Calamity Jane

Everybody’s favourite musical comedy Western arrived in Clitheroe with all the frontier spirit and knockabout cowboy nonsense needed to bring a touch of the Wild West to the Ribble Valley. Although it’s far from being a one woman show, the leading lady needs to be able to command the stage in what is a very demanding role and fortunately, Clitheroe were blessed with the tirelessly rambunctious Rachael Dootson, who left a great impression on the capacity crowd as we all donned our cowboy boots and sashayed out into the chilly February evening. This was a heartfelt and homely production and it was clear that everyone on stage had invested time, effort and passion into the production and for first time director (of a musical I hasten to add) Lesley Haworth must have been immensely proud of her team. It is always refreshing to see a society perform with a real team spirit and are obviously enjoying entertaining an appreciative audience.

I think I’m correct in saying that ‘Calamity Jane’ is one of those rare instances where the film preceded the musical, being a Doris Day vehicle which was then adapted for the stage at a later date. It tells the farcical tale of ‘Calam’, the tomboy frontierswoman who is very firmly in charge of the Deadwood stagecoach. When a touch of showbiz glitter is expected in the frontier town of Deadwood’s premier nightspot - ‘The Golden Garter’ - in the shape of delectable songstress Frances Fryer, a number of hilarious gender bending mix-ups and romantic entanglements all provide a diverting evening’s musical entertainment as we bounce along towards the inevitable happy ending. After a typically cheery overture, the curtain opened to reveal the Golden Garter in all its splendour populated by the cheery denizens of Deadwood, welcoming Calamity Jane back from another of her exciting stagecoach trips. After a full throated choral introduction - and a top notch orchestra - the audience knew it was in safe hands and the bright, colourful stage milieu carried over into the music. Damian Marsh was a solid and reliable presence as Wild Bill Hickock and the spiky relationship between Bill and Calamity was very well put across: their sparring played out very nicely throughout the show. Brian Haworth did a very good job of putting flesh on the bones of the frustrated flusterings of Henry ‘Millie’ Miller, the put-upon owner of the Golden Garter and Erica Mileham exuded a graceful calm as Susan Miller too: here was another - and quite different - relationship which was very well expressed. Chris Bowers was just as supercilious as is required as Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin and despite being saddled with perhaps the most laughably risible love duet in the history of musical theatre (‘Love You Dearly’) Chris managed to get through the whole song without even the hint of a fit of the giggles. Good work there: I doubt I could manage it! Victim of mistaken identity, Francis Fryer, was played with bewildered chagrin by Robert Crane. Francis Fryer is the sort of turn you’d demand your money back after a couple of seconds into his act and Robert did a fine job of essaying the injured pride of the third rate thesp. 

Is a NODA rep allowed to have a ‘favourite bit’ in a show report? In the spirit of flying in the face of convention, I’m going to nail my colours to the mast anyway and state quite fearlessly that the highlight of the evening for me was the very well realised pastiche period piece ‘It’s Harry I’m Planning to Marry’ with a wonderful performance from Sue Chadwick and the girls. Sue really nailed the character of Adelaide in a powerhouse performance which lingers long in the memory. Laura Mitchell did an equally good job of bringing Katie Brown to life, making her a sympathetic character, tired of languishing in the shadow of superstar sex symbol Adelaide. Having sorted out the mix-up between Frances and Francis in her own inimitable fashion, Calamity returns to a heroine’s welcome (eventually!) and the stage is set for the inevitable relationship problems of Act Two .

Full company numbers were all of a very high standard and really set the stage alight. Ingenious choreography from Milly Wardle made the most of the cast’s talents - going for the full, stage filling effect with full company numbers, keeping things simple yet clever, then really going to town with well rehearsed routines to really show off the dancers’ talents. There were a host of cameo roles peppered throughout the show as members of the company coloured the stage with effective characterisations, again expressing the team effort across the board. 

Act Two concerns the manoeuvrings of Bill and Danny to get the girl: which girl is the right girl for each respective fella’ is of course obvious to the audience but as always, in the best tradition of frothy musical theatre of a certain vintage, it takes the chaps a little more time to catch on. Act Two also contains the show’s best musical numbers: the cheery ‘A Woman’s Touch’ and ‘Secret Love’, both superbly done by Rachael, Laura and Damian. Unfortunately, it also gives us the unfathomably popular ‘Black Hills of Dakota’ which I’ve always thought applies a rather miserable hand-break to the narrative to a less than edifying musical purpose. To suffer through it again at the end of the show is perhaps asking rather too much but as it seems there are people who can hear it without reaching for their Colt 45, perhaps I shouldn’t grumble. The aforementioned ‘Love You Dearly’ also pops up which always brings a tear to the eye, usually for all the wrong reasons. One has to assume this winsome ditty was thrown into the musical to give Danny a song to sing with his inamorata: either that, or it’s someone’s idea of a bad joke. Having been unjustifiably rude about that song twice now, it has to be said that Wild Bill’s ‘Higher than a Hawk’ makes up for it though, nicely sung here by Damian. 

Scenery and set dressing were of a good standard, with scene changes effected quickly and seamlessly. Costumes were also top notch with everyone looking the part quite magnificently. Sound and lighting were of an excellent standard too, helping things enormously: I heard every word of dialogue and every lyric in every song, with the balance between what was happening on stage and in the pit pitched perfectly. (Harken he not to those dissenting elderly voices from the audience who will tell you it was ‘too loud’ dear thespians: it’s mainly because our more aged friends in the audience seem to think it’s fine to chatter inanely through the overture and then comment on proceedings throughout the show in the manner of an OAP translation service that they miss anything, not because it’s ‘too loud’) 

I stated at the outset that it is unfair to consider this a ‘one woman show’ but without a solid Calamity Jane in the title role, you’re on a hiding to nothing. Rachael was a strong, tireless and confident leading lady who was great company all evening. She brought out both the humorous and more ‘serious’ and sympathetic sides to the character really well: every musical number was a joy when she was in the saddle too. A great voice, excellent comic timing, charming stage presence and an infectious enthusiasm which rolled off the stage all packaged up in a fringed cowboy jacket, Rachael was an all round winner. Successfully letting the audience into her inner workings and providing a three dimensional character in a rather two dimensional musical takes a bit of doing but do it she did: a great achievement Rachael.

Lesley Haworth and her team obviously worked hard to produce a very colourful, enjoyable production which oozed charm, music and laughter. The wholesome spirit of a talented company coming together - and just as importantly so obviously enjoying - creating something special is always a joy to see and to hear. Congratulations Lesley: here’s to your second outing as director of a musical! My thanks go to all at Clitheroe AODS for a great evening and a very warm welcome. I look forward to my next visit with enthusiasm.

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