Tudor queens born to rock in 'SIX' tour at Playhouse Square

Performer Gerianne Perez always knew she had it in her to play a kick-ass, diva queen.

That's just what she's doing as Catherine of Aragon in the musical "SIX," the international sensation. The second national tour is playing for five weeks from Tuesday through Sept. 10 at Playhouse Square's Connor Palace.

Perez plays one of six wives wronged by King Henry VIII, who had a habit of cheating on, divorcing or beheading his spouses. In this modern retelling of their lives, the Tudor queens become pop princesses as they battle it out in song, arena concert-style, to prove which wife was most royally abused by the nasty Henry.

They take turns telling their stories, through monologue and song, for the prize of becoming the band's lead singer.

In this pop-driven marital "herstory," you can remember what happened to each queen with this catch phrase from the show: Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. Those were the fates of wives Aragon, Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr, in that order.

Perez, 32, plays Henry's first wife, the one he was married to the longest at 24 years.

That's until he started chasing after lady in waiting Anne Boleyn and demanded an annulment from Catherine of Aragon. Aragon refused an annulment, which led to England's break with the Catholic Church and Henry becoming head of the Church of England.

In "SIX," each of the queens has a different energy and is inspired by specific pop stars. Perez's Catherine of Aragon is modeled after a mixture of Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez.

She enjoys channeling Beyonce and Lopez, with the latter being the "No. 1 queenspiration" for Perez, who is also a Puerto Rican actress. To prepare for the Argon role, she studied plenty of live concert footage and documentaries on Beyonce and Lopez.

"I know what it's like to be a musical theater actor but I wanted to see what recording artists were like when they were performing," Perez said.

Her costume, a short gold and black Tudoresque number, is based on Beyonce's silhouettes.

Before "SIX," Perez had performed ensemble and supporting roles throughout her career.

"Although I felt like I was a Catherine of Aragon, I was very scared," Perez said. "I had really had very little experience stepping into the spotlight."

"Catherine of Aragon was who I knew I could play and would be the best role for me, if I could just harness my confidence and just really dig deep for that sort of star power."

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Auditioning for 'SIX'

The actress, who calls Florida home, grew up moving around the country as an "Army brat."

She started auditioning for "SIX" in 2019 by sending self-tapes and was brought in for a live audition for Catherine Parr in 2021. The show's creatives then brought her in again to audition for the Katherine Howard and Catherine of Aragon roles.

By the final callback, with her potential role narrowed down to Catherine of Aragon, she sang in a semicircle with 11 other actresses competing for the part.

"It was the highest-pressure audition experience, and I have auditioned for Sara Bareilles. I have auditioned for Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus. But this audition for "SIX" was next level," Perez said.

She then went in for a work session, where the "SIX" team heard her do some vocal gymnastics to get a feel for what she'd be like to work with. In spring of 2022, she landed the Aragon role.

Bombastic first queen

Perez has found her star power with Aragon, the first wife of Henry and the first to be introduced in the pop competition with the searing tune "No Way." It's a song of outrage against divorce, written with a Latin beat.

"She is bombastic. She comes out into the show like a wrecking ball," she said. "She is the first one to kind of drop the mike and say, 'OK, this musical is gonna be unlike anything you've seen before.' "

The goal with "SIX" is not for the music to sound like something you'd hear in musical theater. The creators wanted it to sound like something you'd hear on the radio.

That includes pop, soul, R&B and punk rock sounds.

International sensation

"SIX," which had a UK tour before opening on the West End in 2019, previewed on Broadway in 2020 before the pandemic shut it down on what was supposed to be opening night. In 2021, it was the first new musical to open on Broadway since the start of the pandemic.

Created by Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow when they were students at Cambridge, "SIX" recently played in South Korea and will soon mount in Toronto as well as Warsaw, Poland, and Budapest, Hungary.

The "SIX" UK album was a big catalyst in making the musical an international sensation. People love to listen to it and it also has an important message about female empowerment, Perez said.

In a similar vein to "Hamilton," "It took history but it made it tangible. It made it something that today people would want to see and digest and watch or listen to again," the actress said.

Unlike the stereotypical queens you see in "The Tudors" or "The Other Boleyn Girl," the women in "SIX" subvert audience members' expectations about who these royals are. In Aragon's case, viewers see her grit and fire as she fights for her position as the queen of England, Perez said.

She finds Catherine of Aragon "deeply inspiring" as a woman who was faithful, loyal and tenacious, despite the heartache of losing multiple babies and her husband's efforts to illegitimize their marriage.

Aragon shocked everyone by having audacity to show up and kneel before Henry and the court when he petitioned to annul their marriage. She argued that she was blameless and fought so well that Henry had to create another religion to divorce her.

"She is constantly fighting for who she is supposed to be in this life," raised to be the queen of England, Perez said.

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Girl power rules in 'SIX'

This celebration of girl power features a four-person onstage band with drums, bass, guitar and keyboard. The band members, dressed head to toe in pleather, represent real historical ladies in waiting to Henry's wives.

Perez is looking forward to coming back to Cleveland after opening the first national tour of "Waitress" there for five weeks in 2017 as an ensemble member. She also returned with "Waitress" for five weeks last year at Playhouse Square's Hanna Theatre.

“SIX” requires a lot of stamina, considering Perez burns 750 calories per show. And she performs eight shows each week.

"I really kind of called on her (Aragon) and said, 'Give me your strength! Give me your strength!' " when Perez started the tour in September, she said.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Musical: "SIX"

When: Tuesday through Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays

Where: Connor Palace, Playhouse Square, 1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland

Onstage: Starring Gerianne Perez, Zan Berube, Amina Faye, Terica Marie, Aline Mayagoitia, Sydney Parra

Offstage: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, music/lyrics/book; Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage, co-directors; Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, choreographer; Emma Bailey, set designer; Gabriella Slade, costume designer; Paul Gatehouse, sound designer; Tim Deiling, lighting designer

Cost: $25-$120

Information: playhousesquare.org or 216-640-6000

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Wives of Henry VIII ready to rock in 'SIX' at Playhouse Square