Pop rock, feminism rule Midwest stages: "Six" on Playhouse Square and "Purple Rain" in Minneapolis

Pop rock and female power rule in Midwest stages with the return of the established Broadway sensation "Six" on Playhouse Square and the world premiere of the new stage musical adaptation of "Purple Rain," with a feminist nod, in Minneapolis. "Six" Returning to Playhouse Square for a brief run, the Broadway/London West End sensation "Six" still stirs up quite a sensation, remaining as fresh as ever. As noted during its initial Northeast Ohio run, some modern musicals are hard to describe, but "Six" is easy: Henry VIII of England marries the Spice Girls. Well, these brides are not really the Spice Girls, and Henry VIII is never seen on stage, but essentially, that's it. For such a royal affair, the show grew from decidedly commoner beginnings, conceived by former students Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss in their final year at Cambridge as an entry at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017. The concert-style historical pageant reinvents the saga of the six ill-fated wives of the ultimate royal British cad of the 16th century. More techno-pop than Tudor, this surprise hit of the Edinburgh Festival underwent a different sort of journey to London's West End and Broadway, touring a handful of smaller venues in England and the U.S. — even serving as an on-board production on the Norwegian Cruise Lines ships — before permanent engagements. Because of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, the Broadway premiere was further delayed until 2021 — ironically two years after a run in St. Paul, Minnesota (the other side of Minneapolis, debuting another rock-pop musical this month). And so, on its second post-Broadway tour, "Six" continues at the Connor Palace theater on Playhouse Square with the half-dozen diva sensations who introduce their successive tragic-cum-triumphant storylines as succinctly as possible — "Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived." That's the opening musical mnemonic mantra of Emma Elizabeth Smith as Catherine of Aragon (divorced), Nella Cole as Anne Boleyn (beheaded), Kelly Denice Taylor as Jane Seymour (died on her own), Hailey Alexis Lewis as Anna of Cleves (also divorced), Alize Cruze as Katherine Howard (also beheaded) and Tasia Jungbauer as Catherine Parr (miraculously survived). It's echoed throughout the brief 90-minute all-singing "herstory" in infectious and clever ensemble numbers by connecting specific tragedies — always with a dance beat — reflective of each queen. From the opening silhouette of the ill-fated divas amid the inexhaustibly changing neon-bedecked stage designed by Emma Bailey, it becomes clear the doomed ladies who failed to provide King Henry VIII his desperately sought son (although historians suggest this was due to His Majesty's own shortcomings) are closer to Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Tina Turner or Beyonce than, say, Genevieve Bujold (nominated for an Oscar in the 1969 epic film "Anne of a Thousand Days"). No matter. Each performer is sensational, and the show never stops being fun (with Lucy Moss' and Jamie Armitages' energizing direction and Carrie-Anne Ingrouille's arena-concert choreography). The nods to modern feminist mores — with all of the characters realizing that they do not need the context of their shared husband to be historically relevant — are enlightening without becoming preachy. Forget anything by PBS. Considering even the onstage musicians are attractive and talented females, this show still makes the perfect statement about female power well after the days of public hangings -- and before the days of pronoun propriety. "Purple Rain" Another pop rock musical making its pre-Broadway debut in the Twin Cities also slants toward female power. It's "Purple Rain," produced by noted Northeast Ohio Tony-winning producer Orin Wolf ("Once," "The Band's Visit" and the current "Buena Vista Social Club"). Considering the late great pop sensation and Minneapolis native son Prince capitulated to many misogynistic attitudes in his 1984 breakout musical film "Purple Rain," a new patina of feminism is the first notable improvement in adapting it to 2025 stage audiences by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Rather than literally tossing a woman into a trash bin (one of the more disturbing moments of the sometimes fatuous film), the woman rise from backup musicians in the club band of the Prince character, named "The Kid" here (powerfully performed by newcomer Kris Kollins), to form their own musical sensation, Apollonia 6. As opposed to The Kid's struggling band the Revolution, the offspring band Apollonia 6, the namesake of The Kid's transcending love interest (sensationally acted and sung by show-stealing Rachel Webb) quickly becomes a sensation on the West Coast. (Six seems to be the magic number when it comes to female groups in Broadway shows.) Speaking of coasts, a Midwest premiere of "Purple Rain" seems something of a metaphor, as the production in its current incarnation floats somewhere between a lavish, loud tribute extravaganza fit for Las Vegas or Los Angeles, and a compelling Broadway book show along the lines of the current touring hit "Hell's Kitchen," an alternate-reality jukebox musical based on the life of Alicia Keys, which recently debuted its first national tour in Cleveland. As it stands, "Purple Rain" doesn't quite land on either geographical side. Like the band the Revolution, the show is still symbolically revolving around the fictitious Minneapolis club The First (a stand-in for the actual club First Avenue in the city's downtown), and it concludes as confusingly as everything else in this book -- no strong dramatic arch, no compelling emotional growth of the central character and a lot of inaudible dialogue. This is of course reflective of the indecipherable Prince enigma, But, again, this is an adaptation of "Purple Rain" and not Prince's exact life. Jacobs-Jenkins takes some advantage of this by turning The Kid's dad from a deadbeat (and deceased) to something of a fatherly sage. But unless an audience member happens to be a devoted fan (and in Minneapolis there are no doubt many of them), the characters rarely emerge as anything more than parts of a framework for iconic Prince musical numbers, worthy enough though they may be. Director Leleana Blain-Cruz's use of a video screen backdrop, depicting childhood flashbacks and televised closeups of performers, seems inconsistent, and David Zinn's sets are heavy on strobe lights and light on invention. Fortunately, Ebony Williams' abstract choreography well punctuates musical numbers that arise from the dialogue in traditional musical protocol. But, again, the recreation of Prince performances never fails to bring the audience back to the riveting excitement of a live musical experience. With tons of potential to inevitably realize, which should certainly be the case after the show closes at the end of this month and reopens on Broadway reportedly in April, "Purple Rain" should reign. Contact Howard Gollop at howieeg@gmail.com. IF YOU GO WHAT: "Six" WHEN: Through Sunday (times vary) WHERE: Connor Palace, Playhouse Square, 1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland TICKETS: $35 to $120 INFO: (216) 241-6000 or PlayhouseSquare.org IF YOU GO WHAT: "Purple Rain" WHEN: Through Nov. 23 (times vary) WHERE: State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, Minn.TICKETS: $49 to $270.15INFO: (612) 339-7007 or http://hennepinarts.org