Calamity Jane (A Musical Western) is a stage musical based on the historical figure of frontierswoman Calamity Jane. The non-historical, somewhat farcical plot involves the authentic Calamity Jane's professional associate Wild Bill Hickok, and presents the two as having a contentious relationship that ultimately proves to be a cover for mutually amorous feelings. The Calamity Jane stage musical was an adaptation of a 1953 Warner Bros. musical film of the same name that starred Doris Day. First produced in 1961, the stage musical Calamity Jane features six songs not heard in the film. 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 film ("Love You Dearly" had been used in the 1954 Doris Day musical film Lucky Me).
Credits 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 Deadwood City's two most famous peace officers, Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok, 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 male, 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 miners' real heart-throb, Adelaid Adams. In Chicago Calamity mistakes Adelaid’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.
Musical numbers Source: Concord Theatricals
Act I "The Deadwood Stage (Whip-Crack-Away!)" - Calamity, Bill, Miller, and Company "Adelaid" † - Bill and Men "Everyone Complains About the Weather" † - Fryer "Men!" † - Calamity "Careless with the Truth" † - Calamity, Bill, and Men "A Hive Full of Honey" - Fryer "I Can Do Without You" - Calamity and Bill "'Tis Harry I'm Plannin' to Marry" - Adelaid, Boys, and Girls "'Tis Harry I'm Plannin' to Marry" (Reprise 1) - Katie "Just Blew in from the Windy City" - Calamity and Men "Keep It Under Your Hat" - Katie
Act II "Higher Than a Hawk" - Bill "A Woman's Touch" - Calamity and Katie "Love You Dearly" (from Lucky Me) † - Katie and Danny "The Black Hills of Dakota" - Company "'Tis Harry I'm Plannin' to Marry" (Reprise 2) † - Katie "Secret Love" - Calamity "Finale" - Company
† Not included in the original film (1953)
Production history In the US 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."
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 - a role she had originated in the 1953 film Calamity Jane - and George Gaynes - McLerie's husband - starred as Wild Bill Hickok. The role of Danny Gilmartin was played by Nolan Van Way.
Excerpted review Pittsburgh CLO performance 1 July 1961Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics "'Calamity Jane' is a loud, rollicking show" which "aside from the comedy of Martha Raye ... contains a number of attractive & talented people who sing & dance the evening away"; "No one could accuse Martha Raye of being a great actress, & certainly there were more than a few in the audience who must have winced inwardly over her rendering of 'Secret Love'. But she is a natural slapstick comedienne" ... "this singer without a voice & heroine without glamour whacked & wailed her energetic, boisterous & fun-filled way through 'Calamity Jane' ... Sometimes she is mugging & ad-libbing so furiously that the performance becomes more of a nightclub act than a book show. But after all, the audience has presumably come to see Martha Raye, & that is what it sees."- Michael Holmberg (The Pittsburgh Press) The Pittsburgh Press 2 July 1961 Fanciful Fun by Miss Raye Opens Opera p.20
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.The Pittsburgh Press 2 July 1961 page 15
Excerpted review CBS-TV special 12 November 1963Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics "As a musical comedy 'Calamity Jane' ... was nothing to shoot up the town about. But as a vehicle tailored to Carol Burnett's special talents - & they are certainly special - it served very nicely indeed. The 90 minute comedy was taped last summer after playing at State Fair Music Theater (Dallas) & therefore had a polish which is all too often lacking in television productions of this type. This was especially evident in the song-&-dance sequences which were as smooth as a Broadway stage production. The plot was corny enough to afford light-hearted amusement, & Miss Burnett gave it all the hell-bent-for-leather whoop it up treatment which it required. In fact Carol's enthusiasm in the role was at times a bit too much. But never mind. She mugged & yelled & pranced about like a mad woman while giving the broad comedy lines & rowdy songs the merry Dickens as only she can. Then, as a welcome relief, she sang the lovely 'My [sic] Secret Love' straight in a surprisingly enchanting voice ... All in all a jolly good show. And it was really good to have Miss Burnett back with us again". - Win Fanning (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 4 November 1963 Despite Rickety Vehicle It Was Nice to Have Carol Burnett Back p. 47 Carol Burnett played the title role in a Starlight Theatre (Kansas City MO) production of Calamity Jane that ran 17 – 30 July 1961. On Burnett's signing an exclusive contract with CBS-TV in the summer of 1962, the network announced that she would headline a televised broadcast of Calamity Jane over the 1962-3 television season. Burnett's Calamity Jane special in fact did not air until the autumn of 1963 after taping that summer. This schedule let Burnett 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.
Extra InfoBetty Hutton had starred in the 1950 MGM film version of Annie Get Your Gun. Warner Bros. had hoped to acquire that stage musical as a Doris Day vehicle, but losing the film rights to Annie Get Your Gun led Warner Bros. to develop the 1953 musical film Calamity Jane for Day. Ginger Rogers, who'd campaigned for the Annie Get Your Gun film lead, had led a summer stock production of that musical that played five New England venues - including the Oakdale, the Carousel, and at WMT - in 1960.
Excerpted review Carousel Theater performance July 1962Please note: Abridgements are shown in italics "Ginger Rogers with her vivacious charms stomps, boasts & shoots her six-gun with her usual rapport. Her enthusiasm & engaging wry humor both in song & dance affords the audience a delightful evening in which 'Secret Love' is sweetly rendered".The Townsman (Wellesley MA) 5 July 1962 Vivacious Ginger Rogers Stars in Calamity Jane' p. 9
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,Buffalo Courier Express 17 June 1962 p.26 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, 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, using a revised book by Randy Skinner, who would also direct and choreograph, failed to materialize—though the prospective production held readings 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 eventually headlined 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. The production ran 19 July - 16 September 2012 at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater in Fresno. Mandrell would then twice headline 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 Good Company Players would encore their production of Calamity Jane at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater July 18-September 15, 2019, with Mandrell again headlining.
On 29 January 2018 two evening performances of what is billed as a concert presentation of Calamity Jane are scheduled for Manhattan supper club Feinstein's/54 Below: the announced performers are Sara Jean Ford as Calamity Jane, Jenn Gambatese as Adelaid Adams, Christopher Gurr as a narrator, Tyler Hanes as Danny Gilmartin, Kara Lindsay as Katie Brown, Michael Park as Henry Miller, Tally Sessions as Wild Bill, and Brandon Uranowitz as Francis Freyer. Also Calamity Jane is scheduled to make its New York City area debut as a full production in a 13–25 March 2018 engagement at the Lion Theatre an off-off-Broadway venue in the Theatre Row complex in Manhattan.
In the UK