One of the Spice Girls is coming to town. And no we’re not talking about Mel B (the greatest Leeds accent to ever happen to Australian reality television) but Sporty Spice aka Mel C, who will ditch the sneakers and Adidas snap pants to play the role of a dread-locked Mary Magdalene in a contemporised production of Jesus Christ Superstar, set to tour Australia in June.
Mel C says she is ‘so excited’ to show off her interpretation of Christ’s racy female companion to audiences Down Under, and since this version of the stage show heralded wide critical acclaim throughout its run in the UK last year, Seventies-era musical theatre enthusiasts are probably pretty psyched too!
The last time the musical toured Australia was in 1992 with John Farnham playing Jesus (which made sense considering Farnsy’s tendency toward resurrection) and grossed over $40m at the Box Office. The revamped 2013 tour hopes to welcome a new generation of spectators to the rock opera with plenty of up to date pop culture and political references to the Occupy movement, Guantanamo Bay and reality TV.
Mel C will be appearing alongside a heavily homegrown cast with comedian Tim Minchin playing Judas and Deal Or No Deal host Andrew O’Keefe appearing as King Herod.
Minchin, who describes the production as unashamed ‘disco bible’, will be opening the show in his hometown of Perth. The comedian says he only got offered the part of Judas after Seal pulled out at the last minute (opting for hosting duties on The Voice instead).
“I hope fans of the bible will come,” Minchin told BBC News. “It’ll be a hoot.”
