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Abstract
With the rise of Hamilton and Come From Away, stage musicals have become the next hottest form of historical reenactment, and the six wives of Henry VIII are no exception. These modern spins on Tudor history are typically riddled with inaccuracies that leave audiences with a skewed idea of Tudor England. The wives of Henry VIII, in particular, are the victims of centuries of historically inaccurate fictional media. Six: The Musical is a modern musical spin on this centuries-old story, following the six wives of Henry VIII as they reclaim their narratives in a pop concert competition on who had it worst. Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second and most famous wife, is a prominent figure throughout SIX, beyond her own solo musical number. However, her characterization falls short of the modern feminist reclamation the musical claims to portray. Using surviving correspondence from King Henry VIII and other notable figures in the sixteenth century written to or about Anne, this paper compares primary texts to the lyricism and characterization of Anne Boleyn’s on-stage persona. Additional biographical sources are used to comprehend Anne’s upbringing, question the validity of primary accounts, and understand Anne through a more feminist lens. This research reveals that after nearly five centuries, Anne’s story is still told through a biased, misrepresentative, and misogynistic lens. The stereotypes and misconceptions that characterize Anne Boleyn in SIX are an amalgamation of past perceptions of Anne that were shaped by the limited surviving documents detailing her life, most of which are littered with biases and defamatory statements that lack the evidence necessary to back them up. More attention and consideration by female Tudor historians to present Anne more accurately to her situation would help end harmful misconceptions about controversial women in history.
Publication Date
2026
Subject Major(s)
History
Keywords
Anne Boleyn, Broadway, Henry VIII, Theater, Musicals, History
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Film and Media Studies | History | Theatre and Performance Studies
Current Academic Year
Junior
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Brooke Newman
Rights
© The Author(s)
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, History Commons, Theatre and Performance Studies Commons