Behind the Curtain: Where Every Broadway Anne Boleyn From Six Went to School
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Six the Musical began its Broadway life on February 13, 2020, with previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Opening night was supposed to be March 12, 2020, but Broadway shut down that afternoon. Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss's 80-minute Tudor pop concert sat in the dark for eighteen months until previews resumed on September 17, 2021. Six finally opened on October 3, 2021 (the same theatre, since renamed in honor of Lena Horne in November 2022), and it has been running ever since.
Across the Broadway run and the announced June 2026 changeover, six actors have held or been announced for principal Anne Boleyn: the queen of Don't Lose Ur Head, the second wife with the green sash and the green-screen energy. Six principal Annes, for Six. The symmetry was not planned.
This post is the first in a series. We're going one queen at a time. Anne Boleyn now, the other five (Aragon, Seymour, Cleves, Howard, Parr) to follow. For the five principal Boleyns who have already played Broadway, the announced sixth, and the Broadway alternates/standbys documented as covering the role, we tracked down where they studied: BFA programs, conservatory diplomas, a Music Education degree, and the queen-to-be who left college early to start a Grammy-winning a cappella group.
The Broadway Principal Anne Boleyns of Six
| Actor | Broadway Run | Training |
|---|---|---|
| Andrea Macasaet | Feb 2020 previews; Oct 2021 to Dec 2022 | Canadian College of Performing Arts (Diploma, 2013) |
| Leandra Ellis-Gaston | Dec 2022 to Dec 2023 | AMDA Los Angeles (Class of 2015) |
| Storm Lever | Dec 2023 to Feb 2025 | University of Michigan (BFA Musical Theatre) |
| Gianna Yanelli | Feb 2025 to Feb 2026 | Texas State University (BFA Musical Theatre, 2014) |
| Dylan Mulvaney | Feb 16, 2026 to May 31, 2026 | University of Cincinnati CCM (BFA Musical Theatre, 2019) |
| Kirstin Maldonado | Begins June 1, 2026 | University of Oklahoma (Musical Theatre, did not graduate) |
The Original: Andrea Macasaet
Six on Broadway began with a queen who first put on the green sash in 2019, before opening night was even a concept. Andrea Macasaet originated Anne Boleyn at Chicago Shakespeare Theater that May and carried the role through the North American premiere tryouts. She walked into the Brooks Atkinson for the first Broadway preview on February 13, 2020, was still under contract eighteen months later when previews resumed, and finally opened the show on October 3, 2021.
Andrea Macasaet (Original Broadway Anne Boleyn)
Macasaet, a Filipina-Canadian raised in Winnipeg, danced competitively and stacked up local musical theatre credits before crossing the country to Vancouver Island for college. CCPA is a small private conservatory built around a two-year diploma: roughly 33 weeks of instruction per year, more than 2,000 total contact hours across acting, voice, and dance, and a student-to-faculty ratio under 3 to 1.
She spent the next several years working in Canadian musical theatre before booking Anne Boleyn in the North American premiere of Six at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in May 2019. By the time the show arrived at the Brooks Atkinson, she had already played the role for nearly a year on the road. She remained the principal Broadway Anne through December 4, 2022, becoming the only one to have lived in the character on both sides of the COVID closure.
The First Replacement: Leandra Ellis-Gaston
When Macasaet finished her run in December 2022, the show needed a Boleyn who could carry the role for a full year without ramping into it. They cast Leandra Ellis-Gaston, who had already debuted on Broadway in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.
Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Anne Boleyn, December 2022 to December 2023)
Raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Ellis-Gaston trained at AMDA's Los Angeles campus, graduating in 2015 (confirmed by AMDA's own March 2023 alumni newsletter). AMDA runs audition-based performing arts training across two coasts (Times Square and Hollywood) and stages roughly 170 productions a year across the school. She booked her first job, the international tour of Hair, less than a week after graduation.
Her Broadway debut came in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical before she took over as principal Anne Boleyn on December 5, 2022. She held the role for just under one year, closing out her run on December 3, 2023.
The Michigan Mafia Arrives: Storm Lever
Storm Lever had already been a Broadway Six queen-in-waiting for a while when she finally got the green sash. She originated Anne Boleyn on the North American Aragon tour in 2022, then moved with the rest of that tour cast onto Broadway the following year.
Storm Lever (Anne Boleyn, December 2023 to February 2025)
Lever trained at the University of Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the program whose alumni network is nicknamed the "Michigan Mafia" for its Broadway presence. The BFA is a highly selective auditioned program built around intensive acting, dance, and voice training within a flagship research university.
Her Broadway debut came in 2018 as Duckling Donna in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She joined Six first on the road, originating Anne Boleyn on the North American Aragon tour, then stepped into the Broadway company as principal Boleyn on December 5, 2023. She held the role through February 17, 2025.
Texas State Steps Up: Gianna Yanelli
By the time Gianna Yanelli took over Anne Boleyn in early 2025, the role had been a Broadway fixture for nearly four years. She kept it for almost as long as the original.
Gianna Yanelli (Anne Boleyn, February 2025 to February 2026)
Yanelli came up through the Texas State Musical Theatre Program, the BFA revived in 2009 by Kaitlin Hopkins and attached to a school The Hollywood Reporter named among the top 25 drama schools in the world for 2025. It is a small, audition-based program built around a wellness-centered training model. Fellow Texas State alumna Anna Uzele has also performed in Six on Broadway, alongside a long list of Bobcats now working on stages around the country.
Yanelli made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Mean Girls in 2018. She took over as principal Anne Boleyn on February 19, 2025 and held the role through February 15, 2026, just shy of a full year.
Spring 2026: Dylan Mulvaney
For the spring 2026 stretch, the green sash belongs to Dylan Mulvaney, a CCM graduate whose audience size grew several orders of magnitude between drama school and Broadway.
Dylan Mulvaney (Anne Boleyn, February 16 to May 31, 2026)
Mulvaney trained at CCM, the first musical theatre program of its kind in the United States and the school the National Association of Schools of Theatre referenced when drafting MT accreditation guidelines nationwide. The four-year BFA leans hard into conservatory rigor: private voice instruction, an acting curriculum that cycles through Stanislavski, Hagen, Meisner, Chekhov, and Bogart, and a full dance core in ballet, jazz, tap, and somatic practices.
After graduating, she toured nationally as Elder White in The Book of Mormon. She is best known to a much wider audience for the "Days of Girlhood" video series on TikTok, where she has documented her transition since March 2022. Six is her Broadway debut, and she takes her final bow as Anne Boleyn on May 31, 2026.
Next Up: Kirstin Maldonado
The sixth Broadway Anne Boleyn takes over on June 1, 2026. Of the six, she is the only one whose performing arts training did not end in a credential.
Kirstin Maldonado (Anne Boleyn, beginning June 1, 2026)
Maldonado enrolled at OU's School of Musical Theatre in 2010 on a National Hispanic Scholar full-ride, then left to co-found Pentatonix, the Grammy-winning a cappella group that has gone on to sell millions of records. Oklahoma's program is the only standalone School of Musical Theatre in the country (not a department within a larger college), capped at 50 students total with a 5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, so leaving it was no small thing.
Her Broadway debut came in Kinky Boots in 2018. She joins Six as principal Anne Boleyn on June 1, 2026, taking over from Dylan Mulvaney.
Beyond the Principals: The Boleyn Alternates
Six the Musical does not use a traditional ensemble-to-understudy setup for the queens. The Broadway production lists standbys/alternates who cover defined groups of queens and go on when coverage is needed. They are part of the show's design, and the original Broadway alternates appeared on the opening-night cast recording's bonus track.
Eleven Broadway alternates/standbys are documented as having performed Anne Boleyn between September 2021 and May 2026. Most cover three queens; a few are designated "universal alternates" who cover four or more.
Broadway Alternates/Standbys Who Have Performed Anne Boleyn
| Performer | Coverage Track | Broadway Tenure | Training |
|---|---|---|---|
| Courtney Mack | Boleyn, Howard, Parr | Sep 2021 to Dec 2022 | Columbia College Chicago (BFA Musical Theatre, 2015) |
| Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert | Aragon, Boleyn, Cleves | Sep 2021 to Dec 2022; returned Oct 2025 | CCPA at Roosevelt University (BA Music Education) |
| Cassie Silva | Universal Alternate | Jan to Mar 2022; emergency Aug 2022; Sep to Dec 2023 | Professional from age five; no formal college credential documented |
| Ayla Ciccone-Burton | Boleyn, Cleves, Parr | Aug 2022 to Feb 2024 | Goldsmiths, University of London + University College Cork (music) |
| Marilyn Caserta | Universal Alternate (A/B/C/P) | Dec 2022 to Oct 2023 | Atlantic Acting School (NYC, conservatory) |
| Aubrey Matalon | Boleyn, Seymour, Howard | Dec 2022 to Mar 2024 (with later returns) | Pace University (BFA Musical Theatre) |
| Wesley Carpenter | Universal (B/S/H/P) | Dec 2023 to Sep 2024 | Belmont University (BFA Musical Theatre, 2016) |
| Jenny Mollet | Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour | Mar 2024 to Jul 2025 | Cincinnati CCM (BFA Musical Theatre, 2019) |
| Jana Larell Glover | Universal (A/B/C/P) | May 2024 to Oct 2025 | Point Park University (BFA Musical Theatre, 2022) |
| Aryn Bohannon | Boleyn, Seymour, Howard | Oct 2024 to ongoing in May 2026 | Boston Conservatory at Berklee (BFA Musical Theatre, 2021) |
| Lauryn Adams | Aragon, Boleyn, Cleves | Feb 2026 to ongoing in May 2026 | Spelman College (BA) |
The training pipeline behind the alternate roster looks a lot like the principal roster: Cincinnati CCM, Point Park, Boston Conservatory, Columbia College Chicago, and Belmont all show up. The most striking overlap: alternate Jenny Mollet and spring 2026 principal Dylan Mulvaney are both CCM Musical Theatre class of 2019, classmates who eventually shared the same green sash on the same Broadway stage. Two alternates went a non-BFA route through music programs (Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert in Music Education at Roosevelt's CCPA, Ayla Ciccone-Burton at Goldsmiths and University College Cork), two trained through professional conservatories outside the degree system (Marilyn Caserta at the Atlantic Acting School, Cassie Silva straight from a professional career that started at age five), and one paired a Spelman BA with years of training at Ballethnic Academy and Alvin Ailey.
Inside the Programs
Six principals have held or been announced for the green sash, and eleven alternates/standbys have performed the role on Broadway. Six different schools represent the principal sextet, and the alternate pool adds another half-dozen training paths on top. The principal programs themselves, if you're building an audition list of your own:
Canadian College of Performing Arts
Canada's small private musical theatre conservatory, tucked into Victoria, BC. A two-year diploma with more than 2,000 hours of instruction and a student-to-faculty ratio under 3 to 1. Andrea Macasaet finished here in 2013, six years before originating Anne Boleyn.
AMDA College and Conservatory of the Performing Arts
Two-campus conservatory split between Times Square and Hollywood. AMDA's BFA in Music Theatre runs an integrated voice, acting, and dance core, with a Los Angeles capstone showcase. Leandra Ellis-Gaston trained on the LA campus.
University of Michigan
The "Michigan Mafia" program inside SMTD. An auditioned BFA with a small cohort, intensive acting and dance training, and a highly visible Broadway alumni network. Storm Lever joined a long line of Wolverines who have worn the green sash.
Texas State University
Revived in 2009 by Kaitlin Hopkins, Texas State's BFA in Musical Theatre is ultra-selective with very small class sizes and a wellness-centered training model. The Broadway alumni roster includes both Gianna Yanelli and fellow Six veteran Anna Uzele.
University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music
Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music ran the country's first musical theatre program of its kind, and its BFA has shaped what conservatory training looks like nationwide. The curriculum cycles through Stanislavski, Hagen, Meisner, Chekhov, and Bogart on the acting side, with private voice and a full dance core. Dylan Mulvaney graduated in 2019.
University of Oklahoma
The only independent School of Musical Theatre in the country (not a department within a larger college). Capped at 50 students total with a 5-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, set inside a flagship state university. Kirstin Maldonado attended on a full National Hispanic Scholar scholarship before leaving to co-found Pentatonix.
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Coming Next in the Series
Anne Boleyn is the second queen in Six's running order, and the first stop in this series because her Broadway principal history already spans six announced actors. The next post will cover Catherine of Aragon, the queen who walks on first and never breaks eye contact. Howard, Seymour, Cleves, and Parr will follow.
If any of the programs above belongs on your audition list, every one has a full profile on stageready, and you can save them to your list to compare side-by-side.
Photo credits: Andrea Macasaet by Joan Marcus. Leandra Ellis-Gaston by Joan Marcus. Storm Lever via Instagram (@stormlever). Gianna Yanelli by Joan Marcus. Dylan Mulvaney by Shawn Salley. Kirstin Maldonado courtesy of Boneau/Bryan-Brown.
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