Review: CALAMITY JANE, King's Theatre
Calamity Jane runs at the King's Theatre until 5 July
Based on the 1953 musical movie starring Doris Day, this production originally opened at the Watermill Theatre in 2014 and this UK and Ireland 2025 tour opened at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre in January of this year.
Jane (known to all her friends as 'Calamity') is a whip-smart, gun-toting woman with attitude in the town of Deadwood. She's close friends with Wild Bill Hickok (Vinny Coyle) and Danny Gilmartin (Luke Wilson) but neither see her as anything more because of her less-than-ladylike demeanour and dress sense.
The gold rush town is looking for some entertainment and their theatre manager has a tendency to overpromise and underdeliver. Calamity decides to head to Chicago and return with the most famous actress of their time- Adelaide Adams. Cue misunderstandings and wacky hijinx.
Carrie Hope Fletcher brings the right amount of spark to the leading role. Her Calamity is sassy and smart with killer vocals. Which makes it feel all the more icky when it takes a She's All That style makeover to get the men in the town interested in her. The story is very much of its time and having a lot of the story hanging on what a difference a pretty dress can make is a little depressing with such a plucky character.
Matthew Wright's design perfectly sets the scene for the town of Deadwood and there is some inventive use of props such as a piano that also doubles as a stagecoach.
With songs like "Just Blew In From The Windy City" and "Deadwood Stage" and a capable cast, Calamity Jane makes for a decent evening of entertainment so long as you overlook some of the outdated elements of the script.
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