Viva Forever! (musical)


Viva Forever! was a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and was directed by Paul Garrington.
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". The show generated over £2,000,000 in pre-opening ticket sales.
Viva Forever! was panned by critics, receiving some of the worst reviews of 2012. 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".

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 bandmates. 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 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.
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.

Productions

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". Due to poor ticket sales, the show closed on 29 June 2013. It was replaced at the Piccadilly Theatre by the musical Dirty Dancing from 13 July 2013.
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."

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: "I Turn to You" by Melanie Chisholm and "Look at Me" by Geri Halliwell.
The following musical numbers were part of the show on opening night:
;Act I
;Act II
;Encore
The following cast and characters are part of the show:
CharacterCharacter descriptionOriginal West End actor / actress
VivaA 20-year-old girl, who lives on a houseboat with her adoptive mother, and is a member of a four piece all-female band.Hannah John-Kamen
LaurenViva's adoptive mother, who lives with her daughter on a houseboat.Sally Ann Triplett
LuceA member of Viva's band, and Viva's friend.Siobhan Athwal
DiamondA member of Viva's band, and Viva's friend.Lucy Phelps
HollyA member of Viva's band, and Viva's friend.Dominique Provost-Chalkley
SuziLauren's best friend.Lucy Montgomery
MitchLauren's friend.Simon Slater
SimoneA TV talent show judge.Sally Dexter
JohnnyA Judge on Viva's TV talent show.Bill Ward
KarenA Judge on Viva's TV talent show.Tamara Wall
AngelThe musical director of the TV talent showBen Cura
MintyA production assistant for the TV talent showHatty Preston
LeonA stylist for the TV talent showSimon Adkins
LanceThe presenter for the TV talent showAnthony Topham
EnsembleEnsemble membersTom Kanavan, Zak Nemorin, Curtis Angus, Luke Jackson, Oliver Roll, David Rudin, Darren Carnall, Myles Brown, Charlotte Gorton, Rebecca McKinnis, Lucy Thatcher, Roxanne Palner, Charlotte Walcott, Sophie Carmen-Jones, Carla Nella, Kirstie Skinvington, Helen Ternent

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 " was shortened.

Critical response

The theatrical reviews following the opening Press Night were universally negative: