact, because as you know, we always look at the audience to connect with them. That’s quite rare [in musical theatre], it’s individual to this particular show. Have as much fun and be as relaxed as possible. Audition situations aren’t relaxed really, but the more you can show who you are as a person and not try to be “one of the queens,” the better.

18 Things I Learned from Six Alternate Vicki Manser's Workshop and Q&A!

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All My Six Posts!
Over-Analyzing All the Historical References in Six- “Ex Wives,” “No Way,” “Don’t Lose Your Head” “Heart of Stone” “Haus of Holbein” “Get Down”
The Tudor Crown Inspiration in Six’s Logo; The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References)
Six the Musical Wives 1-3: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations; Six the Musical Wives 4-6: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations
The Ladies in Waiting of Six: Historical Inspirations and Costumes; Details from Six Costumer Gabriella Slade’s Instagram Takeover
The Early Costumes of Six the Musical: From Edinburgh to Cambridge to London
Updated Six the Musical Costumes for Broadway!; The Shoes of Six the Musical
The Alternate Costumes of Six the Musical; How the Six Alternates Change Their Styling for Each Queen
Virtual Dance Workshops and Q&As with Different Six Cast Members!

This morning, I participated in a virtual dance workshop and Q&A with former Six alternate and former Katherine Howard actress Vicki Manser! The workshop was hosted by the brilliant Theatre Fan Parties and is the second workshop of six I’ve signed up for. I got up at 4:30 AM EST. It was rough. I really don’t know how I’m awake right now but honestly I’m going to take a nap right after I post this.

At the beginning of the class, Vicki stated that like with Hamilton and many other shows, Six performers are only allowed to teach certain parts of the dances. She taught us the second chorus and second verse of “Don’t Lose Your Head.” The workshop was only about 25 people so you got to like, talk to Vicki a bit in the chat and get specific clarifications on dance steps such. When I joked that my cats weren’t cooperating with the “switch places” part in Don’t Lose Your Head, she even asked to see my cat!

For the workshop, Vicki brilliantly turned the lights in her apartment purple, the Six theme color! She noted that the first move in “Don’t Lose Your Head,” with the penguin hands, head and shoulder leans, and heel/toe movements, took her weeks to learn, and encouraged participants to just do it with the head and shoulder movements if it was easier. She was super encouraging throughout.

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Disclaimer as always on these notes: I typed as quickly as I can, and tried to maintain all Vicki’s exact words, but I can’t promise that these are perfect quotations unless there are actual quotations around them. They’re more like a paraphrase capturing all the original intention of her words.

1. Is the choreography the same in all the Six productions throughout the world?

Yes! They did some adaptations to the choreo on Broadway, but then they went back and taught it to everyone, so every version should be exactly the same.

2. Favorite queen?

I’ve got a soft spot for Boleyn.

3. What queen do you relate to the most?

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I relate to Boleyn the most, 100 percent.

4. What’s going to be the first show you see after lockdown is done?

Dear Evan Hansen! She previously had plans to see Courtney [Stapleton, another Six alternate, who previously did “Bat Out of Hell” with Vicki] in it as Zoe and definitely needs to see her in it.

5. How much of the history behind the musical was taught during the rehearsal process?

We were sent documentaries and videos and things to watch before we started the rehearsal process, so we understood where Toby and Lucy got all their ideas and inspiration for the show. While Courtney [Stapleton] and I were in Bat Out of Hell, we sat and watched them in our room backstage.

6. How much time do you have to learn a dance routine for Six?

You’ll have maybe a couple of hours [of dance rehearsal] in the morning, then a couple hours of singing, then boom – done, then you’re on to cleaning. [Cleaning refers to making the movements of the dance more accurate and precise]

7. What’s the toughest queen for you to play physically and emotionally?

Physically? The hardest by far in my opinion….you know what, they’re all hard.
Aragon, when you don’t play her all the time, is hard. The stamina that you need for that track is INSANE. It’s really difficult. It’s also got quite a lot of choreo as well.
But saying that – when I started as Cleves, I listened back to my dress rehearsal run and I’m like, ‘I sound awful.’
Also, Howard is very difficult to get your breathing right as well. You have to schedule your breathing and swallowing points. If you don’t swallow, your mouth fills up with saliva and you can’t breathe.

Emotionally, I think Howard is the most challenging to get right, because she goes on such a journey and literally tells her whole life in the one song. And it’s such an important message to get across. You need to get the audience to laugh with you and be on your side [at the beginning] and then you switch to, ‘how dare you laugh at me, what I went through was heart breaking.’ When the audience feels guilty, you know you’ve done your job. I used to love it when I didn’t get a round of applause at the end, because people feel so uncomfortable, and you FEEL that uncomfortableness and I’m like, ‘YASSSS.’

8. If you auditioned for Six again, what would you sing?

She mentioned that she sang ‘Run to you’ by Whitney Houston at her initial audition. ‘Maybe I’d do dream girls – something Effie.’

9. What thoughts do you have on the alternates having their own separate costumes? Did you have any input on the costume color or style?

I didn’t have any input on the color or style, but I LOVED the fact that the alternates had their own costumes. Everyone is unique and has their own version of the character. I think they chose the blue for me because they thought it would suit me and like, match my eyes [at this point she moved near the camera and opened her eyes very wide]. Gabby [costume designer Gabby Slade] thinks about what suits you as a person.

They wanted to put me in shorts because I go on as Cleves and that’s easy to dance in. They put Courtney [Stapleton] in pants because she goes on as Parr.

And now everyone has their different bits to go on as different queens. If I went back as an alternate now maybe I’d have like six different costumes.

I have a whole post full of photos of different alternate costumes over here, by the way!

10. What inspired you to do musical theatre?

I danced from the time I was a little girl. When I was 3 or 4, I started ballet. I was obsessed, that’s all I wanted to do. I broke my leg twice, and the second time around, I Just gotten out of plaster. I wasn’t able to dance and it was our annual dance show. She said well, you can’t dance, so maybe you can sing something. I was like 8 or 9. I sang a song and she gave me a little acting part as well, and that’s when I was like, oh it’s not just dancing I like. I love it all, give me it all. Let me do it all please. I joined a youth theatre troupe when I was like 10 and started doing it then.

11. What did she think about booking Six?

When I got the audition for Six, I hadn’t heard of it ever. There was nothing on youtube yet, maybe a bit from when they were in Edinburgh and when they were on tour [the 2018 tour]. As I got through the audition process, I realized how amazing it was.

“When I found out I got Six, I ordered 80 pounds of Chinese for three people to celebrate.”

12. Where did the absolute classic line [which vicki often said at performances] come from?  

I used to be terrible about ad-libbing in the show. I got told off for it all the time and told to stick to the script, but in the moment I’d go crazy. The part where they huddle at the end was never supposed to be funny, but I kept saying funny things and now everyone does it and tries to get the funniest line. I’m the bad influence definitely. As Boleyn one day, I just said “Absolute classic” into the phone while doing a silly face and it stuck.

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13. What’s the most last minute show you’ve played?

I never went on midshow at Six, but I did them all the time at Bat Out of Hell.

The quickest for Six was I found out at the quarter, maybe about 15 minutes before hand. I think it was Cleves maybe?

[host Taylor Farrow Said that sounded terrifying to him, and Vicki responded] Sometimes it’s better, it gives you no time to think about it and no time to panic.

14. How do you stay motivated while in lockdown?

You have to stay ready. I have to be mentally ready and physically ready for future auditions and keep my vocals fit. I’ve just been thinking – I don’t know when it’s coming back, so I’ve got to be ready at all times.

Various Auditioning and “Making it” advice:

15. What happens if I don’t get into drama school?

If you don’t get in, don’t stress, it’s not the end of the world. A majority of people in the industry didn’t get in the first time. A lot of people did gap years and just worked to train and expand their abilities and auditioned the next year. Don’t stop training just because you didn’t get into what you wanted this year! Also, not everyone has finished auditioning yet, so if you didn’t get into what you wanted straightaway, then apply for a last minute place somewhere else. That’s exactly what I did. When I was 18,  I had my heart set on going to Artsed, as I could stay home while going there and I didn’t feel ready to leave home yet. I auditioned for maybe 6 schools and got into three of them, but not Artsed. I was gutted, absolutely gutted. That’s when I auditioned for Erdang [which also would allow her to stay at home while going there], in May or June time, and I got in. That’s where I ended up going.

[host Tayler popped in here to also note that because of COVID19, a lot of drama schools have heavily extended their audition period]

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16. How to get into drama school and pursue a musical theater career if you’re not the strongest dancer:

Don’t give up just because you’re not a strong dancer, that’s not the end. If that’s not your strongest thing, work on it, train, attend Instagram live classes. Don’t stop working! Also – it doesn’t necessarily matter if you’re the best dancer or not – they’re looking for a diamond in the rough.

17. Dealing with setbacks:

You get so many nos and so many knockbacks. You think you can be perfect for a job and get cut within 20 second. (cough, Frozen, cough). I give myself a day where I say – okay, that didn’t go my way, I’ll have a cry, say I’m really annoyed, and give myself the day to mope around and feel sorry for myself. Then I gotta get back on it the next day. You’ve gotta be your biggest supporter and find that confidence from somewhere.

18. Auditioning Tips for Six:

If you have any idea about what Six is looking for, get it out of your head. They want to see what you as an individual can bring to the table that’s different. You only have to look at the difference between me and Lexi [McIntosh, who plays Anna of Cleves]. We are two totally different people. She is so cool. I am an absolute goofball. When she performs she’s got so much swag and has the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. And I was her understudy. Don’t go in pretending to be someone you’re not.

The Early Costumes of Six the Musical: From Edinburgh to Cambridge to London

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All My Six Posts!
Over-Analyzing All the Historical References in Six- “Ex Wives,” “No Way,” “Don’t Lose Your Head” “Heart of Stone” “Haus of Holbein” “Get Down”
The Tudor Crown Inspiration in Six’s Logo; The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References)
Six the Musical Wives 1-3: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations; Six the Musical Wives 4-6: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations
The Ladies in Waiting of Six: Historical Inspirations and Costumes; Details from Six Costumer Gabriella Slade’s Instagram Takeover
The Early Costumes of Six the Musical: From Edinburgh to Cambridge to London
Updated Six the Musical Costumes for Broadway!; The Shoes of Six the Musical
The Alternate Costumes of Six the Musical; How the Six Alternates Change Their Styling for Each Queen
Virtual Dance Workshops and Q&As with Different Six Cast Members!

The current incarnation of Six the musical is actually the fifth or sixth version! I’m not certain how much the show has changed since its original premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but co-creator Lucy Moss described the Edinburgh version as having “the most unbelievably bad, clunky segues, and the exposition” in a recent New York Times interview, so I imagine there have been some significant updates since then. :)

One thing I CAN look at is how the costumes have changed over time. There are basically three distinct phases of costume development for Six. First, you’ve got the costumes from the casts Edinburgh and Cambridge, which appear to be made of existing ready-made clothing pieces. Next, you’ve got the costumes for the 2017 Arts Theatre cast off the West End in London, whose clothes appear to be a bit more costumey and made to the specific show. Finally, you’ve got the Gabriella Slade costume designs, which, for the most part, have only been tweaked a bit since they were originally made (the Cleves costume is the only costume that looks COMPLETELY different in its current form than it did in the original costume based off of Slade’s designs).

I’ve gone through a TON of old photos and information about the old casts and compiled them into the slideshows below. I hope y’all enjoy this. :)

Note: Obviously I don’t own any of these photos. I scoured the Six the Musical Wikipedia extensively to find these and unfortunately, they don’t generally share photo credits. I did the best I could to include photographers, but if I made any mistakes or missed any, please let me know and I will happily update them.

Front from left to right: Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Parr. Back from left to right: Anna of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, and Katherine Howard. Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 2017. Toby Marlow

Front from left to right: Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, and Catherine Parr. Back from left to right: Anna of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, and Katherine Howard. Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 2017. Toby Marlow

Left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anna of Cleves, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, and Jane Seymour. Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 2017. Toby Marlow

Left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anna of Cleves, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, and Jane Seymour. Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 2017. Toby Marlow

Edinburgh Festival Fringe - August 2017 performance of Six the Musical (performed by the Cambridge University Musical Theater Society)
& Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society - October 2017

The same cast of mostly students (and co-creator Toby Marlow’s sister) performed at both the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and at the run at Cambridge University a few months later. It APPEARS from careful examination of photos that these costumes were all essentially the same EXCEPT for Katherine Howard’s costume. So based on lots of reading, I believe the photos of the cast above this text are from Edinburgh, and the photos of the cast BELOW this text are from Cambridge. If anyone knows differently, please correct me. :) I’m working with a certain dearth of information here.

It also appears that some of the cast took publicity photos in different clothes at some sort of historical building at some point; I’ve included those in the slideshows as well.

These costumes are really very unlike the current professional production costumes, although you can see a FEW elements that ended up in the final West End production. The Anne Boleyn dress silhouette and color has stayed the same. The original ruff neck of the Katherine Howard dress at Edinburgh resembles the ruffs now used in “Haus of Holbein.” Jane Seymour is dressed in the most conservative and monochromatic costume, and her hairstyle appears to be the same. Anna of Cleves also appears to be wearing a much sexier outfit underneath her costume, which is also an element used in the current show.

Jane Seymour’s glittery black boots, interestingly enough, are almost exactly like the current shoes seen in Six.

Catherine of Aragon - Megan Gilbert
Anne Boleyn - Ashleigh Weir
Jane Seymour- Holly Musgrave
Anna of Cleves - Tilda Wickham
Katherine Howard- Annabel Marlow
Catherine Parr- Shimali de Silva

The cast and crew of “Six” at Cambridge University in October 2017. Johannes Hjorth

The cast and crew of “Six” at Cambridge University in October 2017. Johannes Hjorth

From left to right: Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour (top), Katherine Howard (bottom), and Anna of Cleves. Cambridge University in October 2017. Johannes Hjorth or Toby Marlow?

From left to right: Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour (top), Katherine Howard (bottom), and Anna of Cleves. Cambridge University in October 2017. Johannes Hjorth

Front from left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn. Back from left to right: Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Catherine Parr. Cambridge University in October 2017. Johannes Hjorth or Toby Marlow?

Front from left to right: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn. Back from left to right: Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Catherine Parr. Cambridge University in October 2017. Johannes Hjorth

Left to right: Anne Boleyn, lighting designer Rebecca Fry, Katherine Howard. Johannes Hjorth or Toby Marlow?

Left to right: Anne Boleyn, lighting designer Rebecca Fry, Katherine Howard. Johannes Hjorth

Catherine of Aragon - Megan Gilbert (Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge University Casts)

Anne Boleyn - Ashleigh Weir (Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge University Casts)

Jane Seymour - Holly Musgrave (Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge University Casts)

Anna of Cleves - Tilda Wickham (Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge University Casts)

When Wickham is sitting in one of the full cast and crew pics, you can see that they’re wearing some sort of sexy looking get-up under the main gray covered up suit thing. I SUSPECT that there probably was a “strip a bit to show how sexy i am” section in the original show just as there is in the current version.

(*Note, Tilda Wickham uses they/them pronouns, so don’t misgender them if you take info from this page and share it elsewhere).

Katherine Howard - Annabel Marlow (Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge University Casts)

This is the only costume that appeared to significantly change between the Edinburgh and Cambridge performances.

Catherine Parr - Shimali de Silva (Edinburgh Fringe and Cambridge University Casts)

Front from left to right: Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard. Back from left to right: Catherine Parr, Anna of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, and Jane Seymour.

Front from left to right: Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard. Back from left to right: Catherine Parr, Anna of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, and Jane Seymour.

Recording cast! From left to right: Jane Seymour (Natalie Seymour), Catherine of Aragon (Renee Lamb), Catherine Parr (Izuka Hoyle), Anna of Cleves (Genesis Lynea), and Katherine Howard (Aimee Atkinson)

Recording cast! From left to right: Jane Seymour (Natalie Seymour), Catherine of Aragon (Renee Lamb), Catherine Parr (Izuka Hoyle), Anna of Cleves (Genesis Lynea), and Katherine Howard (Aimee Atkinson)

2017 Arts Theatre Production (Off-West End) - December 2017 (6 performances)
and Cast Recording –released September 2018

L to R: Anne Boleyn, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Jane Seymour, Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine Parr.

L to R: Anne Boleyn, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Jane Seymour, Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine Parr.

The first professional, non-student performances of Six went up in December 2017, only a few months after it premiered in Edinburgh (which is kind of an insane jump!). As described in the New York Times article, professional musical theater people began to attend the Edinburgh run and asked the co-creators Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow about securing rights for the show. A family friend of Toby Marlow’s, composer George Stiles, encouraged West End producer Kenny Wax to come see the show in Cambridge. Wax ended up securing the rights for the show with Stiles and partnered with producers Wendy and Andy Barnes (who had seen the show in Edinburgh), and produced a short run of the show in London off-the West End at the Arts Theatre.

The Arts Theatre cast also recorded the musical score and released it in September 2018. The Six album went viral, streaming millions of times on various musical platforms, and became a huge hit on the social media app TikTok.

The Arts Theatre costumes have a lot of Tudor fashion elements that weren’t present in the original student cast costumes. You can start to see some of the hairstyles and lacing elements that would become part of the final Gabriella Slade designed costumes.

It looks like they also took publicity photos at the Tower of London and against the backdrop of the Tower Bridge; I’ve included those in all the slideshows as well.

Catherine of Aragon - Renee Lamb
Anne Boleyn - Christina Modestou
Jane Seymour- Natalie Paris
Anna of Cleves- Genesis Lynea
Katherine Howard- Aimee Atkinson
Catherine Parr- Izuka Hoyle

L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr.

L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. (Credit: Josh Bird)

L to R: Renee Lamb, Christina Modestou, Natalie Paris, Random Beefeater, Genesis Lynea, Aimee Atkinson, Izuka Hoyle

L to R: Renee Lamb, Christina Modestou, Natalie Paris, Random Beefeater, Genesis Lynea, Aimee Atkinson, Izuka Hoyle

Catherine of Aragon - Renee Lamb (2017 Arts Theatre and Cast Recording Casts)

The last pic in this gallery shows Renee when she came back as an emergency stand in for Aragon during the West End run!

Anne Boleyn - Christina Modestou (2017 Arts Theatre and Cast Recording Casts)

Jane Seymour- Natalie Paris (2017 Arts Theatre and Cast Recording Casts)

Anna of Cleves- Genesis Lynea (2017 Arts Theatre and Cast Recording Casts)

The last pic in this gallery shows Genesis when she came back as an emergency stand in for Cleves during the West End run!

Katherine Howard- Aimee Atkinson (2017 Arts Theatre and Cast Recording Casts)

Catherine Parr- Izuka Hoyle (2017 Arts Theatre and Cast Recording Casts)

L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. The original UK Tour costumes, designed by Gabriella Slade.

L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. The original UK Tour costumes, designed by Gabriella Slade. (Credit: Archant)

2018 UK tour – July – December 2018
and Original West End Production – January 2019 opening for initial 16-week run. Initial run has been extended until January 2021.

L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Katherine Howard, Anna of Cleves, Jane Seymour, Catherine Parr and Anne Boleyn. The original UK Tour costumes, designed by Gabriella Slade.

L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Katherine Howard, Anna of Cleves, Jane Seymour, Catherine Parr and Anne Boleyn. The original UK Tour costumes, designed by Gabriella Slade. (Credit: Archant)

The show gained its awesome current costumes designed by Gabriella Slade sometime during the 2018 UK tour. During her recent Instagram takeover, Slade said that Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow asked her to come in and do the costumes about two years ago. She looked at Tudor portraits, paintings, and architecture, and looked at modern fashion designers for inspiration. Each costume took a few weeks to make, with at least three fittings per costume.

An in-between step in the costume evolution. You can see that Aragon’s wig and hair accessories have decreased in size, and Jane Seymour’s hair accessory has changed, but Anna of Cleves is still in her black costume, and Anne Boleyn still has green …

An in-between step in the costume evolution. You can see that Aragon’s wig and hair accessories have decreased in size, and Jane Seymour’s hair accessory has changed, but Anna of Cleves is still in her black costume, and Anne Boleyn still has green hair accessories instead of black studs. (Credit: Idil Sukan)

As you can see in the slideshows below, once the actual Gabby Slade costumes were made, most of the costumes were only tweaked. Catherine of Aragon’s wig and crown decreased in size, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour’s hair accessories changed up a bit, etc. Catherine Parr’s costume design has changed up a bit as well; various elements moved around and the sleeves are totally different now.

However, the Anna of Cleves costume has changed a LOT, as it started out as a black and silver costume with a vest and changed to a red and black costume with a jacket.

Catherine of Aragon - Jarneia Richard-Noel
Anne Boleyn - Millie O’Connell
Jane Seymour - Natalie Paris
Anna of Cleves - Alexia McIntosh
Katherine Howard- Aimee Atkinson
Catherine Parr- Maiya Quansah-Breed
Understudy - Grace Mouat

The first photo in each of the slideshows below is the original costume by Gabriella Slade, and the second photo is the current costume for that character. The last picture in each slideshow is the original historical painting.

The West End costumes. L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Eleanor Howarth

The West End costumes. L to R: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Eleanor Howarth

The Broadway costumes of Six. L to R: Catherine Parr, Anna of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard. Bryan Derballa for The New York Times.

The Broadway costumes of Six. L to R: Catherine Parr, Anna of Cleves, Catherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard. Bryan Derballa for The New York Times.

Catherine of Aragon - Jarneia Richard-Noel (2018 UK Tour and Original West End Casts)

Anne Boleyn - Millie O’Connell (2018 UK Tour and Original West End Casts)

Jane Seymour - Natalie Paris (2018 UK Tour and Original West End Casts)

Anna of Cleves - Alexia McIntosh (2018 UK Tour and Original West End Casts)

Katherine Howard- Aimee Atkinson (2018 UK Tour and Original West End Casts)

Catherine Parr- Maiya Quansah-Breed (2018 UK Tour and Original West End Casts)

Details from Six Costumer Gabriella Slade's Instagram Takeover

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April 2, 2020
Six Costume designer Gabriella Slade has taken over the @SixtheMusical Instagram for the day! I’m taking notes on everything she’s saying and throwing out a couple questions myself.

  • How she got involved in the production: About two years ago, Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow asked her to come in and do the costumes.

  • Tudor elements confirmed in the costumes: split pane sleeves, doublet references, corsetry, square necklines, a four part skirt, lots of latticework in the lacing.

  • Inspirations: For inspirations, she looked to Tudor portraits, paintings, and architecture. She also looked at modern fashion designers like Alexander McQueen.

  • Costume Making Process: The costumes take a few weeks to make. They do at least three fittings per costume and sometimes more, as the costumes are very complicated. The costumes are VERY heavy. The wardrobe supervisors for each show handle any alterations and mending. The most commonly needed fix is stud related, as they apparently fall off VERY often, even with the BEST glue in the world.

  • The queen’s costume that takes the longest to make: Catherine of Aragon’s! Most complicated costume in the show.

  • The queen’s costume that was the hardest for her to design: Jane Seymour costume was the hardest for her to design, as that character has a very different vibe from the rest of the queens. She said she needed a different visual language.

  • She’s not allowed to have favorite alternate costumes, however, she really enjoyed making the most recent pink costume currently worn by Zara in the WE production. There aren’t any purple costumes because it’s the brand color for six.

  • The boots are designed by Slade and are made by Laduca Shoes, specialists in dancewear.

  • Broadway Costume Changes: additional stud work, more latticework, just to enhance the initial designs from a few years.

  • Whenever a new cast comes in, she goes to see the show, so she’s seen it “loads of times.” Old costumes of cast members that have left the show are kept by the production and looked after on an archive rail.

  • Favorite detail about each costume: The many tudor and historical details in the costumes is so very important, even in contemporary fabrics.

  • She LOVES it when people cosplay the costumes. Whenever people do really brilliant ones that look like actual stage costumes, her team shares pictures of them all around. She also really loves the fan art of the costumes she sees online.

Suggestions for cosplays:

  • The costumes are super heavy so Slade suggests that cosplayers use “big chunky zips” on their creations.

  • Parr’s top has a zipper and a hook and eye closure.

  • Howard’s zip is on the center of the back of the bodice - the new broadway skirt has a side front opening instead of a center back one, as that helps the longevity of the skirt.

Miscellaneous:

  • Advice for students going into doing textiles for GCSE - need to keep up on new techniques and terminology.

  • Slade drinks tea all the time and she is a HUGE herbal tea fan.

Update: Six Alternates Won't Have Their Own Costumes on Broadway

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All My Six Posts!
Over-Analyzing All the Historical References in Six- “Ex Wives,” “No Way,” “Don’t Lose Your Head” “Heart of Stone” “Haus of Holbein” “Get Down”
The Tudor Crown Inspiration in Six’s Logo; The Tudor Fashion Elements of the Costumes in Six (with Painting References)
Six the Musical Wives 1-3: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations; Six the Musical Wives 4-6: Historical and Modern Costume Inspirations
The Ladies in Waiting of Six: Historical Inspirations and Costumes; Details from Six Costumer Gabriella Slade’s Instagram Takeover
The Early Costumes of Six the Musical: From Edinburgh to Cambridge to London
Updated Six the Musical Costumes for Broadway!; The Shoes of Six the Musical
The Alternate Costumes of Six the Musical; How the Six Alternates Change Their Styling for Each Queen
Virtual Dance Workshops and Q&As with Different Six Cast Members!

UPDATED MARCH 12, 2020 WITH MORE INFO AND PICTURES

The Six fandom has been buzzing over the last week about the Broadway alternates’ costumes, as both Mallory Maedke and Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert took the stage in old versions of the regular costumes rather than the previous alternate costumes they wore in Chicago. There was speculation that the alternates were getting new costumes that just weren’t ready yet (as the show is technically still in previews; opening isn’t officially until March 12, 2020).

Mallory Maedke going on as Jane Seymour and Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Catherine of Aragon. Both of these costumes are older ones that don’t feature the peplums that were added for Broadway.

Mallory Maedke going on as Jane Seymour and Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Catherine of Aragon. Both of these costumes are older ones that don’t feature the peplums that were added for Broadway.

Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Catherine of Aragon

Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Catherine of Aragon

However, Lambert has now officially confirmed in the comments on Instagram that there won’t be any more alternate costumes on Broadway, for unspecified reasons. (MANY THANKS to Katie Proctor of the Six: The Musical (Fan Group) on Facebook for capturing and sharing this interaction).

This is really sad to hear, the Queendom really loved the alternate costumes. It really seemed to be one of the big aspects setting the Six musical franchise apart from other shows; traditionally, alternates wear the same costumes as the main characters in the musical, but the special costumes really made them stand out in an exciting and unique way. I really don’t know anything about Broadway equity and/or union rules, but I’ll be looking into this a bit more this week to try to find the exact reason why this isn’t allowed. This seems to be just another thing on Broadway that’s different from the other shows (as I previously mentioned, filming and photography technically isn’t allowed during the Broadway Megasix, although it doesn’t look like the ushers or show have been enforcing that too hard).

It does seem like all the other shows will be continuing to use the special alternate costumes though, so those can still be seen in the 5 OTHER SHOWS running right now: in the West End in London, on the UK/Ireland Tour, on the Australia/New Zealand tour, and on two cruise ships: Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Breakaway. Additional Performances will go up on the Norwegian Getaway in April and in Chicago and Wellington, Australia in July.

UPDATED MARCH 12

We actually saw an alternate costume on Broadway, as Nicole wore her old one when went on as Catherine Parr, as her new costume presumably isn’t ready yet and the older ones don’t fit her. It is Very similar to the usual Parr though, just with a different color blue and different sleeves.

Courtney Mack going on as Anne Boleyn (in an older costume, as the updated for broadway version features silver beading around each black epaulet) and Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Catherine Parr, wearing her old alternate costume (presumably…

Courtney Mack going on as Anne Boleyn (in an older costume, as the updated for broadway version features silver beading around each black epaulet) and Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Catherine Parr, wearing her old alternate costume (presumably because her new Catherine parr costume isn’t ready yet).

Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Anna of Cleves in an old costume (the old version has a crop top, while the new version doesn’t) and Courtney Mack going on as Katherine Howard in an updated for Australia/Broadway costume (visible in the check p…

Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert going on as Anna of Cleves in an old costume (the old version has a crop top, while the new version doesn’t) and Courtney Mack going on as Katherine Howard in an updated for Australia/Broadway costume (visible in the check pattern fabric outline on the skirt)

Updated Six the Musical Costumes for Broadway!

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Here’s the Broadway stage door for reference of what the costumes looked like before the show opened. Cleves’s and Howard’s costumes in the stage show definitely do not look the same as they do here. The others look very similar, but there are some …

Here’s the Broadway stage door for reference of what the costumes looked like before the show opened. Cleves’s and Howard’s costumes in the stage show definitely do not look the same as they do here. The others look very similar, but there are some details changed in each look.

The Broadway costumes! Photo thanks to @Tschusko on Instagram.

The Broadway costumes! Photo thanks to @Tschusko on Instagram.

Jarnéia Richard-Noel in the West End, Unknown photographer

Jarnéia Richard-Noel in the West End, By Eleanor Howarth

Adrianna Hicks on Broadway, By Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Adrianna Hicks on Broadway, By Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Aragon: The inverted chevrons on Aragon’s top have been changed to black and gold checks. These checks also show up in her skirt, where it replaces the gold stripe section, which also sports a new peplum layer The sleeves are different, with bigger puffs at top and black fishnet over gold bottoms that look an awful lot like Seymour’s sleeves.

  • peplum- a short flared, gathered, or pleated strip of fabric attached at the waist of a woman's jacket, dress, or blouse to create a hanging frill or flounce

Millie O’Connell, who originated the Boleyn role on the West End, Unknown photographer

Millie O’Connell, who originated the Boleyn role on the West End, Unknown photographer

Andrea Macasaet on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Andrea Macasaet on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Boleyn: Boleyn’s costume looks almost the same, but she’s got more silver studs at the bottom and top of her skirt and defining each black grid and epaulette on her top

Natalie Paris in the West End (Photographer Unknown)

Natalie Paris in the West End (Photographer Unknown)

Abby Muller on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Abby Muller on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Seymour: Hey, Seymour got a peplum too! Everyone gets peplums now! Her peplum is white with black lines, visually extending her top rather than sitting on her skirt like Aragon’s or on Parr’s pants. Her top also has more diagonal black stripes on the side now, instead of the just plain vertical ones she had before.

The original-ish West End costume. There actually was a black version that was phased out a long time ago. Alexia McIntosh in the West End, Unknown Photographer

The original-ish West End costume. There actually was a black version that was phased out a long time ago. Alexia McIntosh in the West End, Unknown Photographer

Brittney Mack on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Brittney Mack on Broadway, by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

New Cleves Earrings for Broadway! by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

New Cleves Earrings for Broadway! by Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Cleves:
Cleves’ jacket is pretty much the same it’s been in other casts except for some added epaulettes and perhaps some added sleeve length and overall length, but UNDERNEATH the jacket. Damn girl.

The black crop top with red trimming has been replaced with a MAGNIFENT red top (longer than her previous crop top with lots of silver studding, a mini faux black corset, lots of silver chains draping everywhere, and magnificent sleeves made up of gridded silver studded red leather strips. I wish I had a picture of this so badly, as it doesn’t show up as much under her jacket, but when she strips in her song, it’s super visible and AMAZING.

She also gets to wear some friggin amazing thigh high black boots covered in gorgeous silver studs.

Katherine Howard (Aimie Atkinson), Photo by Idil Sukan.

Katherine Howard (Aimie Atkinson), Photo by Idil Sukan.

Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Howard: Howard’s Broadway costume looks identical to the updated Australia costume but with only one X across the neckline rather than two. From my post on that: “It looks like the same black striped mesh fabric is in use all over both the West End and the Australia outfits, but the pink fabric has changed up a bit. In addition to the original sheer pink fabric used on the skirt, there's now a slightly less sheer pink fabric with black hatching on it; the skirt's panels alter between sheer and sheer with hatching and there's now a bottom border of the sheer with hatching fabric. There's also more silver beading throughout the skirt. This fabric with hatching is also incorporated into the alternating style panels on the bodice and on the bodice's top sleeves. It also looks like the hatching fabric may be used on the back of the bodice as well.”

Danielle Steer in the West End. (Production photo)

Danielle Steer in the West End. (Production photo)

Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Joan Marcus/Kelly Taub

Parr: Her sleeves look fuller and rounder, and now she has a blue and black peplum with silver studs. Her belt is more heavily studded. It also looks like her pants are made with a totally different black fabric, with a cool print visible on it.

Both pants actually have the same lacing and silver studs on the side, but I couldn’t find a good photo from the west end that shows the entire current costume AND the lacings visible.

image9.jpeg
broadway earrings gabriella slade.JPG

Accessory Changes:

It looks like all the Queens are now wearing SPARKLY fish nets (except Parr, who wears pants). Previously, it looked like they just wore sheer black hose. The sparkles are hard to see in photographs, but they’re super visible in person! You can probably see them best in the Cleves broadway photo above.

All of the Queens now have large earrings with the Roman numeral version of their “order” in the wives!

All Broadway Cast Accessories:

Aragon:

  • Sparkly spiked gold hoops with a roman numeral “I” in the center

  • Large gold spikes on a leather headband

  • Lots of piled up gold chain necklaces.

Boleyn:

  • Silver spiked hooks with “II” in the center

  • Leather cuffs with spikes around her “space buns”

  • Green sparkly “B” necklace

    Seymour:

  • Silver hoops with “III” in the center, no spikes (I can’t tell if the earrings are sparkly or just made of tiny silver circles like Cleves)

  • White headband with small silver spikes

  • It looks like she’s wearing a silver chain necklace, but that appears to be part of her costume

    Cleves:

  • Large silver “IV”s made of tiny little silver circles

  • Silver spikes arranged lengthwise on her head on either side of her hairdo (which is this gorgeous braid twist bun thing I can’t properly describe)

    Howard:

  • Silver hoops with a big sparkly pink “V”

  • Leather cuff with spikes around ponytail with pink ends; “K” necklace

    Parr:

  • Big silver hoops with sparkly black “VI”

  • Silver spikes along her part line in a vaguely mohawk style

I saw the show on February 22 and it was BRILLIANT. I got some photos but honestly, they weren’t very good quality. You’re welcome to go see them at www.instagram.com/rachaeldickzen.