"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
#1"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/11/19 at 11:09am
https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-off-broadway/article/The-Bossy-Collective-Presents-New-Musical-THE-WIVES-OF-HENRY-THE-EIGHTH-20190418
This is a show that's up in NYC now. It's a 70-minute, all-female musical about the wives of Henry VIII featuring a pop/rock score. Sound familiar? I wonder if this is a coincidence, or a really blatant rip-off? Six has been around for a couple of years now, but I have no idea how long this one might have been in development.
I guess it's also not totally fair to judge it since I haven't seen it, but the general optics of it are not great.
#2"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/11/19 at 12:13pm
They are having performances today and tomorrow, and the tickets are pretty cheap, someone should check this out.
Also even if it was a complete coincidence, at the very least this production is trying to get hype from Six. No way someone is making this and be completely oblivious to how massive Six has gotten across the pond/rumors of a transfer
#3"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/11/19 at 12:35pmLikely a coincidence. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time there were multiple musicals of a similar subject matter in development at the same time. See Phantom, The Wild Party, etc
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#4"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/11/19 at 1:36pm
Could be a coincidence. The timing is suspect since in their video they say they just started about a year ago - which is after the first festival and very limited West End run of SiX - although SiX performed at West End Live in June 2018. It's not an unfamiliar or rarely produced story - although usually not all six at one time. The take on women empowerment is similar - but then, that is not a new idea either. The clip of the 'prologue" uses the same rhyme as a beat - but the song does go off in a different direction. To me, it's not as catchy or as inviting.
#5"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/11/19 at 7:34pm
With the sneak peak of their EARLY rehearsal of their opening song... it might seem kinda red flaggy at first that their opening is the same "Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Etc." as six but that cadence is actually a pretty often used thing when people talk Henry the 8th and his wives. I have seen documentaries from years ago use it. Beyond that, the style might say pop rock but it really isn't from this. It seems that the development might be a coincidence however one can't help but wonder if riding the popularity of one is as well.
It is not the first time two shows were in development at the same time on the same subject. Case and point... The Wild Party. In 2000, while LaChiusa's version was on Broadway, Lippa's version was playing Off-Broadway.
getupngo
Featured Actor Joined: 1/22/19
#6"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/11/19 at 7:56pm
DoTheDood said: "They are having performances today and tomorrow, and the tickets are pretty cheap, someone should check this out.
Also even if it was a complete coincidence, at the very least this production is trying to get hype from Six. No way someone is making this and be completely oblivious to how massive Six has gotten across the pond/rumors of a transfer"
I'm actually seeing it tomorrow! I'll report back!
rafarosgon
Swing Joined: 10/18/17
#7"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/12/19 at 12:00am
By the sound (and lyrics) of this sneak peak, I would not say it's a coincidence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-aum34Ut2U&feature=youtu.be
#8"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/12/19 at 1:22amI worked with someone in this production on a previous project so I've been seeing this on my Facebook feed a lot lately from them. Was wondering the same thing myself. Hm.
getupngo
Featured Actor Joined: 1/22/19
#9"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/12/19 at 3:24pmOk this was trash. Like a high school production. Opening uses the same died/beheaded thing as SIX. They also did the same as Hamilton where they sang the year/place/ event. The girl who played Queen Anna was really funny when she flips out. Other than that, meh. The songs from SIX are infinitely better
getupngo
Featured Actor Joined: 1/22/19
#10"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/12/19 at 3:30pmAnd there’s a song early on in the show with a near identical piano melody to HEART OF STONE from six
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#11"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/13/19 at 6:44pm
getupngo: thank you for your service and sacrifice of time.
#12"The Wives of Henry VIII" - coincidence, or "Six" ripoff?
Posted: 5/13/19 at 7:09pm
There is at least one additional play out there that was recently written and produced about Henry VIII's six wives. With #metoo and everything, it's very timely. Plus, Hamilton has probably made historically-based but "woke" plays very much in vogue.
Videos