Calamity Jane musical tour in Milton Keynes

I’ve always loved the film Calamity Jane since my Great Uncle introduced us kids to the film, way back when I was about 7. So I couldn’t resist booking tickets for the Calamity Jane tour opening night in Milton Keynes.

The show is brought to life by the original creative cast on the tour, the first time the show has toured since the original one 10 year’s ago. From the scruffy Rattlesnake entering via the audience, to the antagonistic chemistry between Calamity and Wild Bill Hickok, it was a fun show from start to end.

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If you don’t know the plot, Calamity is a story-embellishing, gunslinging tomboy. Her friend Wild Bill Hickok and the townsfolk are always trying to get into a dress to become more feminine. After a mix up, she promises to bring adored cigarette card actress Adelaid to perform in the town’s theatre, but with a case of mistaken identity, she’s tricked into returning with the famous star’s maid Katie Brown.

Calamity starts to change with the influence of girlie girl Katie who’s loved by the town. But jealousy hits when Calamity’s soldier crush moves in on Katie who’s now one of the town’s own. Who will Calamity end up turning her heart to?

I loved the show. The set was great, and worked well with the change of scenes. It was easy to imagine the Deadwood stagecoach driving along, and the songs brought back memories. It was hard not to sing along to The Deadwood stage, Black Hills of Dakota and Just Blew in from the Windy City. My Secret Love was a beautiful solo.

Carrie Hope Fletcher is an award winning musical star. This is the first time I’ve seen her perform, and she does Doris Day’s character Calamity brilliantly.

I didn’t get Bill’s drawl of an accent at first, but the banter and playfulness between the 2 main characters was fun and believable.

I thought the entire cast was excellent, from the singing, dancing and acting.  Most of the actors are also the musicians playing on the stage which worked really well. It showed how good these performers really are.

The comic timing, characters and story all gel together well with the songs kicking in at the places you expect. With its adaptation from the musical film, it’s noticeable that it was an original musical and not a play or book shoving songs in when possible. And as you hope, everyone gets their happy ending. 

Even if you’ve never seen the film, you would likely know several of the songs. I definitely recommend you get to see the tour if possible. Seeing the show made more good memories on top of my childhood ones about the film. 

I’ve discovered my new favourite seat in the theatre, and looking back slightly from there I could even see the conductor/musical director on screen which is obviously how the musicians follow him while they’re on stage. 

There aren’t any megamix encores as Calamity Jane is a classic musical, but we still got to hear the cast again following the bows. Plus they did a repeat of the hoedown dance. 

It was a brilliant show, and I went away humming quite a few of the songs with a smile on my face