Calamity Jane at The Bristol Hippodrome - September 2025
Posted on: 2025-09-23
Our rating:
Whip-crack-away and book now for a golden nugget of a show, undoubtedly one of the best musicals.
5 Stars for Calamity Jane at The Bristol Hippodrome from our reviewer Colette Hand. The performacne continues until Saturday 27 September 2025 - click for tickets for all Bristol Hippodrome shows.
In this fictional retelling of the story, tough-talking, gun slinging Calamity Jane (Carrie Hope Fletcher) helps Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin (Luke Wilson) after he is shot in the leg after a skirmish with an Indian war party. Calamity has developed a crush on Lieutenant Gilmartin and sets out to try and win the heart of the handsome Lieutenant, whilst also shooting insults with the notorious Wild Bill Hickok (Vinny Coyle).
When saloon/theater owner Henry Miller (Peter Peverley) is faced with angry Deadwood residents because he tries to pass off a man in drag (Francis Fryer played by Samuel Holmes) as the attractive New York actress he promised, ‘Calam’ tries to save the day by offering to go to ‘Chicagee’ to bring back actress Adelaid Adams (all of the men are going crazy for because of her picture on the cigarette cards).
`Calam' sets off for the `windy city' of Chicago to find the famous Adelaid Adams (Molly-Grace Cutler) who she hopes to convince to perform at the local bar. However, instead of the genuine article, Calamity mistakenly ends up with the star's maid, Katie Brown (Seren Sandham-Davies), who decides to try her luck at performing on stage in the star's place. Together, the two briefly find fun and love, and friendship. With ‘a woman's touch’, they clean the house while uncovering Calamity's well hidden feminine side, and at the end of the scene our heroine is in a dress.
The men of Deadwood fall hard for Chicago stage star Adelaid Adams, and Calamity struggles to keep her jealousy holstered, with the green eyed monster rearing its ugly head.
‘Calamity Jane’ was originally created by Warner Bros. in response to the success of the 1950 film ‘Annie Get Your Gun’, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘Secret Love’, and was also Oscar-nominated for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture and Best Sound Recording. The songs and screenplay would form the basis of a 1961 stage musical that would go on to inspire a number of productions.
The Watermill Theatre’s Production of Calamity Jane was skillfully directed by the experienced and acclaimed Nikolai Foster, alongside him, Nick Winston co-directed and expertly and beautifully choreographed the show. Musical supervision was by Olivier, Grammy and Tony Award winner Catherine Jayes.
The set designs are such that scene changes are seamless, with props being cleverly used for effect, especially with the stagecoach scenes.
The show is packed with the many well-known and well-loved classic songs such as The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away), I Can Do Without You, Tis Harry I Am Planning To Marry, Black Hills of Dakota, Just Blew in from the Windy City, Higher Than A Hawk, A Woman's Touch, and the hit song Secret Love, as well as a handful of new songs. The new additions blend in perfectly with the original score.
This whip crackin’ musical romantic comedy, based on the much-loved Doris Day movie, is an amusing portrayal of the famous frontier wild woman. The production, starring the award-winning West End actor and singer Carrie Hope Fletcher (Cinderella, Les Misérables), is full of sass and humour. Carrie Hope Fletcher, as ‘Calamity’, was undoubtedly the shining star of the show, closely followed by the handsomely strong performance given by Vinny Coyle as ‘Wild Bill Hickok’. The supporting cast, the dance routines, the music and musicians, and the injected humour all added up to a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining evening.
There is an ongoing battle of the sexes between Calamity and Bill. Wild Bill is far from impressed with Calamity’s lack of feminine ways, and her tendency to be ‘careless with the truth’. Calamity shows Wild Bill that under her rough, tough, two-fisted exterior there beats a woman's heart. This is an amusing and heartwarming portrayal of the famous frontier wild-woman, full of warmth and humour. It is a musical showing how a woman gets her man, a fictional rendition of the feisty tomboy Calamity Jane Canary, the Wild West heroine who fights Indians and dresses like a man, and ends up finding love where she least expects it.
What are you waiting for! Whip-crack-away and book now for a golden nugget of a show, undoubtedly one of the best musicals.
Lose yourself in the moment, it's pure joy and great fun!
Article by:
Colette Hand (BA Hons in Art & Education Studies). Grandmother to four grandchildren aged 2 to 21, and part-time volunteer at a museum in Bath, writing for 365Bristol mainly on theatre and family activities when not raising money wild swimming around the country!
