Whip crackin’ Jane put the wild west’s men to shame
Queensland Theatre’s production of Calamity Jane is a hit and stars the state’s first lady of song Naomi Price in the titular role.
What could Calamity Jane, the wild west musical inspired by the 1950s film, possibly have to say in Brisbane right now?
In the confident hands of director Richard Carroll, quite a lot, actually.
The production delights in breaking the fourth wall, allowing the performers to slip in jokes about the reality of being an underpaid artist, and the building of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Stadium, all while maintaining serviceable Southern American accents – and singing and dancing up a storm.
Carroll and his creative team cracked the Calamity Jane code in 2016 at Hayes Theatre in Sydney, and have perfected the recipe in the years since. This is the Queensland premiere of the production, with Naomi Price in the title role. (Carroll’s original Calamity, Virginia Gay, was in the house on opening night).
Price doesn’t chew the scenery as much as consume it. She zooms in and out of the space, holding the other characters (and the audience) hostage with bluster, bravado, considerable comic timing and charm.
The fan-shaped Bille Brown Theatre is the perfect fit for the scrappy Golden Garter saloon and its boisterous band of characters.
The ensemble is a winning balance of sure hands, along with others making their Queensland Theatre debut. Darcy Brown clowns about as Francis Fryer, a young performer who arrives in town by accident to entertain the local drunks and outlaws. Brown is unafraid to act the fool as he hams it up with the saloon owner (Andrew Buchanan) and his much younger “niece” (Juliette Coates).
Calamity Jane, best known as the 1953 film musical classic starring Doris Day and Howard Keel, survives, in part, because of its music, which is straight from the Great American Songbook.
When Calamity and her gal pal Katie Brown (Laura Bunting) sing a spare, stunning arrangement of The Black Hills of Dakota, it has the quality of a hymn.
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Nigel Ubrihien pounds the keys throughout, embracing the honky-tonk heart of the story. Several of the performers occasionally play an instrument.
Smoky saloons were the cabaret venues of their day, and the design team of Lauren Peters, Trent Suidgeest, Emma Burchell and Geoff McGahan conjure a space that frames the madcap action and allows us to sit back and enjoy it. (Selected audience members seated on stage earn their keep throughout the show, but I’ll allow you to experience that dimension for yourself.)
Perhaps Carroll’s most impressive achievement is his ability to surprise us. The material has always been camp, but Carroll takes it further, finding unexpected pockets of queer joy. Following a jubilant Pride & Prejudice, Calamity Jane offers another production that delights in its period, while seamlessly linking to our own. More, please.
Calamity Jane plays the Bille Brown Theatre, South Brisbane, until April 17.