Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In Roundabout’s magnificent revival, Kushner and Tesori’s masterpiece CAROLINE, OR CHANGE has finally found its time

• By drediman
• October 28, 2021
• No Comments

Last night at Studio 54, Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s 2003 musical Caroline, or Change returned to Broadway courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company. The production, directed by Michael Longhurst, was previously seen in London, where it was led by by the formidable Sharon D Clarke, who won an Olivier Award for her performance in the title role. Lucky for us, the revival and its star have had the patience to weather the ravages of the pandemic and have finally arrived on the Great White Way, and both are, in short, magnificent. Set in 1963 Louisiana, the musical memoir tells the story of a beaten down maid (Caroline) and her tenuous relationships with her employers – particularly their young son (Noah, a stand-in for Mr. Kushner) – and the broader world around her, which is charged with the possibility of social change.

When the show originally opened, it divided popular and critical opinion. With its dour central character and patchwork 1960s pastiche score (featuring songs sung by appliances, among other inanimate objects!), many people didn’t know what to make of it, and the production shuttered shortly after it opened on Broadway (after having been nurtured at the Public Theater). For all intents and purposes, the work is a contemporary opera. Seen as such, its substantive thematic currents – many of them relatively uncommon topics of real discussion at the turn of the century (e.g., racial inequity, white privilege, our broken system) – come into focus and startle with their poetry and force, especially given everything that’s transpired since the musical premiered. Ms. Tesori’s sung-through, motif-driven score – a restless, gorgeous brew – is anything but your typical Broadway musical score. Indeed, it explodes the emotions (mostly stemming from seemingly minuscule domestic squabbles) of Mr. Kushner’s intricate libretto with an intensity that can only be described as operatic. For example, the show’s 11 o’clock number “Lot’s Wife” is a gut-wrenching show-stopper of true Shakespearean proportion that rivals the visceral punch of most operatic arias I can think of. Artistically and thematically, the piece is an important and singular masterpiece that has finally found its time to affect theatergoers the way it was intended to. Without a doubt, Caroline, or Change can now proudly take its place alongside the pantheon of great American musicals.

Mr. Longhurst keeps his staging only vaguely suggestive – in striking contrast to the vivid flourishes of George C. Wolfe’s original production – which smartly lets the work and performances take center stage and speak for themselves. Ms. Clarke reprises her astonishing performance from across the pond, and the hype around her portrayal is real. She veers from Tonya Pinkins’s searing original depiction in a number of key ways, most notably replacing Ms. Pinkins’ bitter anger with a resigned yet smoldering stoicism. This shift in characterization reshapes the experience of watching the musical, specifically the trajectory of the second act, which now concludes in a fully satisfying and incredibly moving manner (no spoilers here). The rest of the exceptional cast rise to the occasion, particularly Cassie Levy, in a richly nuanced dramatic turn, as Noah’s beleaguered step-mom; the spirited, clarion-voiced Samantha Williams as Caroline’s sweet but strong-willed teenage daughter; and the terrifically present Tamika Lawrence as Caroline’s “best” friend.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Broadway, Musical
Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54
2 hours, 30 minutes (including an intermission)
Through January 9