Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane, a musical staged by Maghull Musical Theatre Company at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport on Saturday, 24th June, 2023.

Hold on to your Stetsons… the ‘Deadwood Stage’ definitely rode in to Southport and what a ‘whip crack away’ time we all had! Calamity Jane is a Musical Western, adapted by Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park from the stage play by Charles K. Freeman after the success of Warner Brothers movie of the same name, written by James O'Hanlon with Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster and Music by Sammy Fain.  Calamity Jane can outrun and outshoot any man in town…except the infamous Wild Bill Hickcock. When there is a mix-up at the local saloon-theatre, Calamity is determined to save the day. She travels to Chicago to bring the celebrated actress, Adelaide Adams, to perform in Deadwood. However, despite her best intentions, she actually returns with Adelaide Adams’ maid, Katie Brown, instead. When Katie confesses that she is not the star they were expecting, Calamity steps in once more to convince the local townsfolk to give Katie a chance. Katie soon wins the heart of every man in town, including Lieutenant Danny Gilmarten, the object of Calamity’s affections. Encouraged by Katie, Calamity sheds her tomboy persona and transforms herself into a beautiful woman at the local Fort ball. She soon sees that Katie and Danny are in love, but she overcomes her jealousy when she realizes that her heart actually belongs to someone else!

Production Team… Leslie Longley (Director), Alexandra Ashall (Assistant Director) were the one’s tasked with bringing this classic musical western to stage and what a great job they made!  They were skilfully supported by Sarah Fletcher (Choreographer), Andrew Standeven (Musical Director) and Hilary Burgoyne (Rehearsal Pianist) … congratulations folks, this was a great production with a great cast of which you should all be proud!  We had some great choreography throughout, I particularly enjoyed the entrance and movement associated with ‘Black Hill’s’ and the finale was special, well-done Sarah.  Andrew just did what Andrew does … and that was to provide wonderful support and accompaniment for the cast. There were some great harmonies throughout and the ‘overture’ (which turned into a ‘singalong’ by the audience… loved it!) was fabulous and gave instant impact! Followed immediately by the rousing ‘The Deadwood Stage’ and the scene was set for things to come! Loved when you ‘Doffed the Stetson’ Andrew after the overture which received its rightful ovation! Congrats to one and all… be ever so proud! 

The Cast…  as most will know this is where I usually stick my neck and start suggesting MY favourites …but honestly, I think the success of this production wasn’t really down to an individual, although I will give a few shout outs later, but I really do think it was down to the entire cast coming together as one and providing us with a production full of energy, enthusiasm and team spirit!  So well done everyone… this really was a thoroughly enjoyable production.    “Shout-Outs” … I would suggest the only place to start is with ‘Calamity’ herself… Kayleigh Ginley.  From the opening number … ‘Deadwood Stage’ to My Secret Love’ and everything in between, Kayleigh gave us energy, pace and some great vocals!  She was able to show us the different sides of ‘Calam’… the tomboy raucousness to the emotional side of the character with effortless ease… great stage presence, great accent which was there throughout… be proud Kayleigh, great job!   Lee Ashall was a perfect fit for the role of ‘Wild Bill Hickock’ and worked ever so well with Calamity!  Confident, assured with great stage presence, Les brought this character to life!  Loved his rendition of‘Higher than a Hawk’ a highlight for me … be proud Les, great performance!  The ‘other couple’ were ‘Katie Brown’ and ‘Lt. Danny Gilmartin’ played ever so well by Alice McKillop and Matthew Christiansen respectively.  Both Alice and Matthew had great stage presence and were great fits for these parts!  Energy, commitment, they both created two believable characters and worked ever so well with all the cast.  Their rendition of ‘Love You Dearly’ was well received by the audience.  Well done you two, great jobs, be proud!  Final ‘shout out’ goes to Alex McKillop who made his mark on this production with his notable performance as ‘Francis Fryer’ … ‘Francis’ with an ‘i’!  Alex made this part his own… great stage presence, loved his song and dance numbers… “Everyone complains about the Weather” and coped really well in his comedy drag “Hive full of Honey”. Alex worked every ounce of comedy out of this part and became an instant audience favourite!  Well done Alex ... wonderful job sir!  Ian Culshaw played the proprietor of the Golden Garter – ‘Henry Miller’, Becky Barrie, played Henry Miller’s Daughter and love interest of Francis Fryer – ‘Susan’, Suzanne Morris played ‘Adelaide Adams’ (Great Vocal – in ‘It’s Harry I’m Planning to Marry’), Chris Barrie played Stage Coach Driver – ‘Rattlesnake’, Les Longley played ‘Doc Pierce’ as well as directing the production,  Les Gomersall played ‘Joe’, the Bar tender at the Golden Garter, Chris Rimmer played ‘Buck’, Ed Casson played ‘Hank’, John Ball played ‘Pete’, Colin Dryden played ‘Colonel’ and Ed McKillop played ‘Charlie’.   Can Can Girls… Alicia Allen, Leanne Cooney, Kay Davies, Phoebe Hill, Hayley King, Pam Laverty, Vicki Ridland and Suzanne Morris… our fabulous dancers, who enhanced the show so much… costumes were stunning!  Johnnies … John Ball, Ed Casson, Colin Dryden and Chris Rimmer. Townsfolk … Yasmin Cranny, Ingrid Cleverly, Rachel Goodall and Natalie Olson.  Well done each and all… each had their own part to play and played them really well … be very proud folks!

Orchestra… under the guidance of Andrew Standeven (Musical Director) … (The Deadwood Dozen as named in the programme) … Janet Hitchen, Jess Holding and Nieve Mannion (Strings); Cliff Ray, J.P.Warder and Emma Lenehan (Brass); Sarah Dutch, Karen Turner, Adam Letman, Emily McArthur and Niamh Boland (Woodwind), Adam Dutch, Mike McKay and Paul Dutch (Bass & Percussion)… high quality, accompanied singers without ever overwhelming them; allowed all the underscored dialogue to be heard… great jobs guys!

Staging/Set and Tech… as always, the staging was excellent!   Loved the shuttered bar of the Golden Garter, impressive the way it was set up, and it appeared to give the set greater depth whist creating a wonderful effect.  Congrats to Radley Haynes (Stage Manager) and his crew Pete Beswick, Colin Haynes and Chris Morris on ‘Fly’.  Sound/Lighting were ‘spot on’ under the watchful eyes of Matt Hughes and Andrea Shacksmyth-Claire, respectively… with Paul Shacksmyth-Claire and Corrina Davies on ‘Follow-Spots’.  Well done folks!

Costumes… were stunning and enhanced the show so much… hired from ‘The Costume Store’    Props… first class and used well … making sure nothing went amiss – Ingrid Cleverly.

Just before closing, can I just take this opportunity to congratulate Maghull MTC on their success at both the NODA District Awards Dinner and the Regional Awards Dinner.  Was well deserved … Jekyll and Hyde was a phenomenal show and rightly deserved the nominations and the awards that it received… well done, folks!

Sorry about not being able to attend the VIP Night, too many shows and not enough days in the week, so its thanks to Betty Hall and Maghull for allowing me to come to the Saturday Matinee… therefore allowing me to attend another production in Rainhill on the Friday evening.  Can I also take the opportunity to thank Betty, for looking after Susan and I on Saturday Matinee, appreciated and already looking forward to seeing you all again in November, somewhere along that ‘Yellow Brick Road or ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’!

Stay safe and keep well
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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