STORY / Bri Ng Schwartz PHOTOS / Mallory Turner
Musical luminary Abigail Barlow welcomes us into her dressing room at Broadway’s Lena Horne Theatre, present residence to Six, an uber-meta musical retelling of the tragic tales behind Henry’s VIII’s six wives. The six girls compete in a vocal-driven competitors to see who has had probably the most tragic expertise inside their marriage. Barlow performs Katherine Howard, the fifth spouse of the king, whose reign of energy was reduce brief, leading to execution resulting from adulterous relationships exterior of her 30-year age hole in her marriage. Her time in Six marks her Broadway debut.
All through the present, audiences are offered with an alternate universe during which these six girls construct a sisterhood by way of tune and shared trauma. An in-depth understanding of the historic info behind these girls just isn’t required to view. The playbill for the present is full of dramaturgical profiles on every girl. Alongside the factual context, every girl’s profile contains “Queenspiration” for the performer you might be about to see. Howard is knowledgeable by Arianna Grande, excessive pony, excessive notes and all. Brittany Spears is famous as one other inspo, with sharp choreography and a bubbly presence.
LADYGUNN entered the Lena Horne by way of the stage door, walked throughout the stage and up a flight of stairs, the place Abigail greeted and welcomed us into the dressing room that she shares with Kirstin Maldonado and just lately shared with Dylan Mulvaney, each having performed Anne Boleyn. The shut quarters and tight-knit ensemble nature of the present has fostered an unmatched sense of sisterhood amongst the manufacturing. “I don’t assume it exists anyplace else.” Barlow shares. “It’s simply such an unheard-of factor to have a principally all-female manufacturing and solid.” She reveals that Olivia Donalson, the present’s Anna of Cleves, has a full bar in her dressing room and a post-show ritual for the solid contains “a splash and a kiki.”
When requested what she has realized about ensemble constructing throughout this present, Barlow reveals it’s like being part of the worldwide girl-group Katseye. “Attending to be in a lady group, it’s studying learn how to play off of one another.” Hesitant to name herself a triple risk, regardless of her impression in singing, performing, dancing, songwriting, and composition, she shares that since doing this present, her expertise in tandem have been put to the check. “We’re telling real-life girls’s tales and are studying learn how to play off of one another, weave collectively as a solid, and create a ravishing tapestry for this present. It’s been a dream come true”
Throughout our time collectively, Abigail is in her Katherine Howard glory in her signature pink colour palette. She is cozy in her New York-themed hoodie, absolutely glammed out in her scorching pink eye make-up and rhinestone stars round her eyes. Not like performers in different mediums, theater actors are sometimes accountable for doing their very own make-up each present, and Abigail has mastered the artwork. “I believe I’ve all the time been good at make-up. I’ve all the time had slightly visible artist within me, however I labored actually intently with a make-up artist in Los Angeles. Her title’s Jessy Clark, and he or she taught me just about every little thing I do know.”
Approaching its 5 12 months anniversary being on Broadway, Six goes sturdy with no plans of stopping. With members of this one-of-a-kind woman group rotating out and in, every iteration of the ensemble proves to deliver a contemporary power to every efficiency. “It’s just like the apex of what a Broadway present must be.” Abigail raves. “It’s action-packed. ” There’s a lot dancing. The songs are bops. There’s a queen for everybody. The choreography, the Tony Award-winning costumes. All of these issues mixed actually make for the proper feminine female expertise.”
Later that night, Abigail launched herself to the viewers as Katherine Howard and was met with a booming applause. She has spent the final a number of years increase her personal distinctive fanbase by way of her solo pop music, her Bridgerton musical parody, and work as a composer on Moana 2. Primarily based on the buzzing pleasure for her from the gang, it’s clear that her followers are exhibiting up every evening to witness her in her pinked-out, glamorous glory. You possibly can catch her as one of many six wives by way of the Summer time on Broadway. Tickets to Six can be found for buy HERE.
Join with Abigail
