Calamity Jane, Darlington Civic Theatre

ONE day someone might present the true life story of Calamity Jane with gritty realism, but in the meantime this heart-warming romance loosely based on her exploits makes for a scintillating show full of rip-roaring songs and cheerful melodies.

Adapted by the Watermill Theatre in Berkshire from the 1953 film starring Doris Day and Howard Keel, it premiered last year and is on its first national tour.

It’s a wonder it has taken so long to bring it to the stage in a production that’s bound to become a staple, with a large cast playing a full range of instruments, sharp hoedown-style choreography and imaginative use of props to create a moving stagecoach and other effects.

Jodie Prenger is outstanding as Calamity, strutting about in buckskin breeches, firing off her six-shooter. She has a big voice and belts out Secret Love, a full blast of deep joy.

Calamity abandoned gowns and corsets for freedom on the range, but manly garb means Tom Lister’s laconic and handsome Wild Bill Hickok cannot take her seriously.

With a fine voice and easy rapport with the audience, the former Emmerdale actor also has deft comic timing. His height and Prenger’s shorter stature work well bringing them up close and uncomfortable in a prickly relationship.

The show is musically captivating, with good support from the rest of the talented cast, particularly Bobby Delaney’s vaudeville Frances Fryer and Phoebe Street as Calamity’s rival-in-love Katie Brown.
 

Pru Farrier