Limelight — May 2017

[ THEATRE]

90 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au

OPANORAMA

Who’s Afraid of Virginia

Woolf?The booze flows, the

conversation gets sharper, and

thenightsoursinthisclassicof

the stage.Ensemble Theatre,

Sydney, May 11 – June 18

Once in Royal David’s CityWho

arewe,whatarewedoinghere,

and why is it so? Faced with the

loss of a parent, what do we do?

Queensland Theatre, Playhouse

QPAC, April 22 – May 14

ALSO ON

THIS MONTH...

theatre

There’s musical gold in them thar Black Hills

Virginia Gay’s Calamity is one of the many joys to be found in the Hayes’ revival

Minnie&LirazAcharmingodd

ball story about two competitive

bridge playing grandmothers that

will keep you laughing.Melbourne

Theatre Company, Arts Centre

Melbourne, May 12 – June 24

hardtalkin’,sharpshootin’larrikinfromSouth

Dakota whose exploits ‘whip-crack-awaying’ the

DeadwoodStagehaveahabitofbeingblown

upoutofallproportions.Dressinglikeaman,

‘Calam’ spars with local gunfighter Wild Bill

Hickok,whilesecretlylongingforthearmsofa

handsome cavalry lieutenant. When wannabe

actressKatieBrowncomesintoherlife–ascene

withafamouslygaysubtext–andsmartensup

herpersonalappearanceaswellashercabin,the

menfolk’s eyes are opened to Calamity’s charms

andshefinallygetsherman–thoughnotthe

oneshefirstthoughtshewasinlovewith.

The miracle of Richard Carroll’s production

ishowperfectlyhesubvertstheideathatalla

woman needs to do is dress purdy in order to

landahusband.Everytimeacharacterisabout

to fall into the black hole of gender stereotyping

thecastturnitaroundwitheitheraslynod

andawink,orbypenetratingtotheheartof

the drama, exploring the social truth of the

timeswithinsightandpathos.Carrollhasalso

astutely realised thatCalamity Janeis all about

preconceptions. Every character misjudges

or is misjudged, from the simple assumption

thataFrancismightbeaFrances,tothemore

complicatedsexualappealthatastrongwoman

mightholdforcharactersofeithersex(andvice

versa).Learningthatnobookshouldbejudged

by its cover is what this show is all about.

VirginiaGayasCalamityturnsina

performancethelikeofwhichyourarelyseein

musicaltheatre.Awkward,shy,naïve,insecure,

socially inept – yes, she’s all of these, but she’s

alsostrong,boastful,ornery,aswellashonest,

touching, sexy, and very, very funny. Blessed

with comic timing, imagination and an inventive

wit,sheburstsontothetinyHayesstageandfills

the theatre with her big-hearted, larger-than-

lifecharacterisation.Ifthisdoesn’twinhera

Helpmann nomination, I’ll eat my chaps!

AnthonyGooley’sWildBillHickokisaperfect

foil.Arrogantandsmart-alecky,hecaptures

thecharacter’semotionalimmaturity,butalso

delivers a performance of great warmth and

honesty come the volte-face of the second half.

He’s neatly contrasted with Matthew Pearce’s

handsome, lyrically sung, yet (as we discover)

emotionally two-dimensional Lieutenant Danny.

Sheridan Harbridge is a real livewire as

Susan,thesaloon’s‘entertainer’-cum-hooker.

Attimesbrilliantlyoff-book,she’samarvellous

comedian.LauraBuntingasKatiechartsthe

journeyfromstarry-eyedbuttalentlessdresser

to toast of Deadwood in style, her burgeoning

relationshipswithCalamityandDannyringing

perfectlyandalltoopainfullytrue.

As the scrawny, lip-licking impresario Henry

Miller,TonyTayloriscomedygold,whileRob

JohnsonisequallywatchableasFrancisFryer,

thehaplessactorwho’sbookedasawoman

andforcedtostruthisunconvincingstuffina

magnificently bad rendition ofHive Full of Honey.

This is the best small-scale musical I’ve

seeninyears.Ifyouwantanightatthetheatre

where you’ll laugh and cry out loud, hop that

Deadwood Stage and letCalamity Janetransport

you to musical theatre heaven.Clive Paget

Who’dhavethoughtCalamity

Janewouldholdupsowellin2017?Thedated

gender politics and awkward proto-feminist

agendaofSammyFainandPaulWebster’s1953

movie about real-life frontierswoman Martha

JaneCanarycouldsinktheshowwithouttracein

more enlightened times. But thanks to a stellar

turnfromVirginiaGayinthetitlerole,abrilliant

no-weak-linkssupportingcast,andinspired,

side-splittingdirectionfromRichardCarroll,

thistinyjewelofaproductionhitseverynote

square between the eyes and comes with enough

energyandhearttodrivethePonyExpressall

theway‘crossInjunterritoryandbackagain.

WrittenasafilmicvehicleforDorisDay,

the show follows the fortunes of Calamity, a

REVIEW

Tony Taylor and Virginia Gay

Photo © John Mcrae

Calamity Jane

One Eyed Man Productions

HayesTheatre,Darlinghurst, Sydney

MARCH 10, 2017

★★★★