As both an unashamed lover of
musical theatre and a dismissive snob when it comes to television talent
competitions, I was caught between a rock and a hard place right from the
start. Staging a musical with a talent show winner is surely dumbing down
theatre to make it more accessible to the sort of people who watch trash
television isn’t it? As a warm up to tonight I went on YouTube and looked at a
few choice moments from Jodie Prenger and was impressed with what I saw,
including her auditions for I’d Do Anything
from way back in 2008. Doris Day certainly has very big shoes to fill, and Miss
Prenger certainly manages. I was right to reserve judgment as I believe that Jodie
will enter the pantheon of musical greats alongside Judy Garland, Bette Midler,
Julie Andrews and of course Doris Day.
The show itself is a triumph.
Setting an elaborate musical on a small stage can’t be easy, but thanks to some
imagination you don’t even notice that all of the action is taking place on one
set. Without wanting to give too much away, the scenes involving the stagecoach
is quite simply a work of genius. Do they use real horses? Book your ticket and
find out for yourself. Casting actor musicians was another brilliant move, with
a special mention for Tom Lister (Wild Bill Hickok) whose solo rendition of
‘Higher Than A Hawk’ on guitar is hairs raising on the back of your neck
stunning.
Miss Prenger plays the scene
stealing title role, telling tall tales and shooting (not to mention rooting
and of course, tooting) as good as any man. Calamity is in love with Lt Danny with
simmering love hate feelings for Wild Bill. The regulars of the Golden Garter
want a performance from Adelaide Adams, the cigarette card beauty and the
object of everybody’s affections, and Jane is going all the way to ‘Chic-ar-gi’
to see her and bring her back. She of course misses Adelaide who has left to
play in Europe, which is a pity because she missed Christina Tedders putting in
a gloriously sexy performance of ‘The Man That I’ll Marry Is Harry’. Due to a
case of mistaken identity she asks Adelaide’s maid Katie Brown to return to
Deadwood with her. Despite a shaky start when her cover is blown, Katie wins
over the crowd and stays in Deadwood, stealing the heart of Danny away from
Jane in the process. Not to worry though, as Wild Bill and Calamity Jane
realise that they are in love with each other and the double wedding provides
the perfect ending to the show. With a good old fashioned hoe-down as a finale
to rouse an already appreciative audience into a rousing clap-along, a much
deserved ovation brought the curtain down and sent everyone home with the songs
ringing in their ears. Anybody who tells you that they weren’t singing ‘The
Deadwood Stage’ on the tram journey home is a liar.
Originally written for the Nottingham Post, this is the unedited version.
