Prior to beginning performances at the Arts Theatre, the London return of the musical Six has extended its limited engagement. The musical, presented as a concert led by the six wives of Henry VIII, will now run from January 17, 2019, through January 5, 2020, instead of the previously announced May 5, 2019.
The pop musical, created by Lucy Moss (who directs with Jamie Armitage) and Toby Marlow, recently played a limited run at Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus. It began as a student production in Edinburgh before transferring to London in 2018.
Returning to the show for the London run will be Jarneia Richard-Noel as Catherine of Aragon, Millie O’Connell as Anne Boleyn, Natalie Paris as Jane Seymour, Alexia McIntosh as Anna of Cleves, Aimie Atkinson as Katherine Howard, and Maiya Quansah-Breed as Catherine Parr. Rounding out the company are Grace Mouat as the alternate to Jane Seymour/Katherine Howard, Vicki Manser as the alternate to Anne Boleyn/Anna of Cleves, and Courtney Stapleton as the alternate to Catherine of Aragon/Catherine Parr.
The Disney a cappella group—comprised of Antonio Fernandez, Joe Santoni, Morgan Keene, Orlando Dixon, RJ Woessner, Shelley Regner, and Sojourner Brown—brings to life new takes on beloved Disney songs from movies including Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and more. The group stopped by the Playbill studio to perform “How Far I’ll Go” from the Disney animated film Moana.
Following their album release, DCappella is set to launch their first North American tour on January 22 in Jacksonville, Florida. Nashville, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago, and the Los Angeles area are among the cities scheduled for the tour, which features a contemporary production of new Deke Sharon (In Transit) arrangements of Disney classics and modern hits, bringing to life a truly singular a cappella experience.
By the time Kinky Boots’ Joey Taranto takes his place in front of the audience on the Al Hirschfeld stage, a completely different person is standing in the theatre than the one who walked in an hour before. Performing as one of the show’s Angels, the group of drag queens who bring the ferocity to Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s Tony Award-winning musical, Taranto’s process of getting into character starts from the outside in.
“Honestly, I paint my character on my face!” Taranto says with a laugh. “I’m an actor playing a drag queen, so putting the makeup on, laughing with the other Angels, and then seeing yourself in full drag—you don’t get much more immersed than that!”
In his dressing room, armed with a brush and makeup sponge, Taranto methodically paints his face, creating the arched eyebrows, contoured cheekbones, and red lips that comprise his character.
“In drag, it’s just a heightened a sense of being. The makeup, the wigs, the heels, they literally heighten me,” the actor notes. It’s a lot of work to make his Angel come to life but Taranto relishes it. “It’s a blessing. I love what I do and I’ve worked really hard to get here. Every Sunday [at the end of the week], I always look out the audience and I think, ‘This is my dream and I’m doing it right now.’”
Flip through Taranto’s makeup process below:
Photos: Getting Into Character with Kink Boots’ Joey Taranto
The winner of six 2013 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Kinky Boots features a Tony-winning score by Lauper, a book by Tony winner Fierstein, and direction and choreography by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell. The Broadway production is scheduled to run through April 7.
