Caroline, or Change- Page 2

[exedore]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 8:54am

No pics yet that I know of. Tonight (Sunday) is Press Night, so there may be a pic or two in Monday's Washington Post/Times/Citypaper.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 9:36pm

Has anyone seen the production currently playing in Boston? If so, was it any good?

[BroadwayBrat]

Posted: 5/21/06 at 11:35pm

I saw it in Boston this past Thursday night. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The score was amazing!!
Overall, the cast is good. I thought the stand-out in the show was Caroline's daughter, played by Emilie Battle. She is a sophmore at the Boston Conservatory. I wish I had seen it on Broadway. Anyway, I bought the cd 2 years ago and never really got into it. Since I saw the show, it has been playing non-stop in my Ipod!!!!

[JackiesBroJoe]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 12:09am

I am considering driving up to Boston for it.

Updated On: 5/22/06 at 12:09 AM

[Chip1012]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 12:14am

Shavanna Calder plays Emmie in the Boston production. And she is quite marvelous. Emilie Battle is part of the Radio.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 6:35am

I agree that the show is brilliant.
I saw the Boston production this past weekend. It was a solid production with many solid performances, but made me realize how truly brilliant the original cast was. Especially Tanya Pinkins and Anika Noni Rose. Both Lot's Wife and I Hate the Bus lost a bit of their emotional punch. While I found the girl who played Emmie a wonderful singer, I don't think her performance was very emotional.
And Emmie's epilogue belongs right where it is. It never fails to move me!

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 7:43am

The Broadway production is one of the few nights I can remember, when a show came together so beautifully - Fantastic writing, Great direction, Brilliant performances, - everything about it was perfect, and I can only say that about one other show right now, and that is The Light In The Piazza.
I'm a huge fan of Caroline, or Change.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 11:51am

I don't see the Washington Post or Washington Times Reviews, but, funny enough, BWW's regional review is already up and its mostly positive:

"Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's Caroline, or Change is a liberal musical--both in its compassionate depiction of characters caught in the tide of social change in 1963 Lousiana, and in the scope of its ambition. It's a show that rightly believes theatre can not only move audiences, but deeply alter their perceptions about the world.

As with many very ambitious works of art, it has some flaws. Imperfections are certainly not missing from Studio Theatre's staging of this challenging and underrated show (it deserved a much longer run on Broadway than 136 performances), but audiences are nonetheless likely to leave the theatre with their minds and spirits feeling noticeably stretched. Bolstered by two stunning lead performances, the production also beautifully showcases one of the best theatrical scores of the last 25 years. The show is half sung-through musical and half opera, with music and lyrics that similarly blend gospel-inflected, soulful poetry and jangling urban rhythms.

Caroline, or Change in New Orleans at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement, or as Caroline Thibodeaux (Julia Nixon) would tell you, underwater Louisiana. An African-American maid and the divorced mother of four, the sullen Caroline spends much of her time doing laundry in the steaming basement of Jewish married couple Stuart (Bobby Smith) and Rose Gellman (played with neurotic energy by Tia Speros, who is almost Faith Prince's vocal doppelganger). A well-meaning liberal from New York and Stuart's second wife, Rose is kind but a little oblivious (as evidenced by her inability to call Caroline anything but "Carolyn").

Caroline--prompted by boredom and frustration to create a kind of commentative Soul Train of singing appliances--does not receive enough to take her kids to the dentist despite the Gellman's middle-class status. Rose, puzzled and guilt-stricken by Caroline's unhappiness, tells the maid that her salary might be augmented by her 10 year-old stepson Noah (the appealing Max Talisman, whose vibrato is as pronounced as his character's precocious intelligence). Every time Noah--who looks up to Caroline and not the soon-to-be assassinated JFK as the president--leaves loose change in his pants pockets, Caroline is entitled to keep it. The money--both a bond and symbol of the economic forces that keep Caroline from trusting even young Noah--soon inspires in Caroline an inner battle between pride and financial need. In addition, Caroline is forced to deal with the burgeoning activism of her teenage daughter Emmie (Trisha Jeffrey).

Director Greg Ganakas cleverly involves Debra Booth's utilitarian set in his staging, which with its (slightly unwieldy) moveable staircase, divides the parallel socio-economic worlds of the Gellmans into upstairs and down. However, he can't keep the exposition-laden first act from being slowly paced and listless at times; the second act is a good deal more dramatically involving than the first. He also takes too many liberties with the Greek chorus of The Washing Machine, The Dryer, and The Radio, who gratuitously wind about the stage and about Caroline; they were less mobile--and more effective--in the Broadway production, where they functioned as more of a mental backdrop to Caroline's woes. At first merely standing behind the appliance, the actor representing The Dryer (thunder-voiced Elmore James) proceeds to gyrate against the railing of the staircase. Thankfully, much of the show is directed with more humor, spirit and grace (the latter embodied by a resplendent Allison Blackwell, as the Moon).

It's in its two lead performances that Caroline best finds a full and vibrant voice. Nixon gives a harder performance than did Broadway predecessor Tonya Pinkins. It's flintier and less soulful, as if the bitter circumstances of Caroline's life have scraped most of the natural expressiveness from her spirit. For this Caroline, emotional reserve--coupled with firm pride-- is a barrier against yet more suffering. When Nixon dances exuberantly to a Christmas carol on the radio, it seems a little out of character. Yet her performance of "Lot's Wife"--the anguished second act aria in which Caroline acknowledges the woman she has become--is an explosively powerful outpouring of the character's frustration and self-blame. Nixon's performance--both rich and economical--fleshes out a character that Kushner left half-unrealized on the page as a symbol of African-American disenfranchisement before the advent of Civil Rights.

Jeffrey’s warmth, humor and defiant passion make her a fine foil to Nixon’s brooding Caroline. The actress convincingly channels the restless rebellious and independent spirit that makes Emmie long for her own car almost as much as racial equality. She also has great stage presence and a piercingly attractive voice—both of which she displays in the charming first-act finale number “Roosevelt Petrucius Coleslaw.”

The production can’t quite disguise the fact that Caroline, or Change’s liberalism sometimes leans towards the heavy-handed. Yet it’s also one of the most innovative and intelligent shows in recent memory. Put more shows like Caroline, or Change in theatres and call it a reform."


http://westend.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=9846

Updated On: 5/22/06 at 11:51 AM

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 12:02pm

Caroline or Change has become my all time favorite musical. It was brilliant. I saw it in previews a few days before opening on Broadway. I walked out of the theatre and turned to a person I met at intermission and at once we said "I think we just saw a masterpiece". I would give my left arm to see it in London.

[Elphie]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 12:14pm

My favorite show of all time, hands down. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had on Broadway.
I listen to the CD religiosly and watch Chandra Wilson (Dot) on Grey's Anatomy- hahaha.
I Love Caroline!

[beav]

Posted: 5/22/06 at 11:27pm

Yeah but can i find any sheet music anywhere??

[sanda]

Posted: 5/23/06 at 12:07am

My review:

The show is very original and unique. I love the score, a combination of soul and Motown. The scenary is kind of simple but it works. (I do think the floor needs some oil.)



The cast is very strong. Julia Nixon has a wonderful singing voice. Her “Lot’s wife” is breathtaking and won huge applause. Elmore James as Bus/Dryer stood out with booming bass and sexy style. Allison Blackwell as Washing Machine/Moon is beautiful like a dream. Three ladies as Radio-- Omoro Omoighe, Monique Paulwell and Kearstin Piper Brown--are absolutely fantastic. Tia Speros’s Rose is very sympathetic. And Bobby Smith’s Stuart, although he didn’t have a lot to do, shines in every detail.



Kushner’s book amazes me. What I can say to describe this show is that it is “brutally honest”. The scene “Caroline and Noah fight” is bloody chilling. We know Noah loves Caroline and Caroline cares about this boy as well. However, because of a lost 20 dollars, that innocent boy shouts out, “President Johnson will bomb all Negroes!” And Caroline, cold as a stone, says to this 8 years old child, “All the Jews will be burned in hell!”



What makes me sad is that it is so real. For 20 dollars, it seems so possible that any child, whether he is Jew, Hispanic, White, Chinese, except black, could speak out the same words. Everyone knows that racism isn’t right. As an educated, civilized person, I can get along with my black colleagues very well. However, if I walked by myself at night and saw some blackman, my first reaction would be to worry about my safety. We hide our racism deeply, but when there is a critical situation, it jumps out naturally in a second.



That is why I despise “Hairspray”. In Hairspray, it is like as long as we sing and dance and love, racism is not a problem. We are Oklahoma-OK. Compared to that fake optimism, Ave Q’s “everybody is a racist”, although cartoonish, is so much more honest and sincere.



However, I do think the show need to be tightened up a little. The ending of the first act is too long, kind of boring. My biggest issue is the ending of the second act. For me, the show should stop after Caroline finishes her last words with Noah. Racism will always be there. People from different races, although there is a huge gap, at least they will try to console each other. We try to heal the wound although the scar will stay forever. I think that matches with the mood of the show.



However, after this, the show adds another song from Caroline’s daughter Emmie. The girl belts a song about fighting for equality, for hope of tomorrow, kind of a bright tail. But I think it is kind of cheesy and a distraction from the theme.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/23/06 at 6:19am

The Washington Post is Positive:

"You wouldn't automatically think of a Jewish boy and the black woman who cleans his house in the Louisiana of 1963 making beautiful music together. But in "Caroline, or Change," the beguilingly unconventional musical having its regional premiere at Studio Theatre, the expected hardly ever occurs.

In surprising, twisting rivers of melody, the boy, the maid, their friends and families give plaintive, wrathful, soulful voice to the rising discord of a turbulent time. "Change comes fast and change comes slow," librettist Tony Kushner and composer Jeanine Tesori remind us again and again. They add affecting hues and textures to the gathering strife in and around a Southern Jewish household in the early phases of the civil rights era.

Studio's juicy production, ably staged by director Greg Ganakas, does justice to this tricky material, at times dry-eyed and hard-edged, at others deeply sentimental.

And even if you sense some oversimplification in the portrait of African American hardship, you're likely to find compensations in the humane efforts here to refract a painful story through as many unique perspectives as possible.

The show is thrillingly sung, too, by the 18 actors who've been cast with both a fine eye and a keen ear. And anchoring the evening are a pair of performers who keep the tale on a fervent keel. Sixth-grader Max Talisman, in his professional stage debut, plays 9-year-old Noah Gellman, a boy immersed in grief and neediness, with a pleasing voice and a lack of affectation. He's a swell match for Julia Nixon's wonderful, brooding Caroline Thibodeaux, the Gellman family housekeeper who seethes inwardly and outwardly over the low gear of life in which she is stuck.

________________________________________________________________

For the musical to work, her wrath not only has to be understandable but also in some way appealing.

This Nixon accomplishes with moving glimpses of Caroline's softer side: The ire is tempered by weariness. The effect is brought to full boil in Caroline's extraordinary Act 2 soliloquy, in which she seems able, finally, to see how her sacrifice may pay off for her spirited daughter Emmie (the excellent Trisha Jeffrey).
_______________________________________________________________

The real drama of "Caroline, or Change" is in the characters' epiphanies, large and small, and fortunately, Ganakas, serving as both choreographer and director, stages musical numbers effectively. The physical world of "Caroline" is rendered efficiently, through Alex Jaeger's witty costumes and Debra Booth's utilitarian two-tiered set -- little more than scaffolding, really. Kirk Bookman's lighting design is an enhancement on the stage, and the six-member orchestra, conducted by Howard Breitbart, is an asset nestled somewhere offstage.

Now, with "Caroline, or Change," the company is hitting yet other sorts of high notes. That's something the rest of us can sing about.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/22/AR2006052201821.html

Updated On: 5/23/06 at 06:19 AM

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/23/06 at 10:06am

Very excited to see this production! Thanks for the review.

[ALWrules]

Posted: 5/23/06 at 10:13am

Yeah, I think I'm in a small minority in BWW of people that do not like this show. I found the music boring and the story pretentious.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 6:47pm

I caught the Studio Theatre production this afternoon. I saw the show on Broadway early in its short run and listen to the OBCR religiously.

I am surprised to hear all of the extremely positive reviews for Nixon as Caroline. She has a great smooth voice (and I am even more impressed that she was not miked), but I found her to be a little empty on the interpretation. Maybe its because I am (unfairly) comparing her to Pinkins' raw performance acting- wise, but I was left slightly disappointed. It disturbed me that I noticed her smiling rather broadly on several occassions and her dancing along with the opening "Santa's coming..." number in the second act seemed like an odd choice to me. Standouts for me were the actors playing Dottie and Noah. Trisha Jeffrey was also a great Emmie. Caroline's younger kids (Joe/Jackie) had some vocal issues (flat) but they were quite adorable.

The set was more simplistic than the Broadway version but it was utilitarian and effective. The moving/locking of pieces was very loud, at least in the second row.

It was an enjoyable performance but it did not leave me with the "wow" feeling I had after seeing the OBC. Still, Kushner's book still impresses me very much.

I could have done without the people sitting behind me that complained the whole time (out loud) that this was not what they thought it would be and even though it was a musical, did not compare to Wicked, but whatever... I don't think they got it, but I still think its one of the most well-constructed, thought-provoking musicals in the contemporary era.

[Chip1012]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:47pm

I was also there this afternoon. I have seen the show numerous times at the Public, on Broadway, in Boston, and now DC. The production at the Studio theatre is so fresh and inventive, it was like seeing the show for the first time. There are so many beautiful touches Ganakas has brought out that intensify the emotional arc. The dazzling alteration of the moon throughought the show was one simple brilliant choice - she alters in appearance as Rose, Noah, and Stuart begin their healing.
And the use of those stairs - genius.
Julia Nixon is absoultely extraordinary. You are all being completely unfair judging her to the definitve Pinkins. It is very clear that Nixon was a dazzling Effie - what a powerhouse. Special props go to Howard Breitbart, the music director/pianist who added SOUL to the denouement section of "Lot's Wife." WOW.
And for the record, Tonya also danced in "Santa Comin' Caroline." It's a great moment - we see a glimpse of the woman Caroline used to be. It's also a time for the audience to identify with her (as if they don't through the show)...even Caroline has capacity for holiday joy.
Now if I'm not mistaken, were you the girl I shared a bench with prior to the show, Chenofan?



Updated On: 5/28/06 at 11:47 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:21am

I wish I could see the DC production cause I Love the Show.
Harrison Chad was so brilliant in NYC.
Anyone seen a Noah that comes anywhere near his interpretation?
The NYC cast was thrilling.
Thank Moses for the Original Cast CD.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:23am

the only broadway show I saw more than once.

i LOVE me some CoC! (Caroline or Change... of COURSE!)

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:23am

I LOVE this show as well and am eager to see the Washington DC cast...three more weeks!

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 8:45am

I have to say, Caroline didn't dance in the Boston version, and I thought that song lost some energy and meeting.

Also, I just have to weigh in one more time and say that the ending of the show is PERFECT and is a beautiful, BEAUTIFUL moment.

Besides the fact, the show has been frozen for 2 years...it's kind of late to change it.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 10:44am

Chip1012,

Yep, that was me!

Glad you liked the show. I did too- it was just a hard change from the OBC, but it was good to see a different take.

[Chip1012]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:53pm

I'm good :)

[X x Fiyero x X]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:14pm

Tonya Pinkins rocked the show!

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/22/06 at 1:23pm

So glad I got to see the Original Broadway Cast. I still have goosebumps!