The joy of Six! The Israeli keeping Henry VIII’s wives together
Hit show Six has a musical director from Jerusalem
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
Customarily, one should refrain from directing a reader to YouTube at the start of a story. But to appreciate the talent of Anna Senger you have to see her in action – specifically the moment she got the golden buzzer on Israel’s Got Talent. Hobbling on to the stage, disguised as an old woman called Licia, the audience expected a comedy routine, but Anna had them fooled. In place of gags, the Juilliard graduate born in Jerusalem wowed the crowd by playing two pianos at the same time, and then briefly suspended upside down in a harness. Cue the standing ovation and shiny confetti, which you must see in much the same way as you should see Anna in the musical, Six.
Having her name on the poster outside the Strand’s Vaudeville Theatre is currently a thrill in its infancy as Anna has only been assistant musical director officially since last summer.
“I was hired first to do the Six UK tour and also as the substitute for the West End show which I was really happy about,” says the spirited 35-year-old sat by a keyboard.” Now I conduct three times a week, but I’m at the theatre every day, where I share this lovely room with the resident director and choreographer.”
Anna also shares backstage with the six queens who lead Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ global hit about Henry VIII’s mistreated spouses, and enjoys the Tudor camaraderie.
“We do nine shows a week and even when I’m on standby, I’m listening on the tannoy,” says Anna, which will literally be music to the ears of show producer Kenny Wax and a slap on the back for the charity Resource. Turns out that the community’s go-to resource centre for job seekers doesn’t just help business professionals get back to the workplace, it can tackle showbiz too.
“When Anna relocated here from Israel, she found getting a job difficult,” says Resource’s Jennifer Hoffman. “We gave her 1-1 coaching and tailored programmes to help her get started and now that she has managed to land her dream job in the West End. We’re delighted.”
“Resource was really a crucial part of me getting the job,” Anna concurs. “I’d never done interviews in the UK or in my life actually and they sent me to a seminar where I learnt about applying for job and preparing a CV. As mine was more unusual, they even got someone who knew about theatre to tailor my CV and then when I got the interview they helped me to feel more confident.”
And she should be confident with such a fulsome resume that almost hails back to when Anna was four and her mother Liora (her Venezuelan father Rubin lives in New York) started teaching her piano. By the time she was eight Anna was performing in international competitions.
“Classical and very serious,” says the woman who now wears a studded mask to accompany Anne Boleyn in the bawdy Rihanna-styled Don’t Lose Ur Head.
“I began studying conducting when I was 16, then left school to go to the Academy of Music in Jerusalem, from where I got accepted at Juilliard in New York. There I went straight into the second year, as I’d already done a lot of theory.”
Revealing her musical achievements with typical Israeli nonchalance is why Anna intrigues and why she moved easily into drama at Jerusalem’s Nissan Nativ Acting Studio.
“It was a big switch that entered my mind while I was in New York. But after 20 years of classical piano and competition, I didn’t want to go to Tel Aviv. I just wanted to study, be calm and stay with my mum in Jerusalem.”
Post drama school, Anna dabbled in musical theatre, which is where she conceived the old lady act – Licia, the creeky pianist – that not only thrilled the judges on Israel’s Got Talent, but also the panel on the German, Italian and Chinese editions.
“I did work in Israeli theatre, but when I came up with the act and more people were asking me to travel to other countries, I thought I should try my luck outside of Israel. My husband Omri (Dagan) who was in a band and released two albums, had also started working as a filmmaker and photographer and together we felt we couldn’t really fulfil our dreams in Israel.” Not that she doesn’t love her homeland, as she sincerely does and holds a singular and alternative perspective on the new right-wing government.
“I think it is different for actors who work in more culturally liberal Tel Aviv. I come from Jerusalem where we’re more detached, look to the past and teach it. I enjoyed playing the historical roles of our ancestors in traditional plays that tell Israel’s story. We built this country, and we’re part of it and what we did is amazing.”
What’s amazing is that a creeky old woman who plays two pianos at once while airborne is now setting the tempo nightly on stage for Henry VIII’s wives.
For tickets to see the new cast of Six, visit www.sixthemusical.com
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