From The Zoey Louise Moonbeam Dawson Shakespeare Company comes this part-western, part-musical and part-biography; surprisingly, it manages to deliver all three components. Calamity examines the life and portrayal of foul-mouthed, gun-toting cowgirl Calamity Jane from all angles — what may have been true about her and who she was, the legend (however exaggerated) that she left behind, how the public perceived her while she was alive and after she was dead, and the way Hollywood gave her a feminine makeover in the Doris Day film. All this is explored through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl, as well as Dawson herself. Later, as what transpires becomes unexpectedly surreal and metatextual, Calamity Jane’s character is treated as a symbol of ‘womanhood’ and ambition, which Dawson came frame her questions about herself and the sometimes conflicting ideals of modern day feminism around.
The play features songs and dialogue from the 1953 film Calamity Jane, which is mimed by the three actors (Dawson, whose comedic timing is spot on; the brilliant Debra Batton as ‘real’ Calamity; and the young Ivy Miller – three generations of women), with the actors also breaking the fourth wall between scenes for monologues, littered with pop culture references. The original dialogue in the last third is also pre-recorded and mimed, giving the play cohesion and a heightened sense of drama, eerie soundtrack included. There’s even a (hilarious) video presentation/documentary short thrown in. Despite its hodgepodge format, the actors’ charisma and earnestness and the layers of analysis within the text hold it firmly together.
