Six Lyrics – All Songs from the Musical

"SIX" – The Musical Guide & Song Meanings

Review

In 2020, “SIX” arrived on Broadway with exquisite timing and terrible luck. It began previews in February, planned to open in March, and then Broadway shut down. That near-miss oddly suits the show. “SIX” is about history getting interrupted, rewritten, and sold back to us. The difference is that here, the women do the rewriting themselves, on microphones, with a band and a scoreboard.

Lyric-first, beat-second is the secret. Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss write like pop writers who have read too many biographies. Each queen gets a tight, signature vocabulary: Aragon’s righteous accounting, Boleyn’s cheeky deflection, Seymour’s bruised sincerity, Cleves’ self-invention, Howard’s escalating double meanings, Parr’s principled insistence. The structure is a sing-off, but the best lyrics keep slipping out of the format. Songs start as personal branding, then crack into confession. When the show is honest, it is not asking who suffered most. It is asking why these women have been reduced to slogans at all.

Musically, it is a concert with theatrical rules. The lighting is pulse-driven, the costumes are pop-star armor, and the onstage band, billed as the Ladies in Waiting, is part of the storytelling rather than a hidden pit. That visibility matters. “SIX” is about who holds the mic, and the staging refuses to pretend the mic is neutral.

Listener tip: if you only know the catchy clips, listen straight through in order once. The show’s emotional turn depends on contrast. The funny numbers make the darker ones sharper, and the darker ones make the finale feel earned rather than automatic.

How It Was Made

“SIX” was written by Marlow and Moss while they were students at Cambridge, partly out of frustration with how few substantial roles exist for women and non-binary performers in mainstream musical theatre. The premise is a solution disguised as a joke: take six historically famous women, give each a pop persona, and let them argue with the record. The show’s early rise through the Edinburgh Fringe created a practical discipline: short runtime, fast scene economy, and songs that land cleanly even when you are watching in less-than-ideal conditions.

By the time it reached the West End and then aimed for Broadway, the creators leaned into the concert grammar rather than softening it. That choice also explains the score’s lyric architecture. Pop hooks thrive on repetition. Broadway thrives on development. “SIX” fuses the two by making repetition itself the point: the queens repeat what the world repeats about them, then seize control of the chorus.

Version note: the studio cast recording functions like a nine-track sampler built for replay. The Broadway live album captures the room: audience reaction, concert dynamics, and the sense that this is performance as communal ritual. If you want lyrics in crisp focus, start with the studio album. If you want the show’s electricity, go live.

Key Tracks & Scenes

"Ex-Wives" (Company)

The Scene:

House lights drop into a pop gig. The queens enter like headliners, the band is visible, and the opening establishes the contest format with the confidence of a stadium intro.

Lyrical Meaning:

A history lesson written as a hook. The lyric turns the most reductive summary into an anthem, then dares you to hear what it leaves out.

"No Way" (Catherine of Aragon)

The Scene:

Aragon claims the stage as a courtroom. Bold front light, pointed gestures, and vocal attack that reads as both rage and self-respect.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is refusal as rhythm. It is less about heartbreak than about sovereignty. Her pain becomes a bill presented with interest.

"Don't Lose Ur Head" (Anne Boleyn)

The Scene:

A sugar-rush number that plays like a prank on the premise. Bright cues, pop-star bounce, and jokes delivered like meme-ready asides.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric uses comedy as camouflage. It sells Boleyn as the fun one, then quietly reveals how that persona can be a survival tactic.

"Heart of Stone" (Jane Seymour)

The Scene:

Tempo drops, lighting narrows, and the show allows stillness. The concert staging becomes intimate without changing the format.

Lyrical Meaning:

A ballad about endurance that refuses to glamorize endurance. The lyric makes loyalty sound costly, which is the point.

"Haus of Holbein" (Company)

The Scene:

Runway chaos. The visuals turn deliberately synthetic, and the performers lean into fashion-world absurdity as a palate cleanser.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric is about image as propaganda. Beauty becomes a negotiation tool, and the show laughs at the cruelty of the transaction.

"Get Down" (Anna of Cleves)

The Scene:

Cleves performs self-reinvention as club swagger. The staging often reads as a victory lap: confident movement, audience-facing charisma, controlled chaos.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric flips the narrative from rejection to liberation. It treats survival as a glow-up, then makes that glow-up feel intelligent rather than petty.

"All You Wanna Do" (Katherine Howard)

The Scene:

It begins like flirtation and escalates into something harder to watch. The lighting and tempo shifts tend to track the turn, tightening the room as the jokes curdle.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric weaponizes repetition. The same phrases that sound playful early become evidence later. The song is a trap built from hooks.

"I Don't Need Your Love" (Catherine Parr)

The Scene:

Parr takes the stage like a keynote speaker. It is still a concert, but the energy is purpose-driven, with the band supporting a more declarative tone.

Lyrical Meaning:

The lyric reframes legacy as authorship. It is not a romance rejection; it is a demand to be read as more than a relationship.

Live Updates

Information current as of 2 February 2026. “SIX” remains an active, multi-market property. In London, the official production site is now selling dates out to January 2027, while at least one major ticketing partner currently lists booking through Sunday 28 June 2026. (Ticket inventory windows can differ by seller, even when the underlying production is still extending.)

On Broadway, “SIX” continues at the Lena Horne Theatre, with major ticketing outlets listing performances into 2026 and beyond. If you want the original West End lineup on a large screen, a professionally filmed stage capture, “SIX The Musical Live!”, played in UK and Ireland cinemas from Sunday 6 April 2025 via Universal’s UK site for the release.

Practical viewing tip: if you are choosing seats, prioritize sightlines that keep the band and the full lighting grid in view. This production tells story through concert language. Cropping the visuals dulls the intent.

Notes & Trivia

• Broadway previews began on 13 February 2020, with the official opening planned for 12 March 2020, the day Broadway shut down for COVID-19.
• The show’s runtime is around 80 minutes with no interval, and it leans into pop-concert staging rather than scene changes.
• The studio cast recording was released 31 August 2018 and runs about 42 minutes across nine tracks.
• A live Broadway opening-night recording was released 6 May 2022, capturing audience reaction and concert energy.
• The West End and Broadway productions are backed onstage by a visible band billed as the Ladies in Waiting.
• “SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album (65th Grammy Awards season).
• Critical arguments about the show tend to split along one line: whether its empowerment frame feels like substance or slogan. The lyrics do most of the persuading.

Reception

The show’s reception has always been a debate about form. Fans respond to its speed, its clarity, and its pop-star specificity. Skeptics sometimes hear the same qualities as thinness. That argument is healthy. “SIX” is deliberately compact, and compact work invites scrutiny because there is nowhere to hide.

What has changed since 2020 is context. A concert-style musical on Broadway used to feel like a novelty. In the post-2020 era, the show’s sense of being a communal event became part of its value proposition. In other words, the format caught up with the moment.

Awards snapshot (selected):

• Tony Awards (2022): 2 wins (Best Original Score; Best Costume Design of a Musical) and 8 nominations total.
• Drama Desk Awards (2022): wins for Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics, and Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical; plus the Ensemble Award for the six Broadway queens.
• Outer Critics Circle Awards (2022): Outstanding New Broadway Musical (Marjorie Gunner Award), Outstanding Score, and Outstanding Costume Design.
• Laurence Olivier Awards (2019): five nominations including Best New Musical (original West End production).
• Grammy Awards (2023 season): “SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT” nominated for Best Musical Theater Album.

“Explosively joyous.”

“A flashy, concert-style musical.”

“Strutting strong.”

Quick Facts

• Title: SIX
• Year focus: 2020 (Broadway previews and pandemic interruption)
• Type: Pop concert musical
• Music & lyrics: Toby Marlow, Lucy Moss
• Directors: Lucy Moss, Jamie Armitage
• Choreography: Carrie-Anne Ingrouille
• Costume design: Gabriella Slade
• Lighting design: Tim Deiling
• Selected notable placements: “Ex-Wives” (concert thesis); “Haus of Holbein” (image satire); “All You Wanna Do” (hook repetition as harm); “I Don’t Need Your Love” (legacy claim)
• Awards (selected): Tony Awards 2022 wins for Best Original Score and Best Costume Design of a Musical; multiple 2022 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle wins; 2023-season Grammy nomination for “SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT.”
• Album status: Studio Cast Recording (2018) and Live on Opening Night (2022)
• West End booking: Official London site currently selling through January 2027 (some ticketing partners list booking through Sunday 28 June 2026)
• Touring: UK tour dates published through 2026 on the official site
• Filmed stage release: “SIX The Musical Live!” cinemas in UK and Ireland from 6 April 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to “SIX” on Broadway in 2020?

It began previews in February 2020 and was scheduled to open in March, but Broadway closed for COVID-19 on the planned opening day. The show later reopened and officially opened in October 2021.

Is there a cast recording?

Yes. There is a 2018 Studio Cast Recording and a 2022 live Broadway album recorded on opening night.

Is there a filmed version I can watch?

There is a professionally filmed stage capture, “SIX The Musical Live!”, released in UK and Ireland cinemas on 6 April 2025. Availability outside that window depends on distributor plans and local listings.

Is “SIX” appropriate for kids?

Many official listings recommend it for ages 10 and up due to language and innuendo. It is short, loud, and designed like a concert, which some families find easier to manage.

Why is the show only about 80 minutes?

The format is built like a pop set. The short runtime is structural: it keeps the show’s energy high and the sing-off concept clean.

Who are the “Ladies in Waiting”?

They are the onstage band. The production treats them as part of the world, reinforcing the idea that the queens are headliners in their own stories.

Key contributors

Name	Role	Contribution
Toby Marlow	Music, lyrics	Co-wrote the pop score and lyric voices that differentiate each queen’s persona and arc.
Lucy Moss	Music, lyrics; director	Co-wrote the score and co-directed the concert staging that foregrounds microphones, lighting, and band visibility.
Jamie Armitage	Director	Co-directed the production’s concert grammar and pacing discipline.
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille	Choreographer	Movement language that reads as pop performance while still tracking character and rivalry.
Gabriella Slade	Costume designer	Pop-icon costuming that signals individuality and power while keeping the six queens a cohesive group.
Tim Deiling	Lighting designer	Pulse-driven lighting that communicates concert escalation and emotional turns without scene changes.
Universal Pictures	Distributor	UK and Ireland cinema release support materials for “SIX The Musical Live!”

References & Verification: SIX: London official site; SIX London FAQs; SIX on Broadway (official) timeline; Tony Awards show page; Playbill (Drama Desk winners list); Playbill (Outer Critics Circle winners list); Playbill (Grammy-nominated album note); Universal Pictures UK (SIX The Musical Live!); ATG Tickets (West End booking window); Broadway.com (show info); Variety review; The Guardian (West End review); The Guardian (Broadway review).