Spice Girls musical to hit stage

The Spice Girls are out to conquer the world again with a musical based on their hit songs.

The British all-girl band is collaborating on the show, which will have an original story and be built around Spice Girls hits. It has the working title Viva Forever after the group's 1998 British No. 1 single.

The show is being created by the band's former manager Simon Fuller and Judy Craymer, who produced the musical Mamma Mia! featuring the songs of Swedish band Abba, which was a worldwide hit.

The group's five members are "Sporty Spice" Melanie Chisholm, also known as Mel C, "Posh Spice" Victoria Beckham, "Ginger Spice" Geri Halliwell, "Baby Spice" Emma Bunton and "Scary Spice" Melanie Brown.

The creators hope the show will have its debut on the London stage in two or three years and, if successful, could be performed in other countries.

The Spice Girls' sex appeal, catchy tunes and "girl power" philosophy made them a pop music phenomenon after the release of their first single "Wannabe" in 1996. The group split up in 2000, but came together for a successful reunion tour in 2007.

Craymer said in a statement that the musical would be "a unique celebration of the band and its music, with its own flavor and joyful message. It is important to me that the excitement, style and humor of The Spice Girls is well represented on stage".

Mamma Mia! has more productions playing around the world than any other musical and has raked in $2 billion in the past decade.

- Reuters