Las Vegas gets another go-round with a wildly popular Broadway show this month, but this time, Six: The Musical is taking up a seven-week residency at Venetian’s Palazzo Theatre after a fall 2022 run at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
That’s about as different as Vegas venues can get, but it’s not just a move from Downtown to the Strip. The regal Reynolds Hall—which hosted performances in September and October as part of the current season’s Broadway Las Vegas Series—seats 2,050, while the comfy Palazzo Theatre—largely unused since the summer 2018 closure of another pop musical, Baz—accommodates approximately 1,700.
Also, Palazzo’s version won’t feature the touring cast that came to town a few months ago. “It’s a different cast but the same company, the same show,” says Olivia Donalson, who plays Anna of Cleves, one of the six wives of Henry VIII who take turns on the mic to tell their stories using familiar contemporary music. “This venue is going to be the most perfect location, because the show is formatted like a concert. It’s just going to fit right in with the Vegas scene.”
Like the Wild West-themed Spiegelworld production Atomic Saloon Show running upstairs in the Grand Canal Shoppes, Six made its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, back in 2017. It made its way to London’s West End in 2019, toured the U.K. and played Australia’s Sydney Opera House, and eventually landed on Broadway in the infamous month of March 2020. A proper Broadway opening at the Lena Horne Theatre came in October 2021.
“Six has been playing to sold out audiences every night since Broadway reopened,” Venetian president and chief executive officer Patrick Nichols said in a statement. “Six is a great addition to the resort’s storied history of being home to beloved and long-running Broadway shows and furthers our commitment to transforming the entertainment landscape in Las Vegas.”
The Venetian has hosted two of the most successful Broadway productions ever to set up on the Strip, Phantom and Jersey Boys.
The Tony Award-winning Six, created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, plays off much more modern music and pop iconography than those two shows. Donalson’s queen is partially inspired by Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, and the original cast recording album Six: Live on Opening Night surpassed 6 million streams in its first month and has now been streamed more than 23 million times.
“I studied musical theater in college, so I trained with more traditional musicals, but as a performer on my own, this is the kind of music I love to sing to and dance to and listen to,” Donalson says. “You have pop favorites and the style of Beyoncé, Lizzo, Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, music a lot of people are used to hearing and excited to hear. And I’m glad more traditional theater audiences are getting to experience it in that setting.”
Add some flashy pyrotechnics and special effects to the mix and slap it all into one of the biggest casinos on the Strip, and it’s easy to see why Six looks like something different in today’s Vegas entertainment landscape.
“Those concert elements almost make it feel like you’re not at a theater show. Maybe when some [older people] come, they’re a little blown away by the energy of it all,” Donalson says. “But the show is for all ages, and kids love it, even if some of the jokes go over their heads. We just have a great time.”
SIX: THE MUSICAL March 21-May 7, Tuesday-Sunday, times vary, $54-$137. Palazzo Theatre, ticketmaster.com.
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