Spice Girls’ “Viva Forever!” Musical in London Closing in June

Cast and creators of ‘Viva Forever!’

After running only six months, the Spice Girls musical Viva Forever! will be closing at the end of June.

Held at London’s Piccadilly Theatre in the West End, the jukebox musical was written by Jennifer Saunders , produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington , and is based on the songs of the world renowned pop group.

Although the Spice Girls themselves were not in the show, they influenced 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!

When the show was opened in December, it was slammed by critics, which lead to weak ticket sales. The Daily Mail called it a disappointment and the Telegraph’s critic said that fans of the Spice Girls had better stay home to listen to their music.

Judy Craymer had a major hit with ABBA musical Mamma Mia! , which became a global success. That show has been playing in London since 1999; on Broadway, it has been running for more than 12 years, grossing a massive $537 million to date.

It also spawned Universal’s 2008 international blockbuster screen adaptation starring Meryl Streep. Worldwide grosses for the property are in excess of $2 billion.

Spice Girls members Melanie C , known as Sporty Spice , and Emma Bunton , aka Baby Spice , took to Twitter to express their disappointment, with Mel C stating:

“Absolutely devastated our wonderful show is closing. Thank you to our brilliant cast and everybody who made the show so incredible.”

And Emma saying:

“I am totally gutted that our wonderful show [email protected] is coming to an end. Thank you to all our amazing fans for your constant support!”

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