Theatre Royal, Nottingham – until 29th March 2025
Reviewed by Chris Jarvis
4****
10 years since the previous theatre production of Calamity Jane and based on the 1953 film musical starring the legendary Doris Day, Carrie Hope Fletcher and the rest of the cast gave a brilliant performance tonight. Most of the actors are also musicians playing a whole variety of instruments while dancing and jigging round the stage, including a huge double bass! They accompanied themselves as we enjoyed the great songs immortalised by the original film, including The Deadwood Stage, The Black Hills of Dakota, Just Flew in from the Windy City, the beautiful Secret Love and many others written for the musical.
The fictional character Calamity Jane (Carrie Hope Fletcher) is based on Martha Jane Canary (May 1 1852 – August 1 1903) who was a buckskin-clad, sharp-shooting, foulmouthed cowgirl whose affinity for alcohol was legendary, even among men. She was also known for her compassion and kindness towards others.
The lights go down with a banjo hanging on the stage curtain and on lumbers a scruffy hillbilly dressed in denim dungarees who turned his back on the audience to take hold of the banjo while scratching his backside! The first laugh before the curtain even went up, immediately placing Rattlesnake (Richard Lock) firmly into the hearts of the audience.
The curtain rises in the Golden Garter saloon where its owner Henry Miller (Peter Peverley), affectionately known as Millie, was promoting a beautiful actress named Frances Fryer and preparing for her arrival on the Deadwood Stage that very night. Calamity Jane, dressed in her usual masculine clothing arrives full of exaggerated tales of escorting the stagecoach safely through dozens of gunslingers ready to ambush. She is mocked by Wild Bill Hickock (Vinny Coyle) who has always had a soft spot for Calamity that is hidden beneath their long-term love hate relationship, for her lack of femininity and for being ‘careless with the truth’!
Minutes later Francis – with an ‘i’ – Fryer (Samuel Holmes) rocks up – clearly a man! Millie’s desperate attempt to pass him off as a woman to his audience of local gold diggers resulted in chaos, only appeased by Calamity cooling the situation and promising an even bigger act – their heart-throb Adelaide Adams (Molly-Grace Cutler)
The simple stage set was transformed into a stagecoach, then a train transporting Calamity to the ‘Windy City’ to persuade Adelaideto return with her. Arriving after she had left for her tour of Europe, Calamity mistakenly thought that Adelaid’s maid, Katie Brown (Seren Sandham-Davies), was in fact Adelaide. Desperate for fame, Katie headed for Deadwood City!
Once the locals discover that Katie isn’t Adelaide, Calamity again takes control and persuades the audience to give her a chance. They do and we enjoyed listening to Serens’ beautiful voice and her radiance shone through. Katie wins the heart of every man in town – including Lt. Danny Gilmartin (Luke Wilson) who has unknowingly captured Calamity’s heart and Bill Hickock.
Calamity and Katie become friends, and Calamity is persuaded to shed her masculine clothes for a more feminine look. However, this doesn’t last long as Katie and Danny fall in love and jealousy takes over. While Bill tries to console Calamity they both realise their love for each other. A great show that just got better, finishing with a hoedown as the finale, with the audience up on their feet singing and dancing!