A musical based on the life of the late Lebo Mathosa has left her former bandmates fuming.

The show, which is called Drama Queen and tracks the life and times of the  departed singer, opened at the the State Theatre in Pretoria this week.

Starring Khanyi Mbau, Sindi Nene, Ayanda Nhlangothi, Siziwe Ngema and Lucia Gumede star in the show, which runs until September 9.

But despite the big name cast, and an extravagant budget, the show failed to impress Junior Sokhela, Theo Nhlengethwa and Thembi Seete, Mathosa’s former Boom Shaka Bandmates, who claim it misrepresents what the singer was all about.

“This show is not about Lebo,” Seete said, in an interview with the Sowetan.

“It is more about beautiful girls competing to be the best singers on stage, and Lebo was not about competing.”

Seete added that Mathosa was more concerned with the enlightening powers of music, than with rivalries and fame.

He also said that certain scenes in the play were hard to watch, as they reduced emotional life experiences to corny farce.

“There are events in the story which pained me as I watched,” he said.

“Lebo was an emotional character and when she met her mother for the first time, she was touched and emotional, yet then you see people making a joke out of that crucial, emotional moment. That is sad.”

Sokhela, who added rap to the Boom Shaka arsenal, complained that the producers of the show had failed to ask the band members for any input.

“In every project you engage yourself with, research is important,” Sokhela said.

“You talk to people who knew the person. Who knows Lebo better than her group members?

“We knew Lebo before she was a musician, and when she was with Boom Shaka, and even when she went solo, she was still part of our lives.”

Sokhela did concede that he was glad someone had paid tribute to his former friend’s musical life, even if they had done it badly.

Nhlengethwa said he found out about the show just days before it opened.

“I had hoped to witness the real Lebo, but I found myself watching more of a music concert than a tribute,” he said.

The three surviving members of Boom Shaka have offered their services to correct the “unfairness” in the show, saying they are ”open” to assist “in making it better”.

Take a look at some pics of  from the show here, starring Khanyi, Sindi and Ayanda.