Pull up a bar stool and prepare for a rollicking good time when Queensland Theatre’s Calamity Jane swaggers into the Bille Brown Theatre from 22 March to 17 April 2025.
Queensland cabaret darling Naomi Price (Ladies in Black, Drizzle Boy) tugs on Calamity’s cowboy boots in this raucous revival celebrating the wildest woman in the West. From the famous 1950s Doris Day movie musical to tales of the American frontier, Calamity Jane has delighted audiences for generations.
Queensland Theatre’s revival is a celebration of an extraordinary woman who was unpredictable and unconventional, who refused to yield to gender stereotypes but was strong enough to show her vulnerability and brave enough to yearn for something deeper.
Featuring timeless tunes such as The Deadwood Stage, Just Blew In From The Windy City, Black Hills of Dakota, and Secret Love performed with a piano and a grab bag of other instruments, Calamity Jane injects a rough-and-ready sense of spontaneity into the Bille Brown Theatre.
From the moment audiences enter, they are immersed in the world of Deadwood’s Golden Garter Saloon. Adding to the action is the opportunity to join Calamity’s posse at one of the onstage saloon tables.
Price said she relished the opportunity to inhabit one of Deadwood’s most iconic residents. “In a time when men called the shots and a place where lawlessness ruled, Calamity was this legendary woman, a daredevil who unapologetically refused to play by anyone else’s rules,” she said.
“To play such a pioneering woman who – decades later – is still so admired and adored is a genuine privilege, and I can’t wait to kick open the saloon doors,” said Price.
Calamity Jane Director Richard Carroll first brought the story to the stage as a rehearsed reading in 2016, infusing it with more colour, bigger characters and bolder staging until it made its mainstage debut in 2018.
He said he was excited to swing through the Golden Garter Saloon doors again and transform the versatile Bille Brown Theatre into a rootin’ tootin’ den of raucous good times. “There is such a liveliness to this show, a sense among the cast and audience that we’re all in this together,” said Carroll.
“A genuine intimacy and authenticity comes from immersing the audience in the production and making them part of the onstage action. Everyone becomes a player in Calamity’s story, not just a witness to her revelations and transformations, and that’s such a rarity to achieve in full-scale productions like this,” said Carroll.
Queensland Theatre Artistic Director Daniel Evans said the hottest ticket in town right now was to a saloon table on the Bille Brown Theatre stage. “Queensland Theatre’s 2025 Season started with the sold-out smash-hit, Pride & Prejudice, and we cannot wait for audiences to pull up a stool at the Golden Garter Saloon in the company of Calamity,” said Evans.
“Much like our Lizzie Bennet, Calamity is a fierce, fearless, forward-thinking female who’ll disarm you and charm you in equal measure. This ensemble is melding the charm of a 1950s musical with the grit of the 1860s Wild West (with a couple of winks to 2025!). This Calamity Jane is a joyous and irreverent rodeo ride – saddle up!” said Evans.
Director: Richard Carroll | Featuring: Andrew Buchanan, Laura Bunting, Darcy Brown, Juliette Coates, Anthony Gooley, Naomi Price, Aurélie Roque, Dick Sean Sinclair, Jeremiah Wray | Music Director / Rattlesnake: Nigel Ubrihien | Choreographer: Cameron Mitchell | Designer: Lauren Peters | Lighting Designer: Trent Suidgeest | Sound Systems Designer: Geoff McGahan | Stage Manager: Liam Murray | Assistant Stage Manager: Leila Marsden | Dialect Coach: Siege Campbell | Intimacy Coordinator: Jacqui Somerville
Calamity Jane
Bile Brown Theatre, 78 Montague Road, South Brisbane
Season: 22 March – 17 April 2025
Information and Bookings: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au
Image: Naomi Price stars as Calamity Jane – photo by Sam Scoufos