Before coming to Boston, Annaliese Wilbur had a very different plan for their life. They wanted to be a neurosurgeon.
Wilbur went to Syracuse University on a merit scholarship to study neuroscience with the hopes of one day becoming a surgeon. But the thought of musical theater kept creeping to the front of their mind.
“It was like, you know what? I don’t think I’m in the right place,” Wilbur recalled.
That’s when they transferred to the Boston Conservatory — starting over, but finally finding the right path. Graduating in 2023, that path has now brought them full circle, returning to Massachusetts as part of “Six: The Musical,” the Tony Award-winning musical coming to Worcester on Tuesday.
The musical is about the six wives of Henry VIII, who take the microphone to reclaim their identities.
“… remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power,” the website states. “This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over!”
Wilbur is an alternate, meaning they must be able to cover multiple roles at a moment’s notice. If they’re not on stage, you’ll either find them in the audience studying all the moves or doing the entire show by themselves in their dressing room.
Their science brain — and the skills learned in pre-med and engineering classes — allow them to visualize an aerial view of the stage, helping them keep track of all the queens’ steps. It also helps them analyze each character on a psychological level, allowing them to understand the characters more deeply as they step into their shoes.
Wilbur, however, didn’t know much about the women prior to the show.
“I never learned about Anne Boleyn in school,” they said. “I was shocked that Henry completely made an entirely new religion to marry this woman.”
Catherine of Aragon is the hardest queen to play, Wilbur said, because following the first number with all the actors, you then have to “scream your face off” for another four minutes. And their favorite part of the show is when the queens come together in a semicircle to sing “the most beautiful harmony your ears will ever hear.”
“And it’s just that moment in the show where everyone starts to cry, and it just feels like sisterhood at its finest,” they said.
To be part of this sisterhood on stage, Wilbur has come a long way.
Growing up, Wilbur didn’t know musical theater was a career option, and they didn’t spend their childhood taking acting or singing lessons.
“I was very scared because I felt really behind. I had taken dance my whole life, but I had never had a singing lesson, never had an acting lesson,” they said. “And I was in a class with a lot of kids who had grown up with theater or had done theater from a young age — some Broadway kids. It was very intense.”
But with a lot of practice, extra training and professors they remain grateful for, Wilbur finally felt ready to chase their dream.
They were previously part of the national tour of “Funny Girl.”
“My biggest advice for parents specifically is let your child try,” Wilbur said, adding that they understand that it isn’t always easy.
And for children thinking about what they want to do when they grow up, Wilbur hopes they, too, follow their heart.
“Six: The Musical” is in Worcester from Oct. 14 to 19. It’ll then be in Providence, Rhode Island, from Oct. 22 to 26.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
