No great disasters for Calamity Jane thanks to another great performance by SADOS (Spalding Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society).
The group is never complacent and right from the first crack of the whip Spalding's South Holland Centre audience was intrigued, with an innovative opening graphic sequence on the trek into the Wild West.
The musical is set in 1876 in Deadwood.
Flame-haired tomboy Jane (Rebecca Jones) is the butt of jokes in the town but decides to change things by enticing the most famous singer in the country – Adelaide Adams (Sharon Barker-Herauville) – for a perfomance at Henry Miller's (Ben White) Golden Garter bar.
Instead Adams' maid Katie Brown (Trish Burgess) manages to get the gig she has always wanted by deceiving Jane and snaring the hearts of maverick Wild Bill Hickcock (Daran Bland) and Lt Danny Gilmartin (Craig Delaney) when she arrives.
The voices were all top notch as we have come to expect from SADOS.
Members' hard work – detailed on Trish's blog at www.spaldingtoday.co.uk – was well worth it.
Watch out for a memorable version of Black Hills of Dakota.
Both Rebecca and Daran took on their first big roles with the group and made an excellent pair. Daran is headteacher at the Garth and Priory schools in Spalding so I can imagine some music lessons of the highest quality there.
Special mention also for David Lewsey, who plays the cameo role of Rattlesnake, which is possibly his swansong. If so, it is a fun performance to end on.
Space limitations mean I can't mention everyone here but plaudits must go to Harrison Fuller (producer), Brett Moore (director), Gemma Page (choreographer) and musical director Gavin Cooper.
A great show in SADOS' 80th year, which runs until Saturday.