THEATRE REVIEW: "Six" at the CIBC Theatre (Chicago, IL)

      On the evening of March 29th, 2022, I went to see a performance of the Toby Marlow / Lucy Moss musical "Six" at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago, IL.  This production is the Aragon National Tour of the musical, and the March 29th performance was opening night.  "Six" is no stranger to Chicago.  From May 14th through August 4th, 2019, the musical lunched its North American Premiere Production at The Yard at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.  The World Premiere of "Six" took place at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and ran from July 31st through October 14th, 2017.  There was a U.K. Tour of "Six" in 2018, and an Off-West End production the year before that.  The West End Production has been running since 2019, unless you count two pandemic holds.  The Aragon National Tour, that I saw, performed in Chicago through July 3rd, 2022.  

     On the night I saw the show, the cast included Khaila Wilcoxon (Catherine of Aragon), Storm Lever (Anne Boleyn), Jasmine Forsberg (Jane Seymour), Keirsten Nicole Hodgens (Anna of Cleves [Alternate]), Didi Romero (Katherine Howard), and Gabriella Carrillo (Catherine Parr).  The entire cast gave a great performance.  I also liked the scenic design by Emma Bailey, and costume design by Gabriella Slade.  This was another show I won the Broadway in Chicago ticket lottery for.  When finding my seat, I was thrilled to discover I had the third row, left hand side of the Orchestra level, all to myself.  

     The Broadway Production of "Six" began 47 previews back on February 13th, 2020.  But on the night it was set to open officially, all the theatres shut down because of Covid-19.  Because of that, the Broadway Production of "Six" didn't open until October 3rd, 2021.  Anyway, "Six" was the third touring production I saw in 2022 where it was hard to tell it was a tour.  With "Hadestown" and "Moulin Rouge," I felt the same way.  Also, "Six" was the first show I've seen since "Fun Home" back in 2016 where the musical is nearly ninety minutes in length, and there's no intermission.  I definitely enjoyed "Six" much more than "Fun Home."  

     After I see a great musical, I tend to experience a dip in my mood.  Either that or I become rather obsessed with the musical and begin listening to the cast recording repeatedly.  Sometimes I just listen to one song over and over.  Usually I only snap out of it when I see another musical.  The only problem now is that there isn't another show I'm anxious to see.  Not a musical, anyway.  I suppose I can always see a play at the Goodman Theatre, or as I wrote in a previous post, maybe even Steppenwolfe.  Anyway, all rambling aside, I say good things come in threes, and I saw three great musicals in March of 2022.

     This second advertisement for "Six" confused me.  As far as I knew, the production at the CIBC Theatre is a National Tour, yet this ad is making it seem like an actual Chicago production.  I mean, three months is a long time for a touring production to stay in Chicago, but it hardly makes it a long-term production.  So I checked ibdb.com (Internet Broadway Database) and it turns out the CIBC Theatre is the first tour stop of the Aragon Tour of "Six."  After the production left following the July 3rd performance, it wiould make a stop at the National Theatre in D.C. for a similar duration, then go on to the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa Bay, where it would play for about a week. So there was no chance the Chicago Engagement would be extended by popular demand.  It's simply a long tour stop of a great musical.  To listen to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of "Six" (live on opening night), click Here.

     The Original Broadway Cast Recording is a good album of "Six," but the Studio Cast Recording is too.  It is shorter in duration, so it requires less of a commitment when it comes to listening to music.  However, since the Broadway Cast Recording is a live album, there is cheering from the audience that is far more appropriate for this concert style of a show than in other musicals that have live cast recordings.  I typically like live cast recordings because it makes me feel like I'm seeing the show again.  But if too many other sounds can be heard, that can ruin the experience.  Also, since I saw the show in Chicago, that was the city mentioned throughout the performance.  But in the Broadway Cast Recording, it was "New York City" this and "New York City" that.  Oh well, I suppose I will just have to look past that... or listen past that.

     In more recent days, I've tried to see the Broadway Production of "Six" at what is now called the Lena Horne Theatre.  I've missed my opportunity to see the Original Broadway Cast perform.  I guess I can be grateful that I saw them perform on the 2021 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  That was when I knew I wanted to see the show.  I'm sure they weren't at their best for performing out in the cold, but I liked the Aragon Tour cast even better.  Also, the acoustics at the CIBC Theatre were perfect when I saw "Six" there.  

     If I get the opportunity to see "Six" again, I hope I don't have to see it alone like last time.  It is a fun show, and I'd imagine it's a fun show to experience with a friend or loved one.  However, "Six" is a fun show to such an extent that I still had fun even going by myself.  I am glad that me and my empty row of seats was off to the side.  I did not want the Aragon Cast to notice me--at least, not more than they had to.  While long-run shows like this production of "Six" and the 2022 Chicago Engagement of "Moulin Rouge" provide "economic opportunity,"  I didn't contribute much with my discounted theatre ticket.  Plus, since both productions were National Tours, Chicago Actors didn't necessarily get hired for the parts.