Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived: the odds were not good for the six wives of King Henry VIII.
Six the Musical is based on their stories, and it's returning for a third Australian run at a time when the odds for theatre productions aren't so good either.
"Over history there have always been shows that survive and shows that don't survive," Six producer Louise Withers said.
As the musical officially opens at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre on Wednesday, its backers hope the outcome will be Catherine Parr, not Anne Boleyn.
The performing arts scene has struggled post-COVID-19 pandemic as audiences contend with inflation and leave ticket purchases until the last minute, while theatre production costs have doubled in some cases.
"So you've got incredibly increased costs, and you haven't got ticket sales that have moved as fast, and that's where the challenge lies," Withers said.
A growing list of commercial productions have been forced to end their Australian runs early, including Waitress, Beetlejuice The Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical and Dear Evan Hansen.
But Withers cites The Lion King, MJ The Musical and Pretty Woman as shows with healthy ticket sales, and feels confident Six can join that list again.
Other productions might wait up to a decade to return, but Withers said she had a gut feeling the show could sustain a third run in only five years.
Six had an intergenerational appeal and fans travelled interstate to see it, with some even making queen costumes, she said.
In a risk-averse environment, she said all this made Six a known factor for local audiences.
"It's quick and to the point and it's going to be fantastic fun, so they're not gambling on something new," Withers said.
There's also interest in seeing fresh performers playing the six queens this time around, including Sarah Murr, Mia Paris Scalise, Cara Bessey, Kadesa Honeyhill, Angela Brischetto and Lorinda May Merrypor.
Six began as an Edinburgh Fringe show in 2017, before hitting the West End and Broadway, and has since toured to 15 countries.
Its first Australian shows at the Sydney Opera House in 2020 sold out, but the pandemic cruelled a planned national tour.
A return season ran from 2021 to 2023 across Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, and a 2024 to 2025 tour played in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Newcastle.
The Victorian government and City of Melbourne announced a $1 million Musical Theatre Development Fund earlier in July to develop new works for commercial release.
Six will play the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne until October 4 before seasons at the Theatre Royal Sydney from October 9 and QPAC's Playhouse Theatre in Brisbane from January 2027.
