Spice up your life

Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want—a jukebox musical based on the songs of the Spice Girls.

I can see it now: the plot might follow two young lovers named Paprika and, I don’t know, Dill Weed. They care about each other, but their relationship is constantly in turmoil. Paprika has given Dill Weed everything, all that joy can bring—but he can’t promise he’ll always be there. Dill Weed is upset with Paprika because she doesn’t understand what a zigazigazah is. As the first act ends, members of the chorus who are dressed in identical platform sandals serenade the audience with “2 Become 1” while the main characters engage in some tasteful stage sex.

As luck would have it, my dreams are scheduled to become reality in just a few short years. That’s when “Viva Forever,” a real musical based on the Fab Five’s greatest hits, is set to premiere on London’s West End. It’s being spearheaded by two people who know a thing or two about vapid popular music: Simon Fuller, the mogul who originally managed the Spice Girls and created “American Idol,” and Judy Craymer, the lady who thought up “Mamma Mia!”

There aren’t a ton of details available about “Viva Forever” yet, but we can be sure of one thing—as Craymer told the BBC on Jan. 21, the musical will be “a unique celebration of the band and its music, with its own flavor and joyful message.”

The folks at the UK’s Times Online, though, have a more cynical take on “Viva Forever”: “It is too early to judge the project’s artistic merit,” wrote arts correspondent Ben Hoyle on Jan. 22, “but its commercial potential is obviously formidable.”

Hoyle is almost certainly right. Over 42 million people have seen “Mamma Mia!” in London, and that production alone has earned over $2 billion over the past decade. The Broadway version of the musical is the 12th longest-running show in New York history. The film adaptation of “Mamma Mia!” is the highest-grossing celluloid musical ever made. If “Mamma’s” wild success is any indication, “Viva Forever” will likely be running on the West End long after Baby, Ginger, Scary, Sporty, and Posh have slammed their bodies down and wound them all around for the last time.

But why, exactly, is “Viva Forever” a guaranteed hit? Why would anyone be willing to fork over hard-earned cash to see a production about a washed-up pop group that hasn’t had a hit song since circa 2000?

One word: nostalgia. Even though I was a stalwart contrarian throughout elementary and middle school, I have no trouble admitting now that I love the music of Ginger and co. Semi-ironically, yes, but also with a genuine affection I never thought I could feel for the makers of “Spice World.”

And whenever I’ve mentioned the Spice Girls musical to a fellow Columbian (and believe me, I’ve been talking about it a lot lately) the responses I’ve heard have been nothing short of exuberant. I’d venture to guess that many of the people I know would gladly spend a night watching a show that dramatized the work of the Spice Girls—and what’s more, they’d probably sincerely enjoy the experience.

Obviously, this phenomenon isn’t just limited to the Spice Girls. If I’ve learned anything in the past four years, it’s that for our generation, nostalgia is the great equalizer. Ironic ’90s music dance parties have become the new ironic ’80s music dance parties. When you’re trying to strike up a conversation with someone you don’t know very well, if you find a way to mention “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” the two of you will soon be reminiscing happily. Bringing up American Girl dolls is another surefire way to ensure hours of conversation.

Our collective tendency toward nostalgia for the fairly recent past might mean a lot of things. It could be that we feel lost in a world that’s changing rapidly, so we cling to the TV shows and music we loved as kids. Perhaps today’s highly sexualized kiddie culture—think Hannah Montana—spurs us to wistfully recall a time when entertainment for young people seemed more innocent. Maybe we just love tossing out references to things like “Rugrats” and Roald Dahl books because the pop culture we consumed as kids is one of the few things almost everyone our age has in common. Although those who attend Columbia come from wildly different backgrounds, most of us still know all the lyrics to “I Want It That Way.”

Honestly, though, it’s a lot more fun to speculate about what a Spice Girls musical might look like than it is to speculate about why anybody cares about such a musical in the first place. Sure, pop culture trends are indicative of larger, More Important issues. Even so, sometimes it’s nice to sit back, take off your Serious College Student hat, and just enjoy a combination of slickly manufactured beats and inane lyrics that makes you feel like you’re 12 again. Hi see yah, hold tight!

Hillary Busis is a Columbia College senior majoring in English and history. She is the former managing arts editor of The Eye.