Take a rollicking ride through the Wild West as acclaimed musical Calamity Jane makes its hotly anticipated return to the city where it all started, playing at the Sydney Opera House in an exclusive season from 14 October – 16 November.
Virginia Gay is Calamity Jane, the role which earned her the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress and enchanted audiences and critics alike with her “completely captivating” (Broadway World), “sensational” (Sunday Telegraph) and “astonishing” (Daily Review) turn as the iconic frontierswoman. Truly ahead of her time, the real-life antics of daredevil Calamity Jane have become legendary, and her defiance of cultural limitations and gender expectations resonate more strongly than ever in today’s tumultuous climate.
This timeless stage musical is adapted from the beloved film starring Doris Day, immersing audiences in the Golden Garter Saloon for a raucous yet intimate production directed by Richard Carroll. Packed with spontaneity, joy and revelry, this witty show has sold out multiple seasons in Sydney, Melbourne and on tour.
Gay is thrilled to be breaking out her cowboy boots for the first time since 2019, saying “Performing as Calamity Jane has been one of my all-time favourite experiences on stage – the mischief and irreverence that we bring to the Wild West and the tenderness under all those buckskins make it a real treat for audiences too. I know my heart is ready to don Calam’s leather chaps one more time at the Sydney Opera House: Calamity Jane – Back In The Saddle.”
Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance, Ebony Bott, says: “Calamity Jane is one of those unforgettable shows that envelops audiences, making sure everyone walks away uplifted and thoroughly entertained. It’s a laugh-out-loud musical that delivers fun in its purest form, with Calamity brought to life by one of Australia’s most genuine talents. It’ll be a riot.”
KEY INFORMATION
WHAT: Calamity Jane
WHEN: 14 October – 16 November 2025
WHERE: Studio, Sydney Opera House
PRICES: From $89 + booking fee.
PRE SALES: Insiders – 9am, Tuesday 13 May; What’s On – 9am, Wednesday 14 May
GENERAL PUBLIC ON SALE: 9am, Friday 16 May
Director: Richard Carroll
Musical Director: Nigel Ubrihien
Choreographer: Cameron Mitchell
Designer: Lauren Peters
Lighting Designer: Trent Suidgeest
Produced by One Eyed Man Productions in association with Neglected Musicals and Hayes Theatre Co
Producer: Richard Carroll
Associate Producer: Michelle Guthrie
Assistant Producer: Virginia Gay
Director of Production: Jack Daniel Woods
Assistant Director: Dash Kruck
Richard Carroll is a director, writer and producer based in Sydney. Since 2022, he has been Co-Artistic Director of Hayes Theatre Co with Victoria Falconer.
Directing work at Hayes Theatre Co includes The Pirates of Penzance (also adaptor), Ride The Cyclone, Murder For Two, Calamity Jane, Godspell, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Monty Python’s Spamalot (followed by Australian tour), Gypsy, Side Show, and Murder For Two: Christmas Edition, as well as numerous concerts, cabaret shows and events. Later in 2025, he will direct the theatre’s namesake Nancye Hayes in the new Australian work Merry & Bright. Richard won a Sydney Theatre Award for Calamity Jane, and was nominated this year and last year for Ride The Cyclone and Murder For Two.
Richard’s production of Calamity Jane played at the Hayes in 2017, at Belvoir in 2018, and at Queensland Theatre in 2025. It played two sold-out seasons at Arts Centre Melbourne before transferring for a 5-week commercial season at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne, and also toured to Merrigong, Canberra, Riverside and Orange. Richard’s production of Once played three times at Darlinghurst Theatre Co, had seasons at Black Swan, Merrigong, and HOTA, and also played a 5-week commercial season at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne. Richard’s productions of Calamity Jane and Once have each sold over 50,000 tickets in Australia.
Richard’s other directing work includes Oklahoma! for Black Swan State Theatre Co, The Boomkak Panto (co-director) for Belvoir, An Act of God (co-director) for Darlinghurst Theatre Co, and The Boy, George (also co-writer), a one-person show starring comedian Joel Creasey.
Richard is co-creator and director of the shows Every Musical Ever (The Art House Wyong & Adelaide Cabaret Festival), and The Show Goes On starring Bernadette Robinson (Sydney Opera House & Arts Centre Melbourne). For Neglected Musicals, he has directed presentations of Mame and Meet Me in St Louis, as well as the first incarnation of his Calamity Jane.
Other directing work includes Rewired for Sydney Festival & Hayes Theatre Co, A Night at the Speakeasy for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and opening gala concerts for Adelaide Cabaret Festival, The Art House, and The Pavilion Performing Arts Centre. Richard’s cabaret work includes: Everybody Loves Lucy (co-writer); Dahlesque (co-writer); ¡Hispanic Attack! (writer/director, national tour); and Don’t Bother To Knock (co-writer/director, Hayes/Adelaide Cabaret Festival).
Richard’s producing and executive producing work includes Sweet Charity and Miracle City for Luckiest Productions, Jekyll & Hyde, Lizzie, Darlinghurst Nights and High Society for Hayes Theatre Co; Calamity Jane, Side Show, and Monty Python’s Spamalot for One-Eyed Man Productions, and Gypsy for Luckiest Productions & One Eyed Man Productions. In 2010, Richard co-wrote and was associate producer of the FOXTEL documentary David Campbell On Broadway.
Virginia Gay graduated WAAPA, then spent four years pretending to be a nurse on All Saints, six months pretending to be a cop on Savage River (ABC, Paramount+), and five years on Winners & Losers, where she pretended to know a lot about high finance. That last one, particularly, was a stretch.
She recently starred in her adaptation of Cyrano, which had a sold-out season at Edinburgh Fringe 2024 and won a Fringe First for Best New Writing. The production transferred to London’s Park Theatre, where Virginia was nominated for an Offie – an Off West End Award – for Best Lead Actor for her performance. The show was previously a hit for Melbourne Theatre Company and Black Swan/Perth Festival 2022/23.
She won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress for Calamity Jane, starred in the film Judy & Punch which premiered at Sundance, and wrote and directed her short film Paper Cut, which made Tropfest finals.
She’s an absolute nightmare in Colin From Accounts (S2), chewed up the scenery on Thank God You’re Here, was a grand finalist on Dancing With The Stars, and was nominated for a Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress for After The Verdict. Virginia is also the 2024/2025 Artistic Director for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
She wrote and co-directed The Boomkak Panto for Belvoir, and is currently working on a new play for Windmill Theatre, Mama Does Derby. Her script for Cyrano is published nationally by Currency Press and internationally by Nick Hern Books.
Calamity Jane is adapted by Ronald Hanmer and Phil Park, from the stage play by Charles K. Freeman after the Warner Bros. film written by James O’Hanlon.
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. Music by Sammy Fain.
Presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Australasia) Pty Ltd.
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