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Calamity Jane (musical)

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Lyrics
  
Paul Francis Webster

Lyricist
  
Paul Francis Webster

Playwright
  
Charles K. Freeman

Composer
  
Sammy Fain

Calamity Jane (musical) Calamity Jane The Alhambra Theatre

Book
  
Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park

Basis
  
1953 film Calamity Jane

Premiere
  
May 27, 1961: Casa Mañana, Fort Worth, Texas

Characters
  
Adelaide Adams, Francis Fryer

Similar
  
Sammy Fain plays, Musicals

Calamity Jane (A Musical Western) is a stage musical which utilizes the historical figure of frontierswoman Calamity Jane as the central character in a fabricated somewhat farcical plot which involves the authentic Calamity Jane's professional associate Wild Bill Hickok, she and he being presented as having a contentious relationship which ultimately proves to be the façade for mutually amorous feelings. The Calamity Jane stage musical originated as an adaption for live performance of Calamity Jane, the 1953 movie musical from Warner Bros. which had starred Doris Day. First produced in 1961, the stage musical Calamity Jane features six songs not heard in the original movie: according to Jodie Prenger, star of the Calamity Jane 2014 - 15 UK tour, the songs added for the stage musical had been written for but not included in the Calamity Jane movie ("Love You Dearly" had been utilized in the 1954 Doris Day musical film Lucky Me).

Contents

Calamity Jane (musical) Calamity Jane

Credits

Calamity Jane (musical) Calamity Jane

Adapted by Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park from the stage play by Charles K. Freeman, after the Warner Bros. film, written by James O'Hanlon

Songs by Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) and Sammy Fain (music)

Synopsis

Calamity Jane (musical) Calamity Jane musical theatre costume hire for stage productions UK

Deadwood City's two most famous peace officers, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock, get involved in saving the neck of Henry Miller, the local saloon operator. It seems that "Millie" has been promoting a beautiful actress named Frances Fryer, but Frances turns out to be a boy, Francis. Millie's attempt to cover up is soon unmasked by the angry miners, and only Calamity can cool the crowd with her trusty pistols. To keep the peace, Calamity sets out for Chicago to bring back the miner's real heart-throb, Adelaide Adams. In Chicago Calamity mistakes Adelaide's maid, Katie Brown, for the actress and hauls her back to Deadwood. Onstage Katie is greeted warmly, but breaks down and confesses that she is not the famous star. Calamity once more has to restore order and persuades the audience to give Katie a chance. They do, and she wins the heart of every male in town including Calamity's dashing love hope, Lt. Danny Gilmartin. Calamity reluctantly overcomes her jealousy over losing Danny and discovers her true love for Wild Bill.

Production history

Calamity Jane (musical) Calamity Jane The hardscrabble life that didn39t make the musical

The world premiere production of the stage musical version of Calamity Jane ran 27 May - 17 June 1961 at the Casa Mañana in Fort Worth TX: Casa Mañana stock actress Betty O'Neill led this production, touted as "the first try-out of a musical ever staged outside the East or in-the round."

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The play then ran from 21 June - 18 July 1961 at the Muny in St Louis with Edie Adams in the title role while Allyn Ann McLerie played Katie - which role she'd originated in the 1953 film Calamity Jane - and George Gaynes - McLerie's husband - starred as Wild Bill Hickok.

On 3 – 8 July 1961 the Pittsburgh CLO (Civic Light Opera) production of Calamity Jane with Martha Raye in the title role played the Civic Arena (Pittsburgh): this production featured George Gaynes as Wild Bill and Allyn Ann McLerie, Gaynes and McLerie transferring from the Muny production to that of the Pittsburgh CLO for the duration of the latter's engagement.

Calamity Jane (musical) Calamity Jane Musical Plot amp Characters StageAgent

Carol Burnett played the title role in a Starlight Theatre (Kansas City MO) production of Calamity Jane which ran 17 – 30 July 1961. Upon Burnett's being signed to an exclusive contract with CBS-TV in the summer of 1962 it was announced that she would headline a televised broadcast of Calamity Jane over the 1962-3 television season: Burnett's Calamity Jane special would in fact not air until the autumn of 1963 after being taped that summer, the time frame permitting Burnett to reprise the title role onstage in a State Fair Music Theater (Dallas) production whose two-week run commenced 24 June 1963. (The Pittsburgh CLO had been invited to host Burnett's 1963 live engagement headlining Calamity Jane: however the CLO could not meet the budget). On 10 July 1963 Burnett and her castmates from the Dallas stage production - including Art Lund as Wild Bill - performed Calamity Jane at CBS Studio 50 (NYC), with the play performed non-stop three times before a live audience: CBS-TV taped all three run-throughs, one of which was broadcast as Burnett's debut television special 12 November 1963.

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Betty Hutton see Extra Info was scheduled to lead a 1962 summer stock production of Calamity Jane but canceled beforehand due to a protracted pregnancy, and was replaced by Ginger Rogers. see Extra Info Rogers verifiably headlined three engagements of this production: at the Melody Fair in North Tonawanda NY 19–24 June 1962, the Carousel Theater in Framingham MA 2–8 July 1962 , and the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford CT 25–28 July 1962. The same production also played at WMT (Warwick Musical Theatre, Rhode Island) 9–14 July 1962 but Rogers' own participation is not verifiable. (An early credit of Jim Bailey, who'd become a star female impersonator, was as an ensemble member in this tour of Calamity Jane.)

At the time of the premiere of the stage musical of Calamity Jane it was reported that Warner Bros. was considering mounting a Broadway production of the play, but US performances of the stage musical of Calamity Jane have remained essentially confined to the repertory and amateur theater scene, a Broadway production announced in 2005, utilizing a revised book by Randy Skinner who'd direct and choreograph failing to materialize, although readings for this prospective production were held in New York City with C&W singer Louise Mandrell as Calamity Jane and veteran musical actor Brent Barrett as Wild Bill (Barrett had played Frank Butler opposite Reba McEntire in Annie Get Your Gun at the Marquis in 2001). Louise Mandrell would eventually headline a repertory production of Calamity Jane by the Good Company Players, Featuring: Dan and Emily Pessano, Teddy Maldonado, Brian Pecheau, Tami Cowger, and Jacob Carrillo whose production ran 19 July - 16 September 2012 at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater in Fresno: Mandrell has since reprised the role in one-off performances of Calamity Jane firstly on 11 September at the Folly Theater in Kansas City MO as an event in the Arts Midwest 2015 Conference, and subsequently on 11 October 2015 at the CMA Theatre as an event in the International Entertainment Buyers Association 2015 Conference.

The stage musical version of Calamity Jane has enjoyed a prolific professional production history in the UK, a Sheffield Crucible production which previewed 27 July 1974 and opened 28 July 1974 being billed as "the British professional premiere of 'Calamity Jane'". The Crucible production's title role was played by future screenwriter/ novelist Lynda La Plante billed as Lynda Marchal, and LaPlante/ Marchal would reprise the role in a 1974 engagement at the Belgrade Theatre (Coventry) which also featured Brenda Blethyn and - as an ensemble member - Graham Cole.

In 1979 Barbara Windsor headlined the first UK tour of Calamity Jane: after its premiere engagement at the Billingham Forum which opened 27 August 1979 this production toured for twelve weeks to conclude with a November 1979 date at the Sunderland Empire. Windsor's co-star as Wild Bill was Eric Flynn, and Norman Vaughan was featured as Francis Fryer: at the tour's premiere engagement in Billingham the role of Henry Miller was played by Jeffrey Holland filling in for the ailing Dudley Owen who would evidently play out the remaining engagements. Toyah Willcox, while promoting her own headlining Calamity Jane tour in 2002, told Terry Grimley of the Birmingham Post: "Barbara Windsor did this show twenty years ago and it was due to go into the West End, but there were some problems with her private life." The touring production of Calamity Jane with Barbara Windsor did occasion the musical's London-area premiere, as the production played the Ashcroft Theatre (Croydon) 18–29 September 1979.

Louise Gold starred in a production of Calamity Jane which played the Leicester Haymarket 22 November 1994 - 28 January 1995 with Ricco Ross as Wild Bill, while the play's premiere central London production played 9 December 1994 - 21 January 1995 at the Finborough Theatre, with Leigh McDonald in the title role.

Gemma Craven starred in a production of Calamity Jane which played Sadler's Wells 21 May - 15 June 1996 as the seventh engagement of an eleven engagement national tour which had launched with a 29 February - 16 March 1995 Belgrade Theatre engagement: Stephen McGann as Wild Bill and Stuart Pendred as Danny Martin were also featured in this production whose final engagement was in Newcastle.

In 2002 and 2003 Toyah Willcox led a production of Calamity Jane which toured throughout Great Britain with the first leg of the tour playing nine cities, the inaugural engagement being at the Derngate Theatre (Northampton) 9 – 14 September 2002 with the ninth venue played being the Alexandra Theatre (Birmingham) whose engagement ran 11 – 16 November 2002. The second leg of the Calamity Jane tour led by Willcox had an inaugural 20–25 January 2003 engagement at the King's Theatre (Glasgow) then played fifteen subsequent engagements to conclude with a 26 June - 20 September 2003 engagement - previewed from 12 June 2003 - at the Shaftesbury Theatre in Holborn, it having been announced in April 2003 that this production of Calamity Jane would have a limited-run summer engagement at the Shaftesbury thus marking the West End debut of any production of the Calamity Jane stage musical. : "This isn't a sequinned production. We've tried to make it gritty". Interviewed at the time of the opening of Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury, Toyah Willcox stated: "We've kind of revamped it so it's more 'West End' and we've put big dance numbers in. We've added a bit more b******t to it!" although she maintained: "Our production is not saccharine sweet, it's really very ballsy. There are no sequins in our production whatsoever!" corroborating statements she'd made earlier in the tour's run as "This isn't a sequinned production. We've tried to make it gritty."

Thom Southerland directed an off-West End revival of Calamity Jane which played Upstairs at the Gatehouse 8 June 8–3 July 2010: Phyllida Crowley Smith choreographed this production which featured Katherine Eames in the title role.

Jodie Prenger starred in a production of Calamity Jane whose 17 July - 6 September 2014 engagement at the Watermill Theatre (Berks) inaugurated a national tour of intended six months duration: however interest in booking this production was sufficiently high as to allow for its playing constant engagements for more than twelve months, with venues played throughout Great Britain - plus a 19 – 23 May 2015 engagement at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin - with two London-area engagements: 17–21 March 2015 at the New Wimbledon Theatre and - as the tour's final engagement - 4 – 8 August 2015 at the Richmond Theatre. This production of Calamity Jane - which co-starred Tom Lister as Wild Bill - - had its 1 July 2015 matinée performance at the Curve (Leicester) recorded as a 360-degree video made available for complementary online viewing 22–24 July 2015.

The Neglected Musicals theater company of Sydney NSW premiered its production of Calamity Jane 3 August 2016 with both a matinée and an evening performance, with further performances on the three subsequent evenings: playing at the Hayes Theater in Potts Point and starring Virginia Gay, the Neglected Musicals production - conforming to that company's mandate - was a minimally rehearsed no frills script-in-hand run-through of the play. which reportedly afforded the stage musical Calamity Jane its professional debut in Australia although the play has a long production history via Australian amateur troupes, having been mounted as early as 1965 by the then-amateur Brisbane Repertory with future television star Rowena Wallace in the title role: it was during the Brisbane Repertory production's 20 – 29 May 1965 run Wallace was discovered by actor Barry Creyton with a resultant audition for her breakout role in the ATN-7-produced series You Can't See 'Round Corners. Virginia Gay is set to reprise the title role in a full production of Calamity Jane to run at the Hayes Theater 8 March - 1 April 2017.

The earliest known theatrical credit of star mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins was in a school production of Calamity Jane at Dwr-y-Felin Comprehensive when she was a student there circa 1994, Jenkins playing the role of Katie.

Recordings

There is a complete recording of the entire score of Calamity Jane available, recorded for JAY Records in 1995: it includes Debbie Shapiro as Calamity Jane with Jason Howard, Tim Flavin and Susannah Fellows. A "cast album" of the 1996 production of Calamity Jane starring Gemma Craven - who is in fact the sole vocalist on the album - was issued in 1996.

References

Calamity Jane (musical) Wikipedia