INTERVIEW: Keri René Fuller on her ‘Six’ her-story lessons, eight times a week
Photo: Keri René Fuller portrays Jane Seymour in Six the Musical. Photo courtesy of Michael Kushner Photography / Provided by BBB with permission.
Although Broadway has had its struggles over the past few years thanks to the pandemic, there are some bright spots amongst the glistening marquees. Perhaps the brightest is the continued success of Six the Musical, the vastly entertaining and engaging show from creators Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. The musical, which is now a hit around the globe, continues its sell-out run at the Lena Horne Theatre in Midtown Manhattan.
Six tells the story of six historical women and how they are reclaiming their voices and their “her-story” from the history books. Many experts in English royal history have simply painted their legacies with a broad brush, noting them as the “wives of King Henry VIII,” but Six goes deeper with these characters, giving them agency and empowerment, letting them tell their own story over the course of 80 minutes. There’s Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr, and they have more than a few energetic songs to sing — concert-style with mics in hands and a rocking band to back them up.
Keri René Fuller has been with the show for quite some time in the character of Jane Seymour. Her journey to Six has been filled with ups and downs — and one large pandemic that got in the way.
“I was auditioning for this back when I was still on tour with Cats,” Fuller said in a recent phone interview. “I was on tour as Grizabella in the North American tour of Cats, and we were in Toronto. It was one of our last cities, and they’re like, ‘So there’s this musical.’ I had heard of Six, but I had only listened to it a few times. And then they called, and they’re like, ‘Do you want to audition?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ I auditioned, and I came back from Cats and the world shut down, just perfect timing.”
During the pandemic, when in-person auditions were not allowed, Fuller would send in self-tapes to the casting directors. She ended up auditioning more than a dozen times for Six, but she didn’t book the show. “I found out that they were not moving forward with me, so I was like OK, that’s fine,” she said. “I found out at the end of 2021, and just moving on with my life, and then I get a call out of the blue in February [2022] asking if I could start rehearsals the next day for the Broadway company.”
Fuller, who also appeared on Broadway in Jagged Little Pill and Waitress, said she has always loved one-act shows like Six, and she’s also appreciative of musical scores that lean more toward rock and pop. In college, she performed in the show Murder Ballad, which has a similar immersive rock feel.
“What resonated with me more is that there were going to be six people on that stage that were top tier at what they do,” Fuller said about the show. “We all had a chance, individually and together as a group, to shine. All of us have our own solos. All of us get to be forefront of a Broadway show for just a snippet of time, and also we get to support each other and help each other shine more. I feel so lucky to be a part of a company and a show that prioritizes excellence because you have to be [excellent] if you’re doing this show. I am in awe all the time, and not just of the people on stage with me. The way that our costume department has to work off-stage. Our hair department, anytime we leave the stage, they’re brushing our hair to make sure we look fantastic, and costumes are adjusting us and all that stuff. It’s just so cool. It is unlike anything that has ever been on Broadway and probably ever will be on Broadway, in my humble opinion.”
Fuller, who has a new EP coming out soon, was familiar with the English history that is discussed in the musical. She has been fascinated by the Tudors and the royal family for years. When she was in college, which was a conservatory, she had to take a number of liberal arts courses, and she always trended toward European history and specifically English history.
“I’ve been fascinated by this story for so long and also everything that happened outside of it, but funnily enough, I wasn’t as familiar with Jane because she isn’t that forefront in the history books,” Fuller said. “It is very much about Henry and his six wives as opposed to who were these six wives. You, of course, hear a lot about Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon, but I never really heard much about Jane. So it was really amazing to get to dive into her and see her as a real person.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Six, featuring Keri René Fuller, continues performances at the Lena Horne Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
