#OMG! “SIXish – a Drag Tribute Show” Gets Beheaded in NYC

August 29, 2022
TOMMY

: The Company of “SIXish – A Drag Tribute Show” with members of the Broadway cast of “SIX”

This month saw the triumphant opening of SIXish - A Drag Tribute Show. The show - which is exactly what the title implies - is a drag tribute to the Broadway musical SIX, which features 6 badass women playing the famed six wives of King Henry VIII. The musical is one of the hottest hits on Broadway and is one of my favorite shows I've seen in the last few years.

SIXish was originally slated to open in July at Q Club, but canceled the show in light of racist allegations towards the Q management, which Cybersocket covered. After securing Iridium Jazz Club in Times Square for the show, the production finally saw its time in the light, though not before the show reportedly got quiet wind that the producers of the Broadway production were less than thrilled with the tribute. Though no legal action was pursued, the team at SIXish decided to suspend any future productions for the time being.

SIXish featured drag queens Hibiscus as Catherine of Aragon, Catrina Lovelace as Anne Boleyn, Lady Celestina as Jane Seymour, Peachez as Anne of Cleves, Inita D as Catherine Howard, and Egypt as Catherine Parr, and was beautifully directed and choreographed by Mikey. Not only that, but in the audience were members of the Broadway musical's cast, which only made the energy and the experience all the more incredible.

If you know those drag queens, then you'll also realize that the entire production is comprised of BIPOC artists, as well as artists of varying body sizes. The cast contains two Black drag queens, two Latinx drag queens, two AAPI drag queens, and as varied of body sizes and heights as you could hope for... and it was the single best drag show I've ever been to. Every single queen absolutely crushed it!

For Lovelace, the experience was extra special, writing on her Instagram, "This is still a hazy dream for me. I started off 2022 by seeing my first EVER musical. Fast forward a couple of months and now I’m in a drag production of a musical that’s on Broadway right now. Not only that, but the fact that I performed Anne Boleyn in front of @andrea.cesyl !!!! GOBSMACKED !"

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A post shared by CATRINA LOVELACE (@catrinalovelace)

Two particularly wonderful moments for me were when Lady Celestina performed Heart of Stone, and when the cast performed the finale number SIX. In terms of Heart of Stone, Celestina brought such passion and beauty to a song that demands exactly that, and her lip-synching was on-fucking-point. I wasn't ready to get so choked up at a drag show, but there I was, misty and in awe.

The finale song was so incredible because every single queen crushed the amazing choreography that Mikey created. The movements were tighter than a good blouse's tuck, and the energy was bigger than Lady Bunny's wigs. Mikey utilized the space perfectly, and made sure each queen got the chance to shine.

Until the production can figure out exactly what they want to do and how they can go about doing that without any trouble, they've decided to halt future productions.

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A post shared by SIX-ish: A Divorced, Beheaded, Drag Tribute (@sixishdrag)

As sad as I am that the show's future has been halted, I also am so thankful I got to see something so wonderful, so beautiful, and so joy-filled while it was there. I had just lost a good friend tragically a few days before, and that level of joy was something I truly needed. I hope SIXish - A Drag Tribute Show finds another home, but if not, I'm looking forward to seeing all these artists kick ass in their next endeavors.

Enjoy this clip from the production's final performance at Leg Up On Life, which is described on their website as "an arts initiative and community bringing artists from all walks of life together to raise funding for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC organizations that give back directly to our communities. Leg Up On Life is proud to have hosted artists from broadway, television shows, national tours, recording artists, DJs, visual artists, and many more."