Calamity Jane – Review – Leeds Grand Theatre

By Hazel David, March 2025

Calamity Jane is one of those musicals you show your children when they’re five with a whole bunch of caveats. The stage musical was written in 1961 and based on the 1953 Doris Day film. So it’s fair to say there are some things that jar a tiny bit with the modern world.

There are ways round it though and this gorgeous production manages it with flair. Rather than rewrite or make pronouncements, a couple of intolerables are quietly and subtly removed, such as changing Bill Hickock’s costume from the Sweetheart of the Sioux to a Queen Victoria outfit.

“Utter exuberance”

This show proves that you don’t have to rewrite history or make dramatic recasting decisions to make a point. It’s a good, old-fashioned (in every sense of the word) romp through the Wild West, telling the story of Calamity Jane, a real-life daredevil frontierswoman. Of course, the story is only loosely based on her life and, as the song ‘Careless With The Truth’ demonstrates, possibly shouldn’t be taken at face value.

The divine Carrie Hope Fletcher brings utter exuberance to the role and is totally believable as a gun-toting whirlwind. About a thousand times more roister-doistery than Doris Day and believably more at ease in a trouser suit than a dress. However, this means the rest of the cast, including Vinny Coyle as Wild Bill Hickock – who are all top-notch – don’t always match her stage presence and you find yourself looking round for her when she goes off stage.

“Chemistry is superb”

No matter, though. They’re still brilliant. Vinny Coyle brings possibly unnecessary sensitivity to Wild Bill but the pair’s chemistry is superb (however, this upstages any sense that Calamity remotely fancies Danny, who gives a slightly wet performance relative to the joie de vivre of the others. The instrument-playing ensemble is superb and Samuel Holmes as the hapless actor Francis Fryer is excellent, particularly when he drags up – another potentially problematic moment made unproblematic.

Of course, my teenage companions were eagerly awaiting the (alleged) gay vibes, which was alluded to with aplomb, without any drama. ‘A Woman’s Touch’ is possibly the standout song of the show and by the end we were all rooting for Calam and Katie to shack up together forever. But this wasn’t at the expense of the real show, which remained true to its roots and meant we didn’t mind a bit when (spoiler alert) Calam and Bill tied the knot at the end.

‘Calamity Jane’ is at Leeds Grand Theatre until 8th March
images: Mark Senior

Hazel Davis( Writer )

Hazel Davis lives in West Yorkshire and has been a journalist for most of the UK national newspapers and many magazines, cutting her teeth on a classical music magazine. She’s the lead singer in a country band (Mustard County), plays trumpet in a wind band and big band and cornet in a brass band. When she’s not playing music or writing about it, she’s usually thinking about it.

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