Gossip: Out with Ghost…in with Spice?
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London Theatre Direct
According to the Daily Mail, Ghost The Musical is set to close later this year to make way for the eagerly awaited Spice Girls musical Viva Forever. The musical would open at the Piccadilly Theatre in December after November previews, just catching the tail end of 2012 - a year already choc full of 'proud to be British' events.
Next week sees the Queen's Jubilee with the Olympics set to take over London from July through to September. With a sense of patriotism high in the air it will be the perfect time to start promoting the ultimate British girl group's upcoming show and ticket sales are likely to be brisk. The Spice Girls were at the forefront of the girl power movement in the late nineties and were true ambassadors for Britain, conquering America and indeed the rest of the globe with their instantly catchy songs and a clever branding which included adopting the monikers Scary, Baby, Sporty, Ginger and Posh that captured people's imagination. The musical is set to follow the themes that helped solidify the group's global stronghold - sisterhood, friendship, self-empowerment and self-belief, whilst making a social commentary about the highs and lows of our society's current thirst for fame and celebrity.
The show's book is currently being penned by British comedy institution Jennifer Saunders and will be produced by Judy Craymer, the powerhouse behind musical juggernaut Mamma Mia. Don't be surprised to see a big screen version of Viva Forever at some point in the next few years. Auditions for the show's cast will commence later this month and will continue until July. Workshops are already in progress. The Mail's Baz Bamigboye claims that all five Spice Girls - Melanie's B and C, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham - will all attend the show's premiere, which is a pretty safe bet as they are all creatively involved in the its development.
No official announcement has yet been made about the show's potential venue, nor that Ghost is to either close or vacate for another theatre. The Spice Girls amassed over 75 million worldwide record sales with global number ones including Wannabe, Say You'll Be There, 2 Become 1, Spice Up Your Life and Holler - all of which will feature in the stage production. Their tie-in film Spiceworld was mauled by the critics but still went on to be a global hit and is now seen as something of a cult classic. The girls briefly reunited in 2007 for a sellout tour, proving that there was still a fond nostalgia for the girls' work.
Despite having been disbanded for years the five girls are frequently still in the spotlight, with Geri Halliwell in the press this week filming as a guest judge for the current wave of X Factor UK auditions, and with Mel B rumoured to be doing the same next week. Mel C's new single with drag DJ Jodie Harsh is currently garnering positive reviews. No sales date for Viva Forever tickets has yet been announced, but of course London Theatre Direct will be keeping you well updated. Zig-a-zig ahhhhhh!