Word has started to spread across the theatre world that on Sunday during one of her last performances as Roxie Hart on Broadway Mel B broke character to perform a snippet of The Spice Girls Wannabe.
She even posted footage on her Instagram page! The tradition of a bit of onstage nonsense during the last matinee of the last few shows happens a lot but usually not at the expense of the experience of the audience or in any way that is overtly noticeable by the audience.
Chicago, the musical by Broadway veterans John Kander and Fred Ebb is considered a classic and in the past and its two villanous leads have been performed by some of the world's greatest leading ladies including Gwen Verdon, Ruthie Henshall, Anne Reinking, Chita Rivera, Maria Friedman, Michelle Williams, Liza Minnelli, Tina Arena, Bonnie Langford and Sharon Millerchip amongst others.
Chicago now holds the record for the Longest Running Musical Revival on Broadway and Longest Running American Musical in Broadway History, with the West End revival running for nearly fifteen years.
What are your thoughts? Should celebrity performers be allowed to break character and potentially ruin the work of a show's creative team?
Let us know.
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Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept.
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