The anticipation was incredible when the Queens first laid eyes on the Tiny Desk. Once employees stopped taking pictures, the actors and band had the space to themselves, captivating the collected crowd.
In this musical, Henry VIII’s six wives are reunited as if they were actual pop artists. Beyoncé (played by Khaila Wilcoxon), Miley Cyrus (Storm Lever as Anne Boleyn), Adele (Jane Seymour), Lizzo (Olivia Donalson as Anna of Cleves), Britney Spears (Didi Romero as Katherine Howard), and Celine Dion are just a few of their “queenspirations” (Catherine Parr played by Gabriela Carrillo).
When both undergraduates at the University of Cambridge, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, wrote SIX, it had its world debut there in 2017. Six show productions are currently running worldwide, attesting to its worldwide success since then. Both the Tony Award for best original score and the Tony Award for outstanding costume design went to this musical.
It was announced that March 12, 2020, would be the opening night for the new Broadway production. New York theatres were shut down 90 minutes before showtime because of the pandemic. When SIX eventually debuted in the fall of 2021, I volunteered to organize a Tiny Desk (home) concert as the team’s resident theatre nerd.
Then it was revealed that The National Theatre, located only a short distance from NPR’s headquarters, will be hosting the musical. We were relieved to have returned to Bob’s tiny workstation, where we’d been recording bands, and to be ready for their arrival. Her story, as they say, is what happens after that. Are you also interested in reading Tiny Desk Concert By The Juilliard Jazz Ensemble?
SETLIST
- “Ex-Wives (Reprise)”
- “Heart of Stone”
- “Get Down”
- “Six”
MUSICIANS
- Khaila Wilcoxon: vocals, as Catherine of Aragon
- Storm Lever: vocals, as Anne Boleyn
- Jasmine Forsberg: vocals, as Jane Seymour
- Olivia Donalson: vocals, as Anna of Cleves
- Didi Romero: vocals, as Katherine Howard
- Gabriela Carrillo: vocals, as Catherine Parr
- Jo Ann Daugherty: conductor, keyboard
- Valerie Maze: melodica, percussion
- Janetta Goines: bass
- Rose Laguaña: electric, acoustic guitar
- Paige Durr: drums
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer/Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
- Director: Kara Frame
- Series Creator: Bob Boilen
- Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Editor: Michael Zamora
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Michael Zamora, Pierre Kattar, Joshua Bryant
- Production Assistants: Jill Britton, Alanté Serene, Joby Tanseco
- Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Marissa Lorusso, Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer, Maia Stern
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
- Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
Keep following journalistpr.com for more updates.