Aylesbury Waterside Theatre – until the Saturday 18th January 2025
Reviewed by Rachel Clark
5*****
You felt like you were sat in the The Deadwood Stage.
Calamity Jane the musical is based on the 1954 Doris Day film musical. I haven’t seen the Doris Day movie and didn’t need to, to enjoy this wonderful show. Calamity Jane lives in Deadwood and is a hard wild west heroine who dresses as a man and acts as though she an indestructible person. She lives in Deadwood and brings in the local stage coaches safely. On the stage coach there was meant to be a beautiful woman actress that would be showing on stage at Deadwood, but the actress is actually a man, Francis rather than Frances which doesn’t go down to well with the locals. Calamity who often stretches out her stories to Wild Bill Hickok and the rest of the bar and to prove herself after an incidence at the Deadwood stage Calamity goes to Chicago to bring back Adelaide Adams , but Calamity being Calamity mistakes her maid Katie Brown for her and brings back the wrong actress.
This musical is brilliant, you feel like you are in the Wild West and sat in the Deadwood Stage. The show starts with a Buck on stage played by Tomas Wolstenholme a proper wild west Hillbillie that gave the character his all. Calamity is played by Carrie Hope Fletcher and I can’t sing her appraises enough, she was brilliant, so clear and you clearly heard every word she sang or said, such clarity and projection. Calamity arrives of the stage in a whirlwind from just seeing the latest stage coach in. Carrie not only has played in theatre, television and concerts she has also written books including a children’s book . Alongside Calamity was Wild Bill Hickok played by Vinny Cole who has also done extensive theatre work. Calamity believes she is in love with Danny Gilmartin played by Luke Wilson. All actors in this musical have a great background in theatre and all performed a top class show. The audience also enjoyed the sense of humour and there were plenty of laughs at the capers and one liner comments.
The array of musical instruments were a delight, from banjo to guitar, trumpet to piano all played on stage that you couldn’t fault.
Katie Brown who put on an outstanding and enjoyable performance was played by Seren Sandham-Davie and again same a Carrie the clarity of her voice was superb and I couldn’t fault her.
Well worth going out in these dark , foggy nights to brighten up the evening, it took me a while to get to sleep after the show and I was still singing and humming away to whip crack away!
In this production Francis Fryer was played brilliantly by Samuel Holmes replacing Isaac Savage.