Explosive pop-concert chords and vibrant vocals echoed through the Coppell High School Auditorium on Thursday as the CHS9 theatre department took the stage for its production of “SIX: Teen Edition.”
The upbeat, concert-style musical, directed by CHS9 technical theatre director Colin Thomas, flips the script on traditional history books. The show transforms King Henry VIII’s six wives into a fierce girl group. While the queens initially clash in a playful competition to decide who suffered the most, they ultimately join forces to reclaim their own voices and rewrite history.
“It showcases female empowerment, and that is definitely what I’m trying to convey,” Thomas said. “I definitely want the audience to walk away with the fact that it’s not just about King Henry VIII, but it’s also about the wives and their side of the story.”
CHS9 student Autumn Behera stepped into the spotlight to play the fifth wife, Katherine Howard. For Behera, the presence of a live audience completely transformed her performance
“Whenever you do rehearsals, I know it’s not the real thing so my adrenaline isn’t pumping,” Behera said. “But once I’m on stage and see everyone in the crowd, I think, ‘I’m going to work hard and push as I can’ and I think this went better than any run we’ve ever done.”
The production was planned in January after Thomas brainstormed concepts that would best showcase the department’s strong female talent. However, bringing the showcase to life required the cast to navigate some backstage hurdles.
Because the CHS9 Dome is undergoing renovations, the cast had to adapt by running rehearsals inside the CHS9 large and small gym and throughout the school hallways.
Despite trading a traditional stage for school hallways during the rehearsal process, the CHS9 theatre department’s preparation paid off. Over a four-show weekend run, the cast brought high energy to the Coppell community.
As the final curtain fell on Saturday night, the cast left the stage not just with crowns, but with a memorable finale to its school year.
“I feel like this was the perfect show to end the year with because this is something everyone will be thinking about this summer,” Behera said. “It’s something you can keep on reminiscing about, because SIX never gets old.”
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