Ten years after a celebrated national tour, Calamity Jane is back, starring Carrie Hope Fletcher as the iconic American heroine of the Wild West. Ahead of the show’s Liverpool run, The Indiependent spoke to Vinny Coyle who plays Wild Bill Hickock, the famous folk hero and Calamity’s right hand man to learn more about the show.
The Indiependent: So, Vinny, why do you love Calamity Jane?
Vinny: It’s a very strange world at the moment, and I think the fact that we can give people, hopefully every night, a bit of joy and laughter in their lives incredibly powerful. It’s lovely to be involved in a show that has such energy and desire and what comes across on stage every night is just how much we care about the piece. We genuinely do love our jobs and it’s an absolute hoot this show.
Someone asked me, in three words, how I would describe the show and I said “whip-cracking fun”, which is exactly what this show is. I feel incredibly proud of it and I think everybody in the cast and who’s part of the production does too.
What was your reaction when you found out you had a lead role in Calamity Jane?
It all happened very quickly. I was on another job at Drury Lane for a brand new show. On the first day of rehearsals, I got the audition for this. I went in and about a week later, I found out that I’d got the role. Then Carrie and I went to the Wicked premiere which was a really lovely experience. Then I had a two week holiday in America, and then I started [Calamity Jane] rehearsals the day I landed. It was very, very quick.
And how did it feel getting the role of Wild Bill Hickock?
It’s a bit of a dream come true for me. I was brought up on Clint Eastwood and The Magnificent Seven. Steve McQueen is one of my all time favourite actors. I’m also a huge fan of Tombstone with the late great Val Kilmer.
I was doing a lot of research on the real Wild Bill Hickock and he was very dramatic…
This is when you realise how dramatic society was. I say back then; it still is today! These people we play, we do take them as stereotypes, but also some of the stories about Calamity and Bill are, ironically, wild. He was an amazing personality and there is so much to him.
What did you want to emphasise about Bill in your performance?
When we look at cowboys in western films, they can be quite one dimensional. They are very masculine and very aggressive. And actually, what I love about the piece is Nikolai (the director) allowed me to show a soft side to Bill. I understand that characters on the stage can be more one-dimensional because we only see them for a certain amount of time. But with Bill, we see him a lot so it needs to be an emotional journey. Hopefully that’s what people will get from my performance.
Carrie Hope Fletcher plays Calamity Jane. What’s it like to being on stage with a good friend?
It’s mine and Carrie’s third job together. I think we’ve been friends for six, seven years. We get on like a house on fire on stage and off stage which creates incredible trust. Bill and Calamity had that and it’s so vital to how they were as people. So the fact that Carrie and I are able to almost replicate our friendship on stage is incredibly exciting.
The play is based off the 1953 movie starring Doris Day. How has it been updated for a 2025 audience?
We’ve tried to update what we can. It’s so hard to do a musical like this because if you try to diversify too much, you take all the context out. Nikolai and Nick [the choreographer] managed to update it so we look at issues that are still current. We try to embody the female empowerment of someone like Calamity Jane and celebrate it. The creative team were very keen to make sure they got our feedback on any of the issues as a cast and I found that quite freeing in rehearsals.
What has been the most exciting part of the Calamity Jane tour?
To be honest with you, I think every night is exciting and every new venue is exciting. I haven’t toured since 2020. There are unexpected challenges such as time away from my friends, family and my wife but every show is so different and unique. Also, what’s amazing, more so on this show than any other show I’ve been involved in, is people really listen to the show. We can go from having a raucous audience to hearing a pin drop. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before so that’s pretty cool.
And the most unexpected?
I didn’t expect to play guitar. I’d never played before I started this job but it’s become one of my favourite things to do in the show.
Any favourite songs you’ve learned?
I’m a huge fan of old rock and roll so I do a lot of Elvis. There’s a lot of U2 and Oasis in there as well. Just stuff I can play in the dressing room. I’m never going to be Slash but it’s nice to be able to pick up an instrument and sound like you can play it rather than banging it on the floor.
Sounds like you’ve got a good playlist.
I know right? Tell me about it.
And finally, people are coming to see Calamity Jane. It’s the interval. What ice cream flavour would you recommend?
It depends on what day of the week it is! I love a coconut ice cream and I like a coconut ice cream with coconut bits in it. But if I’m going for a more bog standard flavour… I do like a mint choc chip.
Calamity Jane will be performed at the Liverpool Empire from 22-26 April before continuing on its UK tour until 27 September.
Words by Harriet MacDonald
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