Dear Calamity Jane,
Saddle up! With many of us having caught you in musical form the last time you graced our city, or having grown up with the timeless film starring Doris Day, we’re excited as a cowboy at a cattle auction to have you back.
Directed by Richard Carroll, and starring Virginia Gay, reprising the role which earned her the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress, we’ll be catching you at the Sydney Opera House from 14 October – 16 November 2025.
As we prepare to immerse ourselves in the Golden Garter Saloon for all the joy and revelry you can bring, we’re plumb tickled to hear from some of your cast members ahead of the show. Here’s a word from Kala Gare (Katie Brown), Andrew Cutcliffe (Wild Bill Hickok), Victoria Falconer (Susan/Adelaide Adams), Ryan Gonzalez (Francis Fryer), and Phillip Lowe (Henry Miller).
What should we expect from this show and your character?
Kala Gare: You can expect a romping good time that’s going to surprise you with how much joy you feel. You will think you weren’t capable of feeling that much, and you’ll be entirely enamored with how hot and talented everyone is.
Andrew Cutcliffe: To be bashfully candid, you could probably tell me more about this show and my character than I could tell you at this stage. I am one of the few who have not seen this show in its previous incarnations, and so am on a rapid and genuinely joyous path of discovery. What I can tell you is – expect mayhem! And if Wild Bill chooses you to play a round of poker, you’d better believe he is not going to take losing lightly… let’s just say there used to be a talent booking agent at the Golden Garter…
Victoria Falconer: This show is gonna serve you a riotous, rip-roaring good time, with a nice healthy dollop of silliness, sass and delicious Appalachian-style harmony singing. You’re gonna pull up a chair in the Golden Garter, the hottest, queerest little dive bar/cabaret bar/saloon in the West with a ridiculous array of talented actor-singer-musician-dancer weirdos inviting you in to join them as they all journey (in their own individual, hilarious, heart-wrenching ways) towards learning more about themselves, their community, and the joy in living authentically.
And me? You’ll see me as a few different characters but mainly as Susan, who pours drinks at the Golden Garter (while living her dreams as a two-bit, enthusiasm-before-talent, sex-positive chaos clown). I also play the very important, enigmatic character only known as “Crate Man”. IYKYK.
Ryan Gonzalez: Expect a lot of bold silly choices, multiple quick changes, gender play and brash comedy from a stupidly funny cast of clowns. My character, Francis Fryer is such a palette cleanser in the Golden Garter. He offers a fresh perspective and a lot of cute charming moments, including an unexpected romance.
Phillip Lowe: You should expect to see a classic Hollywood musical completely turned on its head. The audience are part of the action. The cast are part of the audience. My character, Henry Miller, has over-promised and under-delivered to his customers from the wild west, so from me you can expect to see a man in fear for his life. Constantly.
What would you say is the highlight about being cast in Calamity Jane?
Kala Gare: The fact that I get to be the silliest goof-around-absolute-titans of the industry. I am taking so many notes from these people. They are genuinely my theatre kid inspiration and I’m out of my mind that I get to watch them this closely, let alone work opposite them. Are you kidding??
Andrew Cutcliffe: I loved the Goosebumps [choose your own adventure] books growing up; the fact that every reading was always going to be different, and that immersive level of decision making for the reader that was intrinsic to the storytelling. Whilst that variation is to a certain degree true of theatre in general – the fact that every night, every performance will be slightly different – Calamity Jane takes it to another dimension. The freedom from a performance perspective, and then the thrill that it invites for an audience. As an actor, it’s a heady mix of danger and discipline, and I love it.
Victoria Falconer: I’ve been gagging to be on this show since the last season, where I (and everybody you know) fell in hot-queer-femme love with Virginia Gay. But a little known fact is that this show is how I met and chatted with director Richard Carroll, after which we ended up working together on a bunch of different projects. We loved it (and each other) so much that we ended up as Artistic Directors of the Hayes together! So getting to do this – and with an absolute dream of a cast, may I add – is a full circle moment for me.
Ryan Gonzalez: Being in the rehearsal room with everyone is such an honour and I cannot wait to see how this energy translates to the stage, and vibrates through the audience.
Phillip Lowe: This company makes coming to work a decadent pleasure. Everyone is wickedly funny and corruptible. Just my kinda people! Ohh….and we get to put on a great show too!
Well thanks for the chat folks, it’s been mighty fine talkin’ with you. We’ll catch you soon in the saloon!
With love,
Calamity Jane is showing at the Sydney Opera House from 14 October to 16 November 2025. Photos by Harvey House Productions. Further info and tickets are here.