Book Jennifer Saunders Playwright Jennifer Saunders | Music Various Artists Lyrics Various Artists | |
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Basis Compilation of songs recorded by the Spice Girls Productions West End: 11 Dec 2012 – 29 June 2013 Similar Mamma Mia!, Ghost the Musical, We Will Rock You, The Bodyguard, Blood Brothers | ||
Viva forever the musical official trailer
Viva Forever! was a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington.
Contents
- Viva forever the musical official trailer
- Viva forever the musical goodbye mama
- Plot
- Background
- West End 20122013
- Musical numbers
- Principal roles and original cast
- Changes to musical numbers
- Critical response
- References
Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, a British pop girl group formed in 1994, the show began previews at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, on 27 November 2012 and had its Press Night on 11 December 2012 and features some of the group's biggest hit songs including "Wannabe", "Spice Up Your Life" and the eponymous "Viva Forever".
Viva Forever! received some of the worst reviews of 2012 (and "arguably of all time") and it was announced on 2 May 2013 that the show was to close on 29 June 2013 after only seven months with a loss of "at least £5 million". It was replaced at the Piccadilly Theatre by the musical Dirty Dancing from 13 July 2013.
Viva forever the musical goodbye mama
Plot
The musical is based on a band member named Viva who lives on a houseboat. The story starts when her band gets through to the audition stages of a TV show. The band get through multiple rounds of the auditions, but on the final round, Viva gets through, without her band mates. As Viva follows her dreams, Viva Forever! charts her journey into the world of overnight celebrity and its impact on her mother and the friends she thought she’d have forever.
Background
In 2010, Judy Craymer teamed up with Geri Halliwell, Simon Fuller (the one-time manager of the Spice Girls) and Universal Music to start developing a musical entitled Viva Forever!, based on the songs of the Spice Girls. Although the Spice Girls themselves were not to be in the show, they were to influence the show's cast and production choices in a story which uses their music but bears no relation to their personal story. This approach is similar to that of ABBA's music in Mamma Mia!, a show which Craymer produced and helped turn into a global phenomenon. In August 2010, it was reported that Jennifer Saunders would be writing the script. Saunders had twice previously worked with the group: the first time, appearing in the Comic Relief version of the "Who Do You Think You Are" video, the second, making a cameo appearance in the 1997 feature film Spice World.
On 26 June 2012, to promote the launch of the show, all five former Spice Girls attended a press conference in London at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, the location where the group filmed the music video for their breakthrough hit "Wannabe," sixteen years earlier, to the day.
West End (2012–2013)
On 13 July 2012, the first casting was announced with Hannah John-Kamen as Viva and Sally Ann Triplett as her mother Lauren and following previews from 27 November 2012, Viva Forever! opened in the West End on 11 December 2012 at the Piccadilly Theatre after a delayed start, due to the late arrival of Victoria Beckham, one of the original group members. It was announced on 2 May 2013 that the show would close after only seven months, with a loss of "at least £5 million". Producer Judy Craymer told the Evening Standard, "Despite wonderful audiences, standing ovations and positive social media it has proved very difficult to fight back when such negativity was cast, especially in these very tough economic times." Due to poor ticket sales, the show closed on 29 June 2013. Only two of the group members attended the final performance, Melanie C and Emma Bunton.
Musical numbers
When the show first opened, it included 23 musical numbers, featuring some of the Spice Girls' biggest hits including a mashup of "Mama" and "Goodbye", as well as two solo songs from the group's solo efforts: "Look at Me" by Geri Halliwell and "I Turn to You" by Melanie Chisholm.
The following musical numbers were part of the show on opening night:
Principal roles and original cast
The following cast and characters are part of the show:
Changes to musical numbers
During the course of the show's run, several changes were made to the show's script and musical numbers. "Something Kinda Funny" was replaced with a reprise of "Wannabe", "The Lady Is a Vamp" was reinstated into the show after being removed, and "Say You'll Be There" was re-orchestrated into an up-tempo number more similar to the original version of the song. The Entr'acte was shortened, "Time Goes By" was replaced with a reprise of "Mama", A few lines of "Never Give Up on the Good Times" were added and sung a cappella into the second act of the show, "I Turn to You" was removed from the show as well as the reprise of "Saturday Night Divas", and "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" was shortened.
Critical response
The theatrical reviews following the opening Press Night (First Night) were universally negative: