| Calamity Jane | |
| Subtitle: | (A Musical Western) |
| Music: | Sammy Fain |
| Lyrics: | Paul Francis Webster |
| Basis: | 1953 film Calamity Jane |
| Premiere Date: | May 27, 1961 |
| Premiere Location: | Casa Mañana, Fort Worth, Texas |
Calamity Jane (A Musical Western) is a stage musical based on the historical figure of frontierswoman Calamity Jane. The non-historical, somewhat farcical plot involves the authentic Calamity Jane's professional associate Wild Bill Hickok, and presents the two as having a contentious relationship that ultimately proves to be a facade for mutually amorous feelings. The Calamity Jane stage musical was an adaption of a 1953 Warner Bros. musical film of the same name that starred Doris Day. First produced in 1961, the stage musical Calamity Jane features six songs not heard in the film. According to Jodie Prenger, star of the Calamity Jane 2014–15 UK tour, the songs added for the stage musical had been written for but not included in the Calamity Jane film[1] ("Love You Dearly" had been used in the 1954 Doris Day musical film Lucky Me).
Adapted by Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park from the stage play by Charles K. Freeman, after the Warner Bros. film, written by James O'Hanlon
Songs by Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) and Sammy Fain (music)[2]
Deadwood City's two most famous peace officers, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, get involved in saving the neck of Henry Miller, the local saloon operator. It seems that "Millie" has been promoting a beautiful actress named Frances Fryer, but Frances turns out to be a male, Francis. Millie's attempt to cover up is soon unmasked by the angry miners, and only Calamity can cool the crowd with her trusty pistols. To keep the peace, Calamity sets out for Chicago to bring back the miner's real heart-throb, Adelaide Adams. In Chicago Calamity mistakes Adelaide's maid, Katie Brown, for the actress and hauls her back to Deadwood. Onstage Katie is greeted warmly, but breaks down and confesses that she is not the famous star. Calamity once more has to restore order and persuades the audience to give Katie a chance. They do, and she wins the heart of every male in town including Calamity's dashing love hope, Lt. Danny Gilmartin. Calamity reluctantly overcomes her jealousy over losing Danny and discovers her true love for Wild Bill.
Source: Concord Theatricals[3]
† Not included in the original film (1953)
The world premiere production of the stage musical version of Calamity Jane ran 27 May - 17 June 1961 at the Casa Mañana in Fort Worth TX: Casa Mañana stock actress Betty O'Neill led this production,[4] touted as "the first try-out of a musical ever staged outside the East or in-the round."[5]
The play then ran from 21 June - 18 July 1961 at the Muny in St Louis with Edie Adams in the title role while Allyn Ann McLerie played Katie - a role she had originated in the 1953 film Calamity Jane - and George Gaynes - McLerie's husband - starred as Wild Bill Hickok. The role of Danny Gilmartin was played by Nolan Van Way.[6]
| Excerpted review Pittsburgh CLO performance 1 July 1961 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "'Calamity Jane' is a loud, rollicking show" which "aside from the comedy of Martha Raye ... contains a number of attractive & talented people who sing & dance the evening away"; "No one could accuse Martha Raye of being a great actress, & certainly there were more than a few in the audience who must have winced inwardly over her rendering of 'Secret Love'. But she is a natural slapstick comedienne" ... "this singer without a voice & heroine without glamour whacked & wailed her energetic, boisterous & fun-filled way through 'Calamity Jane' ... Sometimes she is mugging & ad-libbing so furiously that the performance becomes more of a nightclub act than a book show. But after all, the audience has presumably come to see Martha Raye, & that is what it sees." - Michael Holmberg (The Pittsburgh Press) [7] |
On 3 – 8 July 1961, the Pittsburgh CLO (Civic Light Opera) production of Calamity Jane with Martha Raye in the title role played the Civic Arena (Pittsburgh): this production featured George Gaynes as Wild Bill and Allyn Ann McLerie, Gaynes, and McLerie transferring from the Muny production to that of the Pittsburgh CLO for the duration of the latter's engagement.[8]
| Excerpted review CBS-TV special 12 November 1963 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "As a musical comedy 'Calamity Jane' ... was nothing to shoot up the town about. But as a vehicle tailored to Carol Burnett's special talents - & they are certainly special - it served very nicely indeed. The 90 minute comedy was taped last summer after playing at State Fair Music Theater (Dallas) & therefore had a polish which is all too often lacking in television productions of this type. This was especially evident in the song-&-dance sequences which were as smooth as a Broadway stage production. The plot was corny enough to afford light-hearted amusement, & Miss Burnett gave it all the hell-bent-for-leather whoop it up treatment which it required. In fact Carol's enthusiasm in the role was at times a bit too much. But never mind. She mugged & yelled & pranced about like a mad woman while giving the broad comedy lines & rowdy songs the merry Dickens as only she can. Then, as a welcome relief, she sang the lovely 'My [sic] Secret Love' straight in a surprisingly enchanting voice ... All in all a jolly good show. And it was really good to have Miss Burnett back with us again". - Win Fanning (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) [9] |
| Excerpted review Carousel Theater performance July 1962 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "Ginger Rogers with her vivacious charms stomps, boasts & shoots her six-gun with her usual rapport. Her enthusiasm & engaging wry humor both in song & dance affords the audience a delightful evening in which 'Secret Love' is sweetly rendered".[14] |
Betty Hutton see Extra Info was scheduled to lead a 1962 summer stock production of Calamity Jane but canceled beforehand due to a protracted pregnancy, and was replaced by Ginger Rogers. see Extra Info Rogers verifiably headlined three engagements of this production: at the Melody Fair in North Tonawanda NY 19–24 June 1962,[15] the Carousel Theater in Framingham MA 2–8 July 1962, and the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford CT 25–28 July 1962.[11] The same production also played at WMT (Warwick Musical Theatre, Rhode Island) 9–14 July 1962 but Rogers' own participation is not verifiable.[16] (An early credit of Jim Bailey, who'd become a star female impersonator, was as an ensemble member in this tour of Calamity Jane.) [11]
At the time of the premiere of the stage musical of Calamity Jane, Warner Bros. was considering mounting a Broadway production of the play,[17] but US performances of the stage musical of Calamity Jane have remained essentially confined to the repertory and amateur theater scene. A Broadway production announced in 2005, using a revised book by Randy Skinner, who would also direct and choreograph,[18] failed to materialize—though the prospective production held readings in New York City with C&W singer Louise Mandrell as Calamity Jane and veteran musical actor Brent Barrett as Wild Bill (Barrett had played Frank Butler opposite Reba McEntire in Annie Get Your Gun at the Marquis in 2001).[19] Louise Mandrell eventually headlined a repertory production of Calamity Jane by the Good Company Players, featuring Dan and Emily Pessano, Teddy Maldonado, Brian Pecheau, Tami Cowger, and Jacob Carrillo. The production ran 19 July - 16 September 2012 at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater in Fresno.[20] Mandrell would then twice headline one-off performances of Calamity Jane, firstly on 11 September at the Folly Theater in Kansas City MO as an event in the Arts Midwest 2015 Conference,[21] and subsequently on 11 October 2015 at the CMA Theatre as an event in the International Entertainment Buyers Association 2015 Conference.[22] The Good Company Players would encore their production of Calamity Jane at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater July 18-September 15 2019, with Mandrell again headlining.[23] [24]
On 29 January 2018 two evening performances of what is billed as a concert presentation of Calamity Jane are scheduled for Manhattan supper club Feinstein's/54 Below: the announced performers are Sara Jean Ford as Calamity Jane, Jenn Gambatese as Adelaid Adams, Christopher Gurr as a narrator, Tyler Hanes as Danny Gilmartin, Kara Lindsay as Katie Brown, Michael Park as Henry Miller, Tally Sessions as Wild Bill, and Brandon Uranowitz as Francis Freyer.[25] Also Calamity Jane is scheduled to make its New York City area debut as a full production in a 13–25 March 2018 engagement at the Lion Theatre an off-off-Broadway venue in the Theatre Row complex in Manhattan.[26]
The stage musical version of Calamity Jane has enjoyed a prolific professional production history in the UK, a Sheffield Crucible production which previewed 27 July 1974 and opened 28 July 1974 being billed as "the British professional premiere of 'Calamity Jane'". The Crucible production's title role was played by future screenwriter/ novelist Lynda La Plante billed as Lynda Marchal,[27] and LaPlante/ Marchal in the spring of 1975 again headlined in Calamity Jane at the Belgrade Theatre (Coventry) in the spring of 1975: co-headlined by Leon Greene as Wild Bill Hickok, the Belgrade production's featured cast included Brenda Blethyn as Susan Miller,[28] [29] Geoffrey Burridge as Lt. Danny Gilmartin, David Calder as Henry Miller, and - as an ensemble member - Graham Cole.[30] [31]
In 1979, Barbara Windsor headlined the first UK tour of Calamity Jane. After its premiere engagement at the Billingham Forum, which opened 27 August 1979, this production toured for twelve weeks to conclude with a November 1979 date at the Sunderland Empire.[32] [33] Windsor's co-star as Wild Bill was Eric Flynn, and Norman Vaughan was featured as Francis Fryer: at the tour's premiere engagement in Billingham the role of Henry Miller was played by Jeffrey Holland filling in for the ailing Dudley Owen who evidently played out the remaining engagements. Toyah Willcox, while promoting her own headlining Calamity Jane tour in 2002, told Terry Grimley of the Birmingham Post: "Barbara Windsor did this show twenty years ago and it was due to go into the West End, but there were some problems with her private life." The touring production of Calamity Jane with Barbara Windsor did occasion the musical's London-area premiere, as the production played the Ashcroft Theatre (Croydon) 18–29 September 1979.[34]
Louise Gold starred in a production of Calamity Jane at the Leicester Haymarket 22 November 1994 - 28 January 1995 with Ricco Ross as Wild Bill, while the play's premiere central London production played 9 December 1994 - 21 January 1995 at the Battersea Arts Centre, with Leigh McDonald in the title role.[35]
Gemma Craven starred in a production of Calamity Jane at Sadler's Wells 21 May - 15 June 1996 [37] as the seventh engagement of an eleven engagement national tour that launched with a 29 February - 16 March 1996 Belgrade Theatre engagement. Stephen McGann played Wild Bill and Stuart Pendred was Danny Gilmartin in this production. Its final engagement was in Newcastle.[38]| Excerpted reviews Shaftesbury Theatre performance June 2003 | ||
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | ||
| "The somewhat naive charm of the thigh-slappin' gun-totin' original movie has dissolved in a production reeking of gingham & lukewarm feminism, which does not have enough tongue-in-cheek humour to carry off Calamity's transition from bar-brawling man-fighter to petticoatwearing man-eater ... despite Ed Curtis's lively direction & Sammy Fain's catchy tunes, the script is not nearly sharp enough for 'Calamity Jane' to be admired either as a period piece or as a retro-classic. As a result, the production lives or dies by Willcox's performance, an unfortunately forced twodimensional affair" - Rachel Hallibuton (London Evening Standard) 27 June 2003 | "This stage adaptation ... is considerably more hit-and-miss than the Doris Day movie ...You can't accuse ponytail-tossing Toyah of giving less than her heart & soul to the part. She throws herself into the sharpshooting tomboy athleticism, & she's fine at projecting the heroine's emotional innocence & fired-up enthusiasm. But Calamity needs to be able to dominate vocally too, & Willcox does not have the necessary command. She's heavily miked & this emphasises that distracting sibilance in her delivery ... compared to Day's crispness of attack Willcox sounds soggy...There are sequences where the show springs fully to life, as when our heroine stirs the town to a shuffling dance with her report on 'The Windy City'. But the stage version makes less, rather than more, of the movie's merits." - Paul Taylor (The Independent) 1 July 2003 [39] | |
| Excerpted review Shaftesbury Theatre performance July 2003 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "This hyperactive, 'Annie Get Your Gun'-type Wild West songfest stars Toyah Willcox ... who fairly batters you into admiring her irredeemably perky performance : she's constantly moving, singing, dances like an irritating leprechaun, & expends more energy in one evening than I have in the past twenty years"; "Under the steady hand of director Ed Curtis, the young & inexperienced cast members (many making their professional debuts here) are well drilled. Craig Revel Horwood choreography, though at first sub-Agnes de Mille, blossoms outwards to remind the audience of what was so special about his work for 'My One and Only'"; The simple wooden sets are more than serviceable, & James Whiteside's lighting is suitably lurid for the Black Hills of Dakota"; "The memorable score by Sammy Fain ... helps to overcome the feeling that this cheerful, hard-working production does not really belong on the West End stage." - Sheridan Morley (New Statesman) [40] |
In 2002 and 2003 Toyah Willcox led a production of Calamity Jane that toured throughout Great Britain with the first leg of the tour playing nine cities, the inaugural engagement being at the Derngate Theatre (Northampton) 9 – 14 September 2002 with the ninth venue played being the Alexandra Theatre (Birmingham) whose engagement ran 11 – 16 November 2002. The second leg of the Calamity Jane tour led by Willcox had an inaugural 20–25 January 2003 engagement at the King's Theatre (Glasgow) then played fifteen subsequent engagements to conclude with a 26 June - 20 September 2003 engagement - previewed from 12 June 2003 - at the Shaftesbury Theatre in Holborn, it having been announced in April 2003 that this production of Calamity Jane would have a limited-run summer engagement at the Shaftesbury thus marking the West End debut of any production of the Calamity Jane stage musical. Interviewed at the time of the opening of Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury, Toyah Willcox stated: "We've kind of revamped it so it's more 'West End' and we've put big dance numbers in. We've added a bit more b******t to it!" although she maintained: "Our production is not saccharine sweet, it's really very ballsy. There are no sequins in our production whatsoever!"[41] corroborating statements she'd made earlier in the tour's run as "This isn't a sequinned production. We've tried to make it gritty."[42]
Thom Southerland directed an off-West End revival of Calamity Jane at Upstairs at the Gatehouse 8 June 8–3 July 2010: Phyllida Crowley Smith choreographed this production, which featured Katherine Eames in the title role.[43]
| Excerpted review Milton Keynes Theatre performance 25 November 2014 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "Jodie Prenger is magnificent in the title role. Not only can she sing & act: she has the ability to light up any stage ... I could feel that the entire audience had fallen in love with her"; "The supporting cast are all incredibly strong"; "The best numbers are those which see the cast playing instruments whilst singing & dancing ... their energy is infectious whilst their talents are hugely impressive"; "Providing just over two hours of joyous fun ... Nikolai Foster's production of 'Calamity Jane' bursts with irresistible charm. It's impossible not to clap along with the finale & leave with a spring in your step." - Andrew Tomlins (WestEndFrame.com) 25 November 2014 [44] |
| Excerpted review Grand Opera House (York) performance February 2015 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "'Calamity Jane' is a blast of a show & is played in that spirit by principals & ensemble alike, who add to the enjoyment with their actor-musician skills, playing all manner of instruments"; "Jodie Prenger is a big hit as Calamity: she is as abrasive as sandpaper with a vulnerability that steadily seeps through. For all the professional polish, Prenger has just the right amount of spit too ... She has a natural sense of fun, so important to this musical, & she bonds readily & amusingly with her co-stars ... Best of all, her serenading singing of 'Secret Love' brings out all the sudden release of emotion in that Valentine favourite." - Charles Hutchinson (The Press) 12 February 2015 [45] |
| Excerpted review New Wimbledon Theatre performance February 2015 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "Now touring the UK is Charles K Freeman's adaptation of the 'Calamity Jane' film, a production that began life at the resourceful Watermill Theatre under the direction of Nikolai Foster. It's another of their musicians-as-performers productions, which see the traditional pit orchestra replaced by onstage performers who play various instruments. More than that, the entire production adopts a make-do philosophy which sees the orchestral accompaniment as just another of the clever something-from-nothing design imperatives"; "Prenger, though wildly miscast since she is unmistakably all woman ... has an easy, broad comic style ... Vocally, she is in good form although 'Secret Love' is not the peak musical moment it could be, the long brilliant notes that make that song wonderful don't get proper attention, but that is not to say Prenger does not get away with it"; "This production is a theatrical treat: a good, old fashioned musical done in a new fangled way. It's great to hear such good songs so well sung by a cast that basically accompanies itself. Prenger's crowd pleasing turn as Calamity, together with first class support ... ensures an evening that moves along at 'Whip Crack Away' pace & makes you long for those 'Black Hills of Dakota'." - Stephen Collins (BritishTheatre.com) 23 March 2015 [46] |
Jodie Prenger starred in a production of Calamity Jane whose 17 July - 6 September 2014 engagement at the Watermill Theatre (Berks) inaugurated a national tour of intended six months duration: however interest in booking this production was sufficiently high as to allow for its playing constant engagements for more than twelve months, with venues played throughout Great Britain - plus a 19 – 23 May 2015 engagement at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin - with two London-area engagements: 17–21 March 2015 at the New Wimbledon Theatre and - as the tour's final engagement - 4 – 8 August 2015 at the Richmond Theatre. This production of Calamity Jane - which co-starred Tom Lister as Wild Bill - [47] - had its 1 July 2015 matinée performance at the Curve (Leicester) recorded as a 360-degree video made available for complementary online viewing 22–24 July 2015.[48]
The earliest known theatrical credit of star mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins was in a school production of Calamity Jane at Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive when she was a student there circa 1994, Jenkins playing the role of Katie.[52]
On 30th May 2024, it was announced that director Nikolai Foster would revive his 2014 - 2015 production of Calamity Jane for a 30 city tour, scheduled to premiere with a January 14th – 18th 2025 engagement at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre. Besides playing 29 cities throughout Great Britain, this production is set for an August 19 -23 2025 engagement at Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin. Calamity Jane is scheduled for two London venues, with a May 13th – 17th 2025 engagement at New Wimbledon Theatre and a September 16th – 20th engagement at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, the latter being the thirtieth and final engagement of the scheduled tour. Carrie Hope Fletcher has been announced as the tour's headliner.[53]
| Excerpted review Hayes Theatre 10 March 2017 | |
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| Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics | |
| "The highfalutin' way to describe director Richard Carroll's 'Calamity Jane' is to say its abundant meta-theatrics put a contemporary, ironic frame around an old-fashioned musical, revealing fresh insights. The perky simplicity of the 1953 Doris Day film ... gives way to a much more nuanced 21st-century take on a mid-20th-century interpretation of an unconventional 19th-century woman ... The low-falutin' truth is that along with being outstandingly clever, 'Calamity Jane' is gut-bustingly funny and has an extraordinarily generous heart." "Crucially, it is blessed with a central performance as fine as any seen on our musical stages since, I don't know, forever. Virginia Gay's Calamity is a roiling mass of powerful contradictions: physically strong and emotionally insecure, she can ride and shoot with the best of them but off a horse is a klutz; she's blustery and bashful; resourceful and inept.Most of all, she is desperate to be loved and perhaps it doesn't really matter by whom. Whether Gay is assiduously tending to the wounds of dashing Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin (Matthew Pearce), getting domestic with imported pin-up Katie Brown (Laura Bunting) or discovering ... that her old sparring mate Wild Bill Hickok (Anthony Gooley) feels something for her, her eagerness makes Calam achingly vulnerable." "Carroll's production makes having a tiny budget look like a brilliant artistic choice. With music director Nigel Ubrihien at the upright piano there's a band of precisely one, augmented by cast members on guitar, ukulele, trombone, accordion and tuba. As there are only seven actors, Ubrihien is conscripted into the ensemble, as is the audience. Participation has never seemed so natural. Sheridan Harbridge, Rob Johnson and Tony Taylor round out the whip-smart acting team in a variety of secondary roles that provide comedy gold of the highest grade, designer Lauren Peters's Old West saloon is beautifully lit by Trent Suidgeest and Cameron Mitchell's choreography is a hoot. Adding to the general delight is the truly gorgeous score by Sammy Fain (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics), blissfully heard unamplified." "I confidently predict 'Calamity Jane' will get a standing ovation from the entire house at every performance. I have my reasons, but see for yourself."[54] |
Neglected Musicals presented a staged reading of Calamity Jane from 3 August 2016 for six presentations: playing at the Hayes Theater in Potts Point and starring Virginia Gay.[55] This was Calamity Janes professional debut in Australia although the play has a long production history via Australian amateur troupes, having been mounted as early as 1965 by the then-amateur Brisbane Repertory with future television star Rowena Wallace in the title role: it was during the Brisbane Repertory production's 20 – 29 May 1965 run Wallace was discovered by actor Barry Creyton.[56] Virginia Gay reprised the title role in a full production of Calamity Jane which played the Hayes Theater from 8 March - 1 April 2017 [57] and which then toured to at several venues in southeastern Australia in 2018.[58]
There is a complete recording of the entire score of Calamity Jane available, recorded for JAY Records in 1995: it includes Debbie Shapiro as Calamity Jane with Jason Howard, Tim Flavin and Susannah Fellows.[59] A "cast album" of the 1996 production of Calamity Jane starring Gemma Craven - who is in fact the sole vocalist on the album - was issued in 1996.[60]