Sharon Brown as Caroline - Page 2
Sharon Brown as Caroline
#25Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/26/21 at 10:31pm
Saw it for the very first time tonight.. and holy **** did Sharon Brown turn the house out. I’ve always known the story, I’ve seen some boots of the original, and saw Sharon Clarke do public performances but SB was so great. I didn’t expect to cry after Lot’s Wife AND after Salty Teardrops.
SB also reads more as 39 IMO. Regardless, I’m very happy I got to see her go on tonight.
Miss Keisha? Miss Keisha? Miss Keishhhaaaa?
#26Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/26/21 at 10:33pm
I'm gonna need a few years to digest Sharon's performance tonight. I first want to say that sitting there, I thought how young she was compared to other Caroline's I'd seen. Only getting home and looking her up do I see she's about to be 60. So....good on you, Sharon. Damn. lol
Her Caroline is very opposite, I found, to Clarke's. Clarke plays Caroline with a lot more outward wear and tear and harshness and I think Brown's Caroline does all of that internally but it still oozes out of her in a different way. Again, I'm still processing so I don't even know if what I wrote makes sense to me yet lol. When Brown sings "Murder me, God", it's not a request, but a DEMAND that you feel like a punch to your gut. Her "Lot's Wife" is devastating and powerful and one I won't soon forget.
I'm not going to say one performance was better than the other since they are such different takes on the role but this is a performance that you have two more chances to see on January 2nd, so DO IT.
The theater was so empty tonight it just made me want to cry. However, even with that, the audience reaction at curtain call was the strongest I'd ever heard it and let's just say I've seen this production a couple times. I think the cast was even taken aback by the ovation they received.
#28Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/26/21 at 10:50pm
Aw I wish I one you were there tonight, too. But I agree about the emptiness. I was orchestra side and I think I counted maybe 10 people around me. I got a ticket for $50 with no fees on TodayTix
The standing ovation after Lots Wife looked it took Sharon by surprise , which made me cry.
Miss Keisha? Miss Keisha? Miss Keishhhaaaa?
BCfitasafiddle
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/25/20
#29Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/26/21 at 10:54pm
Sad to hear it was so empty, but how great that the audience was still great. These are insane times.
Shoshana BeanieBaby
Stand-by Joined: 11/4/04
#30Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/26/21 at 11:32pm
Good Lord. Lots Wife was just on a different planet amazing. I'm not sure if it was the raw emotion or the insane vocals that got me more. Whichever Sharon you're seeing, you're seeing something truly incredible, powerful and special.
#31Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 7:24amIn addition to Lot’s Wife are there other high points worth mentioning?
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#33Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 8:07am
Sad to hear about the emptiness. The two times I went I was pleasantly surprised it was fairly well attended. This show was always going to have an uphill battle to complete it's run, but the variant is likely doing a number on it.
Alexander Lamar
Broadway Star Joined: 2/16/16
#34Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 9:28am
binau said: "In addition to Lot’s Wife are there other high points worth mentioning? "
Literally the entire score. My mouth dropped for the first time during “I Got Four Kids” and remained that way throughout. I feel bad for wishing her performance was the one we got on the cast recording.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#35Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 9:28am
I guess I'll be a dissenting opinion. I didn't love Sharon Brown nearly as much as Sharon Clarke. I don't think she was terrible but this production is really anchored around Clarke and she has a much fuller, richer understanding of the character that is completely grounded in the text whereas Brown seemed to have moments. She came across as much softer and kinder and actually meeker. She seemed more connected to the loss of her husband/breakdown of her marriage. I do think her Lot's Wife was incredible and worth seeing but her vocals weren't as incredible in the other songs. They weren't bad... just not flawless. Clarke's Caroline is Shakespearean. Brown's interpretation is more ordinary and human which made all the themes and symbolism feel more awkward to me.
I am curious if anyone has thoughts about Rheaume Crenshaw as Dotty. It was interesting to have Dotty feel more like a contemporary of Caroline's and it felt like it was more of a challenge to her assertions that she could not change or "improve" her situation. From the website, it seems like Tamika has moved on to Black No More.
I was especially impressed by Cariani's clarinet playing last night but perhaps that doesn't reflect well on how detached I was from the story.
The sound seemed better balanced last night. I did have passing thoughts about how wonderful this show could sound with a fuller orchestra.
I am sad to hear the orchestra was also undersold. I had an entire row to myself in the mezzanine before people moved around at intermission.
Scott Stephen
Understudy Joined: 10/21/19
#36Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 10:20am
binau said: "In addition to Lot’s Wife are there other high points worth mentioning? "
Her lashing out at Rose in Mr. Gellman’s shirt was extraordinary for me.
#37Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 10:49am
I agree. The ironing fight was really good too. Brown and Levy work so well together on stage. The tension didn’t seem cheesy or forced.
I don’t know the name of the some, but the number where she is recalling being beaten by her husband was moving too.
Miss Keisha? Miss Keisha? Miss Keishhhaaaa?
Alexander Lamar
Broadway Star Joined: 2/16/16
#38Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 11:00am
YvanEhtNioj said: "I agree. The ironing fight was really good too. Brown and Levy work so well together on stage. The tension didn’t seem cheesy or forced.
I don’t know the name of the some, but the number where she is recalling being beaten by her husband was moving too."
1943.
The night I saw Rheaume as Dotty I had seen Tamika at the matinee. I thought she was fine, but honestly spent the entire time comparing their performances which is hard for anyone to live up to. I really hope Tamika is remembered come Tonys time. Hoping I can catch Rheaume during the final week and really focus on the performance she is giving.
Omicron scared me away yesterday, but starting next Sunday I’m going to all the performances left in the run. Can’t wait.
#39Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 3:41pm
“while Tonya and most actresses I've seen clips of play the role pretty angry from the jump, Sharon didn't - her Caroline was clearly frustrated but not visibly or tonally upset. In Act Two, you could see the anger start to come out and then her performance of "Lot's Wife" might have been the best thing I have ever seen on a Broadway stage.”
“Clarke plays Caroline with a lot more outward wear and tear and harshness and I think Brown's Caroline does all of that internally but it still oozes out of her in a different way.”
In comparing the two takes on Caroline, I very much agree with these two assessments. Clarke played it with a hardened exterior shell right out the gate, while Brown’s Caroline is more like a slow burn experience. There is a ratcheted up tension that Brown builds over the course of Act l that finally explodes at the end of Act ll. I noticed a sadness and desperation in Brown’s eyes immediately as as she sang “Nothing ever happen underground in Louisiana”, but also like there might be a little tiny speck of hope left deep down within her. This glimmer of hope leaves by Act II which culminates with her “Lots Wife” which I also agree is one of the best things I have ever seen on a Broadway stage. So satisfying.
My main gripe with Clarke’s performance the time I saw it, is she played it very “actorly” IMO. Some parts (not all) seemed too rehearsed as if what we were experiencing was not organic or real in any way which also made it come off like she wasn’t present but just going through the motions. Also, Brown handled the score with such ease, where I noticed Clarke was reaching for many of the notes or just completely brought them down to be in a lower range.
It was magical watching Brown’s response to the audience’s reaction at curtain. The tears in her eyes just sealed the whole experience for me. She was really taking in / relishing the well deserved moment and reaction she deservedly got at the end of the night.
#40Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 4:02pm
Brown’s Caroline also has a bit of a limp or a hip problem. It’s very subtle but (assuming it’s a character choice) is very effective at telling you who this woman is and what she goes through.
#41Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 5:11pm
This isn’t specific to Brown, but I found it ->very<- weird how much the audience laughed after she said Jews go to hell.
Miss Keisha? Miss Keisha? Miss Keishhhaaaa?
#42Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 5:30pm
^That line ALWAYS gets a laugh from the audience. Even going back to the OBC.
Alexander Lamar
Broadway Star Joined: 2/16/16
#43Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 5:33pm
I think there is an authenticity of being an American Black woman that SCB brings to the role that is just not accessible to SDC.
Just one example, in “No One’s Waitin’” SDC says “give your mama” a kiss but mama sounds like it has an r on the end, which is not a southern pronunciation. I believe it is a British one. It seems like a simple correction that I have continued to wonder why it wasn’t picked up on and corrected by the director. It’s recorded that way on the new cast recording.
I listened to a podcast with SDC and she is as confused as you with the reaction to that line (and Noah’s line before it). My two guesses are either people laugh because they are uncomfortable or they laugh because they are such ridiculous things to say that they can’t believe those things were said.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#44Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 5:51pm
YvanEhtNioj said: "This isn’t specific to Brown, but I found it ->very<- weird how much the audience laughed after she said Jews go to hell."
I don't laugh but it might be a bit of the... real housewives of it. It's a little like the barbs traded in "Dotty and Caroline." Even though Noah and Caroline are fighting and it's serious, it's mean in a childish way... like a school bully. There's also the way Caroline builds up to that final line. It draws your attention so you're primed for a reaction.
#45Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 6:17pm
But it’s not a catty “Real Housewives” thing for her to say. It’s the most hurtful thing she could ever say to Noah. She’s telling him that his mother is burning in hell.
forfivemoreminutes
Featured Actor Joined: 9/24/21
#46Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 7:49pm
Jordan Catalano said: "But it’s not a catty “Real Housewives” thing for her to say. It’s the most hurtful thing she could ever say to Noah. She’s telling him that his mother is burning in hell."
When I’ve seen it, it always sounds to me like people are laughing with discomfort and surprise, like, “She said WHAT?” rather than finding it “funny-ha ha.” More like funny-uncomfortable.
#47Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 8:16pm
It’s definitely uncomfortable laughter. The first time I saw it someone in the audience screamed out “Oh my Gawd” in shock.
sonatinaturner
Swing Joined: 12/2/21
#48Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/27/21 at 8:29pm
I noticed that too. When I saw it during previews there was no laughter from the audience at that point - there was silence and some gasps and murmurs. The reaction felt very strange last night in comparison. Interesting to hear that the laughter is common.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#49Sharon Brown as Caroline
Posted: 12/28/21 at 1:36am
forfivemoreminutes said: "Jordan Catalano said: "But it’s not a catty “Real Housewives” thing for her to say. It’s the most hurtful thing she could ever say to Noah. She’s telling him that his mother is burning in hell."
When I’ve seen it, it always sounds to me like people are laughing with discomfort and surprise, like, “She said WHAT?” rather than finding it “funny-ha ha.” More like funny-uncomfortable."
I explained it poorly but yes, that "Damn..." reaction like she really went there. Also, those fights are about something stupid but they can manage to be deeply hurtful and personal. One moment, it's petty bickering, the next, they're going for the jugular. And I do think Sharon Brown delivered it as more of a taunt. It would have been more shocking if it didn't know it was coming because her Caroline had been much nicer to Noah up to that point. That early conversation they had about cancer felt much more like she was comforting/counseling him.
