LONDON — The Spice Girls gave fans what they want – what they really, really want – Tuesday, reuniting onstage to announce the details of a musical based on their songs.
Producers stress that the stage show “Viva Forever” isn’t a biography of the band, but there are plenty of real-life resonances for the 1990s “Girl Power” group in its tale of female empowerment and friendship tested by fame. The show opens in London in December.
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“We’re going to be introducing a whole new generation to ‘Girl Power,’ ” said Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, who attended a media launch alongside Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm and Melanie Brown – also known as Baby, Ginger, Sporty and Scary Spice.
“Viva Forever” aims to tap the same vast female fan base as world-conquering ABBA musical “Mamma Mia,” which has been produced in 14 languages and spawned a hit film starring Meryl Streep. The Spice Girls show tells the story of four friends whose bond becomes strained when their band enters a TV talent show.
Scored to Spice Girls hits including “Wannabe,” “Spice Up Your Life,” “Mama” and the title track, it was written by comedian Jennifer Saunders – co-creator of celebrity-skewering sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous” – and produced by Judy Craymer, the woman behind “Mamma Mia.”
Craymer called the musical, with its focus on female friends and mother-daughter relationships, “a heartwarming family tale” that touches on the role of media and celebrity in the modern world. “There’s just something empowering about women’s stories that interests me a lot,” Craymer said.
Saunders – who once spoofed the Spice Girls in a mock band called the Sugar Lumps – said the show aimed to catch “the joy that they brought, their energy and their positivity.”
The Spice Girls said they were delighted with the show, which was unveiled for the press in the grand neo-Gothic hotel where the video for their 1996 breakthrough hit “Wannabe” – in which the band promised to “tell you what I want, what I really, really want” – was filmed.
“Sixteen years ago when we were writing the words ‘zig-a-zig-ah,’ we could never have imagined they would be in a West End show,” Halliwell said, quoting the catchy if confusing refrain of “Wannabe.”
Travolta accused of ‘naked embrace’
LOS ANGELES — A former cruise line worker has filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles against John Travolta, accusing him of embracing him naked after complaining about neck pain.
The lawsuit was filed June 21 by Fabian Zanzi and seeks unspecified damages.
Zanzi contends Travolta disrobed and held him against his will during a Caribbean cruise three years ago.
The actor was accused recently in another federal lawsuit of groping two masseurs. The case quickly unraveled after Travolta’s attorney, Martin Singer, discredited one of the anonymous accusers by showing the actor was across the country on the day of one of the alleged incidents.
Hunter says she, Edwards have split
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rielle Hunter says she and former presidential candidate John Edwards have ended their relationship.
Hunter told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday that she and Edwards were still a couple until late last week, as details from Hunter’s memoir became public. The breakup was painful, but Hunter said Edwards will still be involved with their daughter, Quinn, who is 4 years old and lives with Hunter.
“We are a family, but as of the end of last week, John Edwards and I are no longer a couple,” Hunter said on Tuesday’s show. “We decided together to end it.”
The book, “What Really Happened: John Edwards, Our Daughter and Me,” was released Tuesday through a Dallas-based boutique publisher, BenBella Books. The Associated Press reported on the book last week.
In the book, Hunter describes intimate details about her affair with Edwards, whose campaign hired her as a videographer, and sheds light on his thoughts as federal prosecutors mounted a case on illegal campaign contribution charges.
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