Review of VIVA FOREVER post changes

*WARNING: If you haven't seen the show, be warned that there may be spoilers in this review. 

Viva Forever! opened in December at the Piccadilly Theatre and opened to negative reviews, everyone seemed to hate this production! I for one actually enjoyed the show when I saw it; I honestly thought it was fun. It’s not a National Production, so I have no idea what people are expecting when they go and see this show! Admittedly, it was far from perfect and it needed to be revised but it wasn’t as bad as people have said. People just seem to be going in with a bad attitude. 

For those of you that don't know (where have you been?!) the show has been adapted since opening, script re-writes have been made, songs have been cut/added in, scenes have been mixed up and the show as a whole as a hell of a lot better. It’s still a tacky, Friday night show that is purely a good time but it’s now a lot tighter than before. First things first, the fact that Viva is adopted isn’t such a huge thing anymore. It is brought up and tried to use as a story to get her in the newspapers when they go to Spain but it’s not a big deal and genuinely comes as a surprise to the audience. 

Viva Forever the Musical: Theatre Review

After the world-wide success of the hit musical Mamma Mia! it was a given that producer Judy Graymer would take on another juke-box musical. She teamed up with Geri Halliwell and Simon Fuller to develop a new musical using the songs of the Spice Girls entitled Viva Forever. The show has been approached in a similar way to that of Mamma Mia. The production opened in the West End on the 11^th December 2012 at the Piccadilly Theatre to mainly negative reviews. Just over a month after it opened I went along to see it, I wasn’t expecting anything. In fact I was ready to hate the production. But I told myself I wouldn’t go in with any expectations or go in wanting to dislike the show and I actually had a great time! The show follows Viva on her journey to stardom through an X-Factor style reality TV show. She originally auditions with her 3 best friends as a girl group but she is singled out and decides to follow her dream on her own. Within the show you also see Viva’s mother coming to terms with what her daughter wants in life. If you break down the story it is basically Mamma Mia but more topical. What you see on stage in Viva Forever is going to be something that a modern audience is going to recognise, they use the reality TV show really well in this show.

Ghost the Musical: Theatre Review

The image of Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore behind the pottery wheel is one of the most iconic images in Hollywood history; to translate this onto the stage could have turned out to be an awful way of making some money off the GHOST franchise or it could have been an amazing musical.
Ghost the musical first opened in Manchester for a 'pre West End' run, then opening in London at the Piccadilly Theatre. The show has since opened on Broadway and they are even panning on taking the production to Australia soon. When the show opened it received ok reviews, from what critics had said it wasn't that great of a musical but it was good entertainment. From what I heard from other people, it was amazing. I'm not one to have my mind made up by other people but I wasn't rushing to get a ticket to the show. However, when the opportunity had come up to see it I didn't turn it down. I was sceptical about the show and am still thinking I might struggle to put what I think about it into words.

There is a hype surrounding the show which I'm sure everyone knows about! Unfortunately the show doesn't live up to this, in fact it doesn't even come close to it. The show is ok, not much more can be said to be honest. Not everyone has seen the original film (I haven't... don't judge!) but you know a rough outline of the storyline even if you haven't watched it.