It was called, optimistically, Viva Forever! But six months of scathing reviews and audience indifference has forced the producers to call time on the Spice Girls musical which is to close, leaving its backers with a £5 million ($9.1 million) loss.
All five band members of the 90s girl group
united for the high-profile launch of the West End show at the Piccadilly Theatre last November.
The musical was conceived by Judy Craymer, the impresario behind the global hit Mamma Mia!. It was written by comedy star Jennifer Saunders.
However the show, which satirised The X Factor, telling the story of an aspiring singer who, with her best friends, gets swept up in a TV talent search, was savaged by critics. The Independent's Paul Taylor said it was "lacking in any true original or challenging spark of its own".
Viva Forever! featured all of the Spice Girls hits, including Wannabe but word-of-mouth among audiences was poor. Some expressed disappointment that the show did not feature the Spice Girls - Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, Mel C and Mel B - as characters.
