Trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney recently opened up about her experience staring in Broadway’s Six: The Musical for the past two months.
“I’m having the time of my damn life,” she told viewers on social media while putting on makeup for her upcoming performance.
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Mulvaney plays Anne Boleyn, the second, ultimately beheaded wife of English King Henry VIII in the popular show featuring all six of the monarch’s wives. The musical retells the wives’ lives as a modern pop concert. The historical reimagining of the women’s tales won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score. The announcement of Mulvaney’s casting brought a deluge of transphobic comments and hate, which required the producers to limit access to the production’s X account.
While Mulvaney acknowledged she has continued to receive criticism, it has all been eclipsed by how great her experience has been.
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“Little by little, I think the industry is realizing when you do make an effort to include someone with a different life experience, it can give a character such a fresh and nuanced perspective,” she said.
She thanked the producers for taking “a really big leap of faith” with her, since she had limited Broadway experience and none in a starring role. They were also willing to change her solo to a slightly lower key because it better served her voice
Some songwriters, she said, can be stingy about any alterations to their work, but Mulvaney said the Six writers made clear their songs were meant to be sung by a diverse set of voices. She said more writers need to be this way and give “more blessings for casting trans people.”
Mulvaney also addressed a specific criticism she has received about her singing in the show. A clip on social media shows her performing a snippet of her solo during the show’s finale. Because the finale is a medley, she has to sing that portion in the original key so it melds with the other vocalists.
“When I started in February, I was seeing comments from our first night where people were saying very unkind things about my singing,” she said, “and it took me a long time to realize that those people weren’t actually seeing me in the show. They were basing their opinions on a very small clip on the internet, and they made me really hate that moment in the show, which is during our curtain call and during our bows when I’m supposed to be celebrating the show that we just did.”
But she has “taken back my power,” she said.
“I’m not really interested in criticism unless it’s coming from someone who is sitting in that theater, seeing the show in its entirety.”
She aknowledged that she is “not the greatest vocalist” but that “the trans joy and the humor that I bring to that stage every night is enough for me to believe that I deserve to be there.”
“I am giving 125% at every performance because I know how lucky I am to be here,” she added.
She also emphasized her hopes that more trans and nonbinary actors make it to Broadway.
“We are not the problem, we are the solution. And what we have to offer is so rich in experience and in joy that a note that we can’t hit or a costume that might need some alterations will be the tiniest casualty of what will be an epic show for all involved.”
“And now for the scariest part of my day,” she joked. “Trying to master a red lip.”
Mulvaney, who rose to stardom with her viral “Days of Girlhood” series chronicling her transition, is no stranger to backlash. The influencer was the lightning rod at the center of the 2023 Bud Light boycott.
Mulvaney sparked outrage when she partnered with Bud Light for a 50-second Instagram video. The company put Mulvaney’s face on a beer can that appeared in Mulvaney’s video, and the far right lost its mind. The brand refused to stand by Mulvaney, though, putting out a statement saying that it “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” adding, “We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”
The Six team, on the other hand, clearly knew that casting Mulvaney would also mean staunchly standing by her side in the face of hate. “Show some royal love to Queen Dylan Mulvaney, who will be joining the #SIXBroadway 5.0 cast as Anne Boleyn,” they joyfully announced in January.
Then came the hate. “A man is playing a woman in a musical about celebrating women and ‘girl power’. Can’t make this up,” posted notorious anti-trans troll Chaya Raichik at Libs of TikTok, misgendering Mulvaney.
“They’ve made Anne Boleyn trans. You know, Anne Boleyn. The British queen who was slandered by her abusive husband and then beheaded because she gave birth to a girl. Yeah, that Anne Boleyn,” posted another aggrieved bigot. “She’s being played by a person with a penìs.”
To be clear, the playwrights didn’t “turn Boleyn trans”; they merely cast a trans actress to play Boleyn’s cisgender character.
“The protection, safety, and support of the Six cast has always been, and remains, our highest priority,” the producers wrote after cutting off X comments. They said they welcome “passionate engagement” with the production but said it is “never acceptable” to use threatening or abusive language.
“As a production, we unequivocally condemn bullying in all its forms and remain committed to fostering a respectful, supportive environment for everyone involved,” they continued. “We are incredibly excited to welcome our incoming Broadway cast, and we cannot wait to see them take to the stage.”
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