Review: SIX stellar reasons to see the musical based on Henry VIII's wives
The musical SIX is an ode to sisterhood.
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Call it the Tudor version of The Eurythmics' Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves or Sister Sledge's We Are Family, as the six wives of Henry VIII discover they are strongest when they are singing with each other, and not against each other.
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The thin plot line of this rock concert disguised as a musical is that Henry's six wives are forming a band, and the lead singer will be the wife who suffered the most at the hands of the controversial monarch.
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Henry tried to annul his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, so he could marry one of her ladies-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn. However, the Catholic Church didn't recognize divorce. Henry threatened to send Catherine to a convent, but instead formed his own church that would give him the divorce he wanted. Catherine sings No Way, a big, brassy number, that lets Henry and the audience know she is a formidable woman, but, alas, Henry got his way, so her protest is in vain.
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Chani Maisonet, who plays Catherine, uses Beyonce as her diva inspiration, which means she exudes confidence and style. There is a sense that she knows she's special and that her stature is earned. As is the case with most of the songs in the show, Maisonet is supported by the other wives in what becomes a wild, frenzied number, but Maisonet is always front and centre.
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As Anne Boleyn, Hailey Lewis is pretty certain she will win the contest. After all, Henry had her beheaded. Her overconfidence is not only on display in the lyrics of her song, Don't Lose Ur Head, but in her quips to the other wives. She's a little vixen, always ready with a wisecrack, and always ready to play the headless card.
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After Ex-Wives, which is the opening number, and Maisonet and Lewis's fully supported songs, it's a treat to have Kelly Denice Taylor's beautiful solo torch song, Heart of Stone. She literally takes the spotlight and brings as much heart as soul to the number.
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Henry's fourth wife, Anna of Cleves, jokes that when Henry had run out of English women, he looked to Germany for her and she has the other wives join her in two techno-inspired numbers, Haus of Holbein and Get Down. The strong thing about SIX is that the songs are very specific to the wives. They use different styles and influences. There is a real cheekiness in the way Danielle Mendoza attacks these numbers as Anna.
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Montreal Gazette
12-07-2025
- Montreal Gazette
Brownstein: Local comics set for big break at Just for Laughs Festival
By Throughout the years, one of the Just for Laughs Festival's most popular series had been the Montreal Shows, spotlighting the best and brightest of this city's anglo wits. For reasons unknown and baffling, the series disappeared for a spell and, with its absence, so did the dreams of many an aspiring local. The good news for these standups as well as their fans is that the 43rd JFL, running July 16-27, will feature the series again with two shows on July 18 at Théâtre Ste-Catherine. Two of the city's sharpest wits, Raajiee Chelliah and Wassim El-Mounzer, will get an opportunity to showcase their talents that night. And another can't miss homegrown comic, Rachid Badouri, will have a chance to dazzle when he brings his wild solo show, The Tale of the Syrian Dragon, to Club Soda on July 23. The three, on hand for a pre-fest get-together at Théâtre Ste-Catherine, should be on the precipice for great success beyond city limits. They all have something in common: their comedy is somewhat based on the immigrant culture shock experienced by them and their families — not unlike that felt by another city star-wit, Sugar Sammy, whose fame has since exploded around the planet. And as is the case with Sugar Sammy, the acts of Chelliah, El-Mounzer and Badouri resonate with audiences of all backgrounds — anglo, franco and allo. Badouri, who is of Moroccan origin, has been a force here on the franco side with his satirical shtick, but now he's seeking same on the Anglo side. Simply put, the three have the funny down pat, regardless of the subject matter. 'If I were Rachid, I'd be insulted to be put in same category as us,' quips El-Mounzer, 37, who was born in Beirut but moved to Montreal with his family when he was two years old. 'I feel so great about this festival opportunity now. I came up watching comics like Sugar Sammy, Rachid and Russell Peters, which was so inspiring and making me think maybe I might have something funny to say with my outsider experience.' The self-deprecating El-Mounzer cut the comedy disc You Can English a few years ago, but it doesn't reflect his cultural experience here. Much to his family's delight, El-Mounzer graduated from McGill with a degree in physiology. But much to his family's chagrin, he decided to give up a career in physiology. El-Mounzer then bolted to South Korea to teach English as a second language at a Seoul school called — really — You Can English. And so his comedy began to bloom. There weren't a lot of laughs for Chelliah's family, whose parents, Tamil Hindu refugees, had fled the civil war in Sri Lanka. They had more pressing concerns, like starting their lives from scratch all over again. 'There's power and there's unity when you're laughing about your experiences together,' Chelliah, 31, says. 'There's a lot of release there to be able to share that with others. I have found so much relief as well as release in comedy, especially as an outsider. I'm very proud of my identity and now it's become something I can use to share as a story with everyone else and bring out some humour at the same time.' After graduating from university in commerce, Chelliah's parents were not initially amused with her choosing to opt for comedy until she showed she could make a living at it. 'They were initially confused by comedy. They used to think I was a motivational speaker, kind of,' she muses. 'The dream now is to go on tour and put together an hour show.' Her soft-spoken demeanour belies her blunt albeit hilarious approach. To wit, Chelliah subscribes to the Nikki Glaser school in 'the way she passively drops her punchlines.' Beyond his background, the chrome-domed Badouri, 48, who could pass for Mr. Clean, is seeking to see how far he can push his comedy limits. Last year, he impressed audiences at the Netflix Is a Joke Fest in L.A. Now, he's become focused on upping his anglo comedy career. 'I've been almost everywhere in Quebec and I have been truly blessed, but on the English side, I'm really just starting,' Badouri says. 'I'm the one who is actually humbled to be included with these guys. They just may be the best English comics in the city. They blow me away. They are so talented. 'I'm just so thankful, though, that Just for Laughs is celebrating local talent. You can't have the biggest comedy festival in the world and not have a special showcase for our local comics who so need and deserve the opportunity.' The comedy world has dramatically changed over the last few decades with the non-stop proliferation of material on the internet, social media, streaming networks and YouTube. Comedy no longer just entails club and theatre gigs. 'So many stories have already been told,' El-Mounzer says. 'Stories about just being from an immigrant background in and of itself is not interesting anymore. It might have been 20 years ago. Now, you have to stand out beyond that. There are so many comedians out there from multiple different backgrounds. Original comedy now has to become a lot more personal for audiences to connect with.' Chelliah concurs: 'I've been really big on not perpetuating stereotypes because they've already been done so much. I'm very intentional about that. A lot of the comics from our kind of backgrounds are very conscious of that. That was the previous generation. Now, we're more open to talking about the experiences outside our cultural identity. I just love that shift we're going through now. 'Comedy really comes out of all manner of chaos, culturally or otherwise. Good comedy comes out of experiences and trauma and pain and sadness.' Or to crack open that old philosophical chestnut, attributed to Mark Twain: 'Comedy is tragedy plus time.' 'It always comes down to math, doesn't it?' Badouri opines. 'And a little exaggeration, too. OK, maybe a lot.' AT A GLANCE: The 43rd Just for Laughs Festival runs July 16-27. Wassim El-Mounzer will be performing in The Montreal Series: The Montreal Show at 8:30 p.m., July 18 at Théâtre Ste-Catherine. Raajiee Chelliah will be performing at 10 p.m., in the late show in the same series at the same venue. Rachid Badouri brings his solo show, The Tale of the Syrian Dragon, to Club Soda on July 23. For tickets and information on all JFL shows, visit
Global News
14-06-2025
- Global News
King Charles pays respect to Air India crash victims at annual royal parade
King Charles III and other members of the Royal Family in uniform wore black armbands and observed a moment of silence during his annual birthday parade Saturday as the monarch commemorated those who died in this week's Air India plane crash. Charles requested the symbolic moves 'as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy,' Buckingham Palace said. An Air India flight from the northwestern city of Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 on the ground. The plane was carrying 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. One man survived. Story continues below advertisement In addition to being Britain's head of state, Charles is the head of the Commonwealth, an organization of independent states that includes India and Canada. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The monarch's annual birthday parade, known as Trooping the Colour, is a historic ceremony filled with pageantry and military bands in which the king reviews his troops on Horse Guards Parade adjacent to St. James' Park in central London. View image in full screen King Charles III, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales, smile whilst standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after attending the King's birthday parade, Trooping the Colour, in London on June 14, 2025. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFBEN STANSALL / Getty Images The military ceremony dates back to a time when flags of the battalion, known as colours, were 'trooped,'' or shown, to soldiers in the ranks so they could recognize them. Charles, wearing a scarlet military uniform, travelled to Horse Guards Parade in an open-topped, horse-drawn carriage accompanied by Queen Camilla. Prince William and other uniformed members of the Royal Family rode behind the King on horseback, followed by Catherine, the Princess of Wales, and her three children in another open-topped carriage. Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen Catherine, Princess of Wales, during Trooping The Colour. Mike Marsland / WireImage The festivities featured 1,338 soldiers, including 244 musicians, who paraded past the King following the moment of silence for those affected by the Air India disaster. The Royal Family then returned to Buckingham Palace, where they appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowd and watch a flyover of military aircraft. View image in full screen King Charles III salutes next to Queen Camilla as they arrive at Horse Guards Parade for the King's birthday parade, Trooping the Colour. BENJAMIN CREMEL / BENJAMIN CREMEL / Getty Images The finale of the flyover was an appearance by the Royal Air Force aerobatic display team, known as the Red Arrows, which for the first time used a blend of sustainable aviation fuel to power their aircraft and generate their signature red, white and blue smoke trails.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Action! Derrick Henry can parlay a 2,000-yard rushing season into a movie cameo with Adam Sandler
BALTIMORE (AP) — 'King Henry' finally has the attention of 'The Waterboy.' Baltimore Ravens star running back Derrick Henry has an offer from Adam Sandler, his favorite actor, to be cast in a movie if the five-time Pro Bowl selection rushes for 2,000 yards this season. The offer grew out of Henry's appearance on radio personality Dan Patrick's show this week to discuss his $30 million, two-year contract extension. Patrick told Henry he would get him in a Sandler movie if he made NFL history with a second 2,000-yard season. Two days later, Sandler made the offer himself in a video shown to Henry on the practice field. 'That's my dawg,' a wide-smiling Henry said while watching the video. Sandler, star of 'Happy Gilmore' and the remake of 'The Longest Yard' along with 'The Waterboy,' said he was in a hotel room while filming his greeting for Henry. At one point, Sandler turned the camera to show his bulldog. 'Two thousand yards-plus this year not only gets you in a movie, but we'll have a nice dinner together and talk about Dan Patrick's facial hair and how hard it is for him to grow it,' Sandler joked in a video posted Friday. 'I love ya and keep it up.' Sandler came up during Patrick's interview with Henry because Patrick was hearing a hoodie for the soon-to-be-released 'Happy Gilmore 2.' Sandler had given Patrick the hoodie. 'Can you do me a favor?' Henry asked Patrick. 'If you ever see him again, tell him I'm a really big fan and would really love to meet him one day.' Patrick left Sandler a voice message — and Sandler responded. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Dan you're a real one!' Henry later wrote on social media. Henry rushed for 2,027 yards with Tennessee in 2020, when he was an All-Pro and the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in the fifth of his eight seasons with the Titans. Henry nearly did it again as a 30-year-old in a resurgence with the Ravens last season, when he ran for 1,921 yards. Saquon Barkley of the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles led the NFL with 2,005 yards. ___ AP NFL:
