The role of fearless heroine Calamity Jane was famously originated by Doris Day on the big screen, but when it comes to reimagining her on stage?
Barbara Windsor, Toyah Wilcox and even novelist Lynda La Plante have had a go. It’s something of a peachy role for performers.
When the curtain rises on its upcoming stint in Milton Keynes, West End ace Carrie Hope Fletcher will be tackling Calamity. Much to her mother’s delight.
“My mum had always said I would be a good Calamity Jane and through the entirety of my adult career she has always said she would love to see me playing the part,” Carrie said, “It’s her dream role for me. So I looked into it and listened to the songs and watched the movie and fell in love with it. Doris is such an icon.”
Leading lady Carrie has taken roles in Les Miserables and Heathers, and originated Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical. But playing Calamity? This character pushes her to be creative in a different way.
“I am relatively new to the whole world of Calamity Jane, but it’s a dream role in terms of her as a character,” Fletcher explains. “She is a romantic lead, gets a great love story, has an amazing female friendship with Katie Brown and gets all the cracking, belty numbers. She ticks all of those boxes and it’s so wonderful she’s not just an ingenue or the soppy romantic or just a comedy character, she is all of it. Parts like that are really rare and she has been great fun to get to know.”
Calamity Jane is a ‘gun-slinging, whip-cracking woman prone to making a few blunders and mistakes,’ Carrie says.
This is also a show about femininity, though, particularly around her relationship with Wild Bill Hickok, made famous on screen by Howard Keel, and portrayed in this production by Vinny Coyle.
“There are conversations between her and Wild Bill where he says, ‘Why can’t you be more feminine?” Carrie explains, “She goes through a Cinderella story finding it, but ultimately ends up going back to who she is comfortable as, and being loved and accepted for it. And it’s all hidden within this funny, farcical story.”
Calamity Jane has a wonderful score – featuring The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away) and the Oscar-winning Secret Love. Lesser performers might be apprehensive about taking on those tunes. Not Carrie.
“I have a good mindset about the pressure that comes with that,” she explains. “You can’t please everyone as everyone has different versions of what they want the character to be. “If you tried to please people, you would come up with this warped version that isn’t anyone’s dream version.
“I feel like I have been entrusted with the role and I need to be the one to decide who this version of Calamity Jane is. And if people don’t like it, they don’t like it. But if they do, it means all the more.”
Carrie’s brother Tom, of McFly fame, is now entering her world with the recent stage launch of his show The Creakers. But that doesn’t mean that his little sister will be following Tom’s lead and dipping her toes into the world of pop music.
“I don’t think it’s on the cards anytime soon,” she laughs. “I love theatre too much.”
Carrie, whose YouTube channel boasts in excess of half a million subscribers, does share a successful writing career with her brother, though; she has published a series of books for young people.
For the moment, she’s got whip-crackin’ and erm clip-clopping’ to deal with…
Her cast mates in the show are actor-musicians, and – not one to be left out – Fletcher is also picking up an instrument on tour. Albeit, a slightly unusual one.
“I got the coconuts to play,” she laughed, “I am the horse. So while everyone else is incredibly talented with the saxophone and the trumpet and cello, I will be focusing on the coconuts.”
Calamity Jane visits MK Theatre from July 29 to August 2.
To book tickets visit atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes
