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Yeah, no clue what that means either. Fan of theatre (Phantom, Les Mis, Wicked, Six), Yellowjackets, The Challenge, Survivor, and the Oxford Comma

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It's been 3.5 years since I first watched it and the Bill and Frank episode of The Last of Us stays at the top of the list of "I need to put something on to make me sob like a newborn" pieces of media

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The fact we got this promo but we never got a Kellyoke of Kelly Clarkson singing Heart of Stone, I Don't Need Your Love, No Way, or All You Wanna Do (in the order of which I personally think she would've KILLED those songs).

We've only got a few more months c'mon Kelly you'd absolutely annihilate every single one!!

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Not really an ask, just a little rant: personally, I really love the pink, silver, and pewter costumes in their main variation. But sometimes I wonder if, when all the West End super swings are on at the same time, it might look a little odd to have so many open skirts onstage 😭 Like, if the swings were on for Seymour, Cleves, and Parr, there’d be five open skirts at once. I don’t know, I just wish at least the pewter and silver costumes had a trouser variation, since it already exists, and I really don’t know why the West End team chooses not to use it.

You aren't wrong. I kinda get why the swings don't have variations on the WE and the concept of a costume that works for all six has been around since literally day one with Grace's original black costume. But if an all open skirts show is possible, and considerimg how often emergency covers happen in the WE cast it is a legit possibility, there is an issue.

The thing is. They have been playing catch up and loosing since 2021. Before lockdown the black costume was already one of the least detailed ones, but with the old costumes and all the alts having alt costumes it wasn't as noticeable. But then with reopening they switched to the very detail heavy updated designs, and then on the 21 cast change alts started having principal costumes and silver was introduced. So black became the odd one out and was retired. They managed with one swing costume until WE24 when they had two swings yet again and chose pink for Laura which yes is the most neutral design out of the alt costumes, but also shares a lot of details with silver when you think about it, except those are not immediately obvious. Until you add pewter into the mix, and now they have three swings with open skirt costumes that share a lot of details and there is no way to not see it.

I have always assumed that a major reason for Laura getting pink was that most of the costume team is also the costume team for Starlight Express and they spent 2024 focused on that so there was no time to properly develop a new swing costume before summer 2025 when Emilia debuted pewter. We know silver as a project was lead by one of the costume associates. I suspect pewter was the same, and that they made the call to yes do a new costume and try some new things. But also to design things aiming to follow the silver variations set that works really well for swings (when you have all of them and only one similar swing costume). So they have basically been filling in gaps as best as possible for years. Which for the record is the norm for this kind of production.

In a perfect world the costume team would have time to look at the big picture, and design/redesign things to get three swing costumes with different base variations that don't share so many elements with each other. And could look different both with the full variation set and only the base one. And thats not happening. The luxury of that much time with the full design team and makers only happens for new shows. They are all busy working on a lot of (really cool) different projects. So for now the best hope is that they either design a third swing costume for next year and that it has something that isn't an open skirt as base variation, or that the next time something like this happens one of the swing costumes is made with pants instead of a skirt.

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I dug into @weknowthend's amazing Cast Spreadsheet (seriously the work they do keeping this updated on a daily basis is absolutely amazing and they don't get enough appreciation for it) and while a full open skirt show, to my knowlege, hasn't happened, it looks like it's almost (5 out of 6 queens) happened twice on the West End:

13 June 2025:

Aragon: Jaz Robinson (Principal Aragon Costume)

Boleyn: Meg Dixon-Brasil (Silver Open Skirt)

Seymour: Shakira Simpson (Silver Open Skirt)

Cleves: Laura Baxter (Pink Open Skirt) (debut)

Howard: Caitlyn De Kuyper (Principal Howard Costume)

Parr: Amelia Kinu Muus (Principal Parr Costume)

19 September 2025:

Aragon: Honey Joseph (Principal Aragon Costume)

Boleyn: Laura Baxter (Pink Open Skirt)

Seymour: Izzy Formby-Jackson (Silver Open Skirt) (Emergency Cover)

Cleves: Dionne Ward-Anderson (Principal Cleves Costume)

Howard: Caitlyn De Kuyper (Principal Howard Costume)

Parr: Meg Dixon-Brasil (Silver Open Skirt)

Both videos found on Youtube via Misssmariareynolds

With Aragon and Howard split between two alts (which outside of Grace and Zara is pretty standard for the West End), three swings with open skirts, I really think we'll get a full open skirt show with this current cast. Which coincidentally is kind of wild because a few cast changes ago I really thought we'd get a full trousers show first, haha. edited on 4 April bc Gabriella debuted Parr sans variations

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Randomly remembered when Six was in the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the conservatives got a ~little~ mad lmao

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With the latest wave of conservatives being angry about Six despite the fact they’ve never seen it, know nothing about it, and likely never will see it, let’s flashback to 2021 when they pissed off conservatives for *checks notes* singing about divorce while being naked?

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One of my New Years Resolutions was to see more theatre (...that isn't Six, which I saw four times in the last two years, three of which were in the same week) in 2026. As of today, I have tickets to see Les Misérables and The Lion King (both for the second time but it's been like 5-10 years since I last saw them) as well as Hadestown all within the first half of 2026! And I'm planning to get tickets to see Moulin Rouge once they go on sale in my area here in a few months!

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Tonight I saw Laura Bell Bundy perform So Much Better, Marissa Jaret Winokur perform Good Morning Baltimore, and Kerry Butler perform Somewhere That's Green, and so many more of their greatest Broadway hits less than 20 feet from my face... my gay, diva-loving, homosexual ass can die happy now

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If I had a nickel for every time an alternate/swing in Six initially covered Aragon/Cleves/Parr and then on a new contract either swapped Parr for Boleyn or added Boleyn as a fourth queen, I'd have exactly 5 nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it's happened five times (with two additional honorable mentions/other instances):

Swapped Parr for Boleyn:

Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert: Alternate Aragon/Cleves/Parr on the 2019 Pre-Broadway Tour, later became Alternate Aragon/Boleyn/Cleves in the 2021-22 Broadway Company. (note: she did end up going on as Parr during initial Broadway Previews in 2020, though this was under the very short-lived Broadway Pre-Pandemic cover system where the alternates had two first covers and three second covers)

Hailey Alexis Lewis: Standby Aragon/Cleves/Parr in the 2023-24 Canadian Production, later became Alternate Aragon/Boleyn/Cleves in the 2024-25 Boleyn Tour Company (and currently Principal Cleves in the 2025-26 Boleyn Tour Company)

Added Boleyn as a Fourth Queen:

Marilyn Caserta: Swing Aragon/Cleves/Parr on Bliss 3.0, later Universal Alternate covering Aragon/Boleyn/Cleves/Parr for the Broadway, Aragon Tour, and Boleyn Tour Companies from 2022 to 2023.

Jana Larell Glover: Alternate Aragon/Cleves/Parr in the 2022-23 Boleyn Tour Company, later became Alternate Aragon/Boleyn/Cleves/Parr in both the 2023-25 and 2025-26 Broadway Company.

Carlina Parker: Alternate Aragon/Cleves/Parr in both the 2024 and 2024-25 Boleyn Tour Company, later Alternate Aragon/Boleyn/Cleves/Parr in the 2025-26 Boleyn Tour Company.

Honorable Mentions/Other Instances:

These performers covered/performed specifically these four roles, though under different circumstances. It felt wrong and incomplete not to include them in this post.

Abi Hodgson: Swing Aragon/Boleyn/Cleves on Bliss 2.0 and Breakaway 2.0, later Swing Aragon/Cleves/Parr on Breakaway 5.0.

Grace Melville: Alternate Aragon/Cleves in the 2022-23 UK Tour Company, later debuting Boleyn as a second cover and Parr as a third cover.

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With the West End and UK Tour(s) swapping to a cover system for their alternates where they have two 1st Covers and one 2nd Cover, I decided to look at all (at least, I think I captured them all) performers from productions where alternates had three 1st covers in an effort to either predict or at least get a better understanding of who future West End and UK Tour alternates may have as their 2nd Cover/third queen they cover.

This covers all North American Productions (Pre-Broadway Tour, Broadway, Aragon Tour, Boleyn Tour, and Canada), Cruise Productions (Bliss & Breakaway, including Rehearsal Swings who covered 3 roles), as well as the 23-25 and 25-26 West End Alts (assumption: Leonor's, though not debuted, 2nd Cover is Aragon... I mean it's all but confirmed based on photographs/videos of their costume rack... I'll provide a minor update if incorrect), and the 2024-25 UK Tour alternates who all collectively cover 3 roles.

Additionally, I included Danielle Rose's return contract as a temporary alternate for the 2023-25 West End cast (covering Boleyn/Seymour/Howard, though only performing as Seymour/Howard) and Hana Stewart's stint as a Broadway alternate (covering Aragon/Seymour/Parr, though only performing as Parr) included as well.

I also excluded duplicates in the instance where a performer moved from one production to another and maintained the same covers (example: Aryn Bohannon moved from the Boleyn Tour to Broadway but kept her covers of Boleyn/Seymour/Howard). I did, however, make sure to include when a performer moved from one production to another and changed covers (example: Mallory Maedke covered Boleyn/Seymour/Howard on the Pre-Broadway Tour but covered Aragon/Seymour/Howard on Broadway).

All that aside, here's the breakout:

When looking at the 2025-26 UK Tour cast, whose 2nd Cover/third queen we have yet to have insight to, it's a safe bet that Millie Readshaw likely has Parr or Boleyn as her 2nd Cover (personal guess is Boleyn), Abi Atchison likely has Seymour or Parr as her 2nd Cover (personal guess is Seymour), and Eve Kitchingman either has Howard or Aragon as her 2nd Cover (I could truly see this one going either way, though I lean more toward Aragon as it evens out a third queen amongst the alternates, though based on history this isn't entirely a deal-breaker).

This was actually really fun to build in excel and I'll try to continue to update it as new performers come and go so long as at least one production maintains this system for their alternates. If anyone is able to catch a mistake (I'm sure along the way I missed someone, though I do understand the basis of what I shared of my analysis makes this a little difficult), please let me know!

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Kinda wild that Danielle Mendoza has literally done all but two performances as Anna of Cleves on the Six Boleyn Tour (likely planned absences from production to let both Carlina and Amaya debut and get a show under their belt) since she took over back in April 2024 (there, of course, was a ~3 ish month break in there in the tour).

Like the fact she hasn't missed a show since the tour returned in November (and at this rate, and based on social media from the queens' indicating their time on tour is ending here in the next few months and there'll be a cast change, it's looking like she won't miss anymore before she departs the role) has to be some sort of Six the Musical record.

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The fact that after YEARS of this show’s run, this has to be addressed by the current West End Cast. I know it’s a very small yet (very obviously) loud portion of the fandom that has caused this, but good god, how many annual/nearly-annual cast changes have we been through across all the productions? It’s a contract with an end date, people come and go (and plus a lot end up coming back in an unplanned capacity for a moment or many moments anyway)…

Credit to Shakira Simpson’s Insta Story

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i could be completely reading too much into this

but normally swings have to get neutral colours on their nails OR get the colour of their costume …

so i think this might be confirmation that laura, for some reason, has pink OR that she won’t be debuting for a while😭

Love how everyone knows my priorities.

But yes. Pink nail polish pretty much confirms pink costume. Unless they made something new in the pink color range.

Idk. Honestly I dont think pink is the best choice for a swing or for Laura color wise but here we are. Tbh I don't understand most of the costume choices that have happened in the past few years for WE.

Genuinely hoping that she gets pants but considering meg still has only the skirt I dont have high hopes for it. Summoning circle is on though.

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The Dream:

The Expectation:

All this to say, I'm going to be happy with whatever we get (and honestly having a performer in the pink costume going on for Seymour and Parr in more than just an emergency/not-planned/alternate swing capacity is a slay in and of itself), and I'm sure Laura is going to KILL every single role (and, if I'm not mistaken, be the first swalt to hit swingo wearing pink for every single role?!?)

Six, you always keep us on our toes and always keep us questioning!

(As always, credit to @lightleckrereins for the always amazing dress up game!!)

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Me after seeing Six 3 times in a 5 day period because it was in my town:

But no fr, this new tour cast is absolutely stellar! I had the privilege of seeing Danielle and Alize on their earlier run of the tour (they definitely are in my top 5 of performers in their respective roles) and it was so cool to see them again, but up close in the front few rows of the orchestra as opposed to the balcony (also holy shit, the costumes up close under the lights are GORGEOUS! Gabriella Slade EARNED that Tony honey). And Chani, Gaby, and Tasia are NOT to be missed! To top it off, but the privilege of seeing not one but TWO alternates as Seymour was such a gift, Caroline and Amaya were absolutely stellar, and had such unique takes to the role plus getting yo see Caroline’s Seymour debut was fantastic to see!

As to why I saw it 3 times in a short period of time: I knew Six had hit my state pretty heavily the past 2 or so years between both tours and I felt it was safe to assume it wouldn’t come back again for a good while, so I figured if I budgeted correctly, why not get my fill? So glad I did, and from every vantage point I saw it from (front orchestra, mid orchestra, and box seats in the balcony) I caught new things every time! 10/10 would budget for this again!

Also, I about had an anxiety attack in my front orchestra seat when I realized I was in the exact zone (house right first 3 rows or so) where Cleves typically chooses her best friend/stand up and dance person (this is a lot of people’s dream when they see the show which I love, but it’s my nightmare as an anxiety-riddled “do not perceive me please for the love of god” person). I literally avoided eye contact like it was my job during Get Down and thank god Danielle chose the person sitting right next to me haha (they absolutely killed it too lmao).

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Knocking out rounds 4 and 5 this week with Six! I absolutely ADORED Kelly, Danielle, and Alizé when I saw them back in April and I'm so excited to have the opportunity see them again as well as seeing Chani, Gaby, and Tasia for the first time!!

(And of course, it goes without saying I'm always excited for the opportunity to see any of the amazing alternates!!)

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Life update: I’m seeing Caroline’s Seymour debut!

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Knocking out rounds 4 and 5 this week with Six! I absolutely ADORED Kelly, Danielle, and Alizé when I saw them back in April and I'm so excited to have the opportunity see them again as well as seeing Chani, Gaby, and Tasia for the first time!!

(And of course, it goes without saying I'm always excited for the opportunity to see any of the amazing alternates!!)

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Christmas gift to myself this year: second row tickets to Six in January

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So I got my end of the year/Christmas bonus, and on a whim I decided to buy a second (slightly cheaper and 3 rows further back) ticket to Six, two days later! Genuinely so excited because the last time I’ve been in the orchestra (toward the front at that) was when I was in NYC for the first time in 2011 and won front row lottery tickets to see Wicked (with THE Teal Wicks)!

God adult money is fun especially when you budget appropriately

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Christmas gift to myself this year: second row tickets to Six in January

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So, after learning about Wicked in 2008, seeing it for the first time in 2010, and then proceeding to se it 6 more times between 2010 and 2015, and after this I was either too busy with undergrad, and then covid, and then it hasn’t toured in an area close to me, I need to talk about the movie because this film has been a 16 year wait for me (for reference, I’m in my late 20s).

This film was everything to me. It healed something in me. I remember the last time I saw it in 2015 and knowing I needed to come out to my family that I’m gay and being really afraid of being rejected, and the Witches father’s line of “take it away” really hitting hard along with the Wizard and I’s lyric of “no father is not proud of you” really hitting hard for me while I was in the closet (plot twist, I came out to my family in 2019 and they love my boyfriend today).

This movie did something for me, and it was SO well worth the wait.