Calamity Jane, UK Tour (2025) Review
Written by Marianna for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Calamity Jane, inspired by the 1953 Doris Day movie of the same name, kicks off its brand new UK tour in Manchester a decade on from its previous performance. Despite its slow start, the musical was an absolute pleasure to watch and was a completely feel-good piece of legit musical theatre, beautifully reworked for the current day.
Carrie Hope Fletcher in the title role of Calamity was a joy. Fletcher's capacity to make the character her own whilst remaining true to the original depiction is exactly why she is an award-winning West End performer. Calamity, described as the “Biggest mouth of Dakota”, is responsible alongside Wild Bill Hickok (Vinny Coyle) for upholding the law there. Calamity is “careless with the truth” and enjoys fabricating stories which may or may not be true. The theatre in Deadwood is supposed to have a talented female headliner, Francis Fryer, which turns out to be a case of mistaken identity. To stop the town from descending into chaos, Calamity promises the people an even bigger star, Chicago’s legendary actress Adelaide Adams, and goes to the windy city to bring her back to Deadwood, except she accidentally brings her maid Katie Brown (Seren Sandham-Davies).
My personal favourite aspect of the musical was the actor-musicians whose purpose was to be the band and also the ensemble, the way they seamlessly blended ensemble work with playing their respective instruments was impressive and conveys the immense talent that they possess. The playout and the hoedown were both high energy and deserve a special mention.
The clever use of Matthew Wright’s sepia toned singular set to represent a variety of different locations was well done and allowed the audience to see a stage within a stage. The way props were moved around to create the different scenes within the show was done smoothly, I specifically enjoyed this in the song “A Woman’s Touch” in which Katie and Calamity spruce up her cabin and she begins to embrace her femininity.
The heartbreak that Calamity experienced in finding out that Danny was in love with Katie was something that resonates with us all and Carrie’s ability to portray her emotional development through this was a truly beautiful performance. The relationship between Calamity and Bill from the start is wonderfully executed and makes the audience root for them both throughout the flow of this story.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this musical. Calamity Jane is at Manchester Opera House until the 25th January as part of a wider UK tour which runs until 27 September 2025.
★★★★
