Carrie whip-cracks her way into the Birmingham Hippodrome!
The star of the current UK touring production of the classic musical “Calamity Jane”, Carrie Hope Fletcher is a West End wonder, from an exceptionally talented family.
Sister to McFly front man and founder member, Tom Fletcher, Carrie began her career as a child star in shows including “Mary Poppins”, “Chitty, Chitty Bang,Bang” and the mighty “Les Miserables.” She told me “I loved being on stage as a child. I remember it all and I was completely fearless and enjoyed every moment of it.”
With that kind of passion for performing, it was inevitable that Carrie would glide very successfully into adult musical theatre roles and has been one of the most prominent stars in the West End for a number of years now, as well as appearing in numerous touring productions across the world.
Carrie’s latest venture is the irrepressible “Calamity Jane”, the epitome of a traditional, rip-roaring, Wild West, American musical. The movie version starred the darling of the silver screen Doris Day in the title role and is still as popular today as when it was first released back in 1953.
“I have always wanted to play Calamity Jane, and my Mum wanted me to play her too,” laughed Carrie. “Calamity is such a strong character, who gets to wear buckskins, but then a pretty dress, and gets to sing these rousing numbers and then the beautiful love ballad, “Secret Love” which is so romantic,” Carried continued.
It seems that this is a character of two halves and the perfect leading lady role for Carrie, but had she been offered it or did she have to audition?
“A message dropped into my inbox from my agent who said there was a conversation to be had, and I wanted the role straight away,” said Carrie. I bet her Mum was thrilled too! How wonderful to be so talented that you are offered roles; she really is a star!
Since the movie appeared in the early fifties and the stage production which followed in 1961, in terms of what is acceptable in this day and age has, of course, changed a lot since then.
“The show is definitely of its time,” said Carrie, “but we have changed the script so that we can laugh at things like women being the weaker sex, or their place being in the home.”
It is good to know that the show has moved with the times, but in contrast, even today we women are still having to justify ourselves and fight for our rights. There will be plenty of female theatre goers flocking to see Carrie as “Calamity” standing up for us all, but it is also important to stay as close to the original script and score of the musical as possible, so that it doesn’t lose its appeal.
“Calamity” has a host of songs in the show of course and I wondered which was the most challenging for Carrie.
Carrie said, “Probably “Windy City” because I have to do a big dance break in the middle of it and am absolutely exhausted by the time I have to start singing again. I have never really played roles in which I need to dance - there’s not a lot of dancing in “Les Miserables” she laughed!
“I made sure that our director Nick Winston knew that I was up for it and that I wanted to be given the chance to dance. I have no ego whatsoever when it comes to dance, so I told him “If I look like a complete idiot, tell me!” Carrie really is a down to earth girl!
Vinny Coyle is playing opposite Carrie as Wild Bill Hickok, and the chemistry is excellent since the pair have been friends for six years and this is their third job together.
“He told me he had auditioned to play opposite me and then a couple of days later Vinny called me again and said, “We are going on tour!” I couldn’t believe it and it is wonderful going into a rehearsal process when you know the person you are playing opposite because it is like starting half way through. If it is someone you don’t know then you have a lot of catching up to do to make the relationship you have on stage believable, Carrie continued.
“Vinny is one of those people who when you are on stage with him, you can completely trust him no matter what happens. We are having such a great time,” she concluded.
The rest of the cast are all new to Carrie, but she told me “They are all musicians and are playing live on stage. It is absolutely incredible to watch them at work and see them play this amazing score whilst singing, dancing and acting at the same time. It is a talent like I have never seen before and it is an honour to be surrounded by them at every show.”
She continued, “I think having an actor/muso show brings everyone together a little bit more, because not only are we acting together and very invested in the scene and the script, but we all have to look out for each other, because we are listening for musical cues, making sure we are in time and it adds an extra layer of magic on stage, “ she said. “There is team work in every show, but in this type of show we are the band, we are the cast and we are the ensemble; in fact we are everything.”
Back in 2019, Carrie played the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of “Cinderella”, at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London, a show which should have been a huge success, but suffered the dreaded pandemic and sadly closed much earlier than expected.
I remember seeing Carrie singing a hit number from “Cinderella” on BBC’s “The One Show” and being excited by it, but I never got the chance to see the show unfortunately, and I know I am not alone.
Carrie is pragmatic about “Cinderella.”
She told me, “Back when we started, it was a huge hit. We were getting four and five star reviews and audiences loved it. But, Covid 19 threw a spanner in the works and we had to close twice and maybe there were things happening behind the scenes which the cast were not privy to.”
This was such a shame, as on paper “Cinderella” had every ingredient a great musical should have and yet, it never quite took off. But every cloud has a silver lining as they say and for Carrie, it really did have a fairytale ending.
“I have such fond memories of the show, because it was there I met my husband, the man I have my child with, as well as friends like Vinny too,” she told me.
Maybe it will be revived in the future and Carrie will get her opportunity to play the leading role again. Fingers crossed, and Mr Lloyd Webber, if you are reading this, please take heed.
While it’s all about “Calamity Jane” at the moment though, I wondered what Carrie’s dream role would be.
“Mrs Lovatt from “Sweeney Todd”, she said with complete conviction, “and also me and my husband have always talked about playing The Baker and the Baker’s Wife from “Into the Woods.” I have never done a Sondheim show, but I would love to,” she concluded.
Carrie Hope Fletcher is a complete delight to chat to. What a grounded, down to earth and friendly individual she is, as well as a talented star.
The whip-cracking musical “Calamity Jane” is currently on its tour of the UK, and blows into the Birmingham Hippodrome on March 18 until March 22. You can also catch the show at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in September.
For tickets, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0121 689 3000.
Follow Carrie on Instagram @carriehopefletcher