For many influencers, social media isn't the end-all, be-all of their careers. Multi-hyphenates like Dylan Mulvaney have used the internet as a springboard into the industries they've dreamed of entering. In the 29-year-old content creator's case, that dream has always been musical theater and Broadway. This week, she made that dream a reality, making her Broadway debut as Anne Boleyn in Six: The Musical.
The crowd for every show is different; most times, the audience watches quietly and politely applauds, giving standing ovations to standout numbers. But at Monday's performance — dubbed "Coronation Day," to commemorate the changing of the guard, if you will, as the new cast of queens takes the stage — the crowd was buzzing with excitement. After each of the women sang their songs, the crowd showered them with raucous applause, especially for Mulvaney.
The global phenomenon Six: The Musical is the brainchild of two queer creative masterminds: Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. The show follows the six wives of Henry VIII, giving the women a chance to tell their own stories through pop music. The production cycles through each character as they sing songs inspired by different divas like Beyoncé, Adele, and Alicia Keys. Mulvaney took the stage at the Lena Horne Theatre on Monday, donning Anne Boleyn's metallic green outfit, to cheers from a room radiating excitement for her and the five other queens, one of whom was Abigail Barlow (of Barlow & Bear, the Grammy-winning duo who took home the prize for their Unofficial Bridgerton Musical album). The four returning divas — Adrianna Hicks (Catherine of Aragon), Anna Uzele (Catherine Parr), Olivia Donalson (Anna of Cleves), and Jasmine Forsberg (Jane Seymour) — donned the regal attire and made their comebacks alongside Mulvaney and Barlow (Katherine Howard).
The new cast of "Six: The Musical" including Dylan MulvaneyMichaelah Reynolds
The new set of queens was announced last month, and the influencer's inclusion on the cast list prompted backlash from detractors almost immediately. The noise grew louder until the show's producers had to issue a statement defending the casting decision and saying that "aggressive, threatening, or abusive behavior is never acceptable." The end of the statement read: "As a production, we unequivocally condemn bullying in all its forms and remain committed to fostering a respectful, supportive environment for everyone involved. We are incredibly excited to welcome our incoming Broadway cast, and we cannot wait to see them take to the stage."
Mulvaney says this instance was a wake-up call to the theater community to show that transphobia is increasingly prevalent. "It's not just in beer campaigns, it's also directed at musical theater," says Mulvaney. "What was really lovely this time around was that I felt so supported by my cast and by the producers." She continues, "I do think it's important for the people in power to say, 'This is not acceptable, and this is not what our values stand for.' It makes me, as a performer and as a trans person, feel a lot safer to come to work every day because I know that I'm being surrounded by people who see me the way that I want to be seen."
The new cast of "Six: The Musical" on BroadwayMichaelah Reynolds
Mulvaney was in her usual upbeat mood, grinning from ear to ear as she answered Out's Zoom call from a rehearsal studio on one of New York City's coldest days. She was processing the fact that she's making her Broadway debut after staging her one-woman show, The Least Problematic Woman in the World, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (where Oh, Mary! got its start) last year. "To go from doing my one-person show, which was an isolating experience, to then getting to play a character like Anne Boleyn, who was so polarizing and ahead of her time, it just feels perfect," she says. "It feels really like divine timing."
Mulvaney first auditioned for the show back in 2021, when she identified as nonbinary, and received callbacks for the role of Anne Boleyn. While she didn't get the part that time, she formed ties to Six's creatives. Indeed, when she did her stage celebration for her viral “365 Days of Girlhood” video series, which chronicled her gender transition, she worked with Marlow and Moss on the opening musical number (and she collabed with them again on The Least Problematic Woman in the World). After forming a bond with the show’s writers, she received a call from their team asking her to take over the role of Anne Boleyn. Out of the six queens, Mulvaney has always felt the most connected to Henry VIII’s third wife, who famously was beheaded after being made out to be a social pariah, something that Mulvaney can relate to following the Bud Light "Beergate" boycott of 2023 and the constant villainization of trans people by the Trump administration.
"Any time that a trans person takes on a role that a cis person is traditionally cast in, it becomes something different," Mulvaney says. "There are so many moments in the show that have a slightly different meaning because I'm the one saying them."
Now, the newly minted Broadway star is reveling in the kinship forming between her and her co-stars, which she says is helping her become a more confident performer. "We are all equal, and each of us has our big moment. Before and after my song, I get the opportunity to take on the piece of storytelling that supports that person on stage," she says. "I feel like I've already learned so much from these women, getting to sit and watch them every day and hear them sing or watch them dance, and I think it's making me a better performer."
Six: The Musical is now playing at the Lena Horne Theatre. Tickets are available on the show's website.
