Caroline, Or Change question- Page 2

[Q]

Posted: 8/14/11 at 8:33pm

Chuck Cooper sang the hell out of his roles, as well, especially doing "The Bus." I don't think I breathed during that number, and it absolutely stopped the show (at least here in LA.)

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/14/11 at 8:39pm

Chuck Cooper could sing "Happy Birthday" and it would sound like Moses on the Mount. That man is a GOD (and also one of the sweetest people I know).

[Kad]

Posted: 8/14/11 at 9:40pm

I never got to see the original production, but I love the cast recording.

I have a feeling it'll be revived in ten years or so and lauded by critics, who will act as if they loved it all along.

[3bluenight]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 10:43am

Hi,
having seen this show as well, i have to say the thing that struck me the most is that it really does seem to be in a newer mold of show. there used to be personality shows, i.e. shows built around a star or actor's personality or particular gifts. but with gypsy, famously called the last great book musical, shows started to shift to a more character study place. musicals have been slowly approaching such an intention, but certainly with caroline a new layer had been added.
i felt like i was watching west side story - just a really interesting and memorable moment in the history of the form. unique, idiosyncratic.

caroline is a really like a non linear character study. while things happen sequentially, it's such a psychological piece that it's about how the characters behave in reaction and in action to one another and the events. like any great play, it's about human behavior, at least i think that's so.

and incidentally, i think pinkins was also robbed of the tony that season. the only major award wicked picked up that night was menzels'. i feel now and felt then that it was the shows consolation prize for losing best score, and musical. Menzel, while wonderfully talented, wasn't giving a performance that touched pinkins in my opinion. but as we all know it's as much about merit as it's about the moment and politics and everything else.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 11:14am

I saw it in previews on Broadway 3 days before it opened. I tried to get back to see it before it closed (Way too early) but didn't make it. The entire cast was excellent. I hope Chandra comes back to the stage at some point. The show shares the top spot with Sweeney Todd as my 2 favorite musicals.

Matt, I saw Wicked 2 days after Caroline and also enjoyed it. But what was also thrilling for me was that "Caroline or Change" was the first show I had seen on Broadway in about 14 years. I left the theater on a cloud. And my profile pic has been a scene from the show for a while now.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 11:18am

My dream is to have Chandra play Mama Nadi in RUINED. I think she'd be perfect in the role. (For the record, she did a brief stint as Mama Morton about two years ago, during the summer shooting hiatus)

[sally1112]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 11:56am

I was in New York for one of my theater trips and I was seeing Ave Q, Wicked, and either Taboo or Boy From OZ, and I had heard nothing about Caroline, Change. In fact, I only knew about it because I was staying at the Time Hotel next door. I only had one block of time that I was not seeing a show, so I walked up to the window, got a solo seat, 3rd row, almost center, and watched the matinee.
Boy, am I glad I did. Absolutely an amazing show!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 12:33pm

This was one of those shows that had such emotional resonance, I couldn't absorb it all while I was watching it. I could only let it flow over me and then let it all sink in after I deaprted the theatre. I couldn't shake it off for weeks. Chandra Wilson was absolute perfection in a small and pretty thankless role and was able to create a lasting impression. I love singing her "I got a boyfriend". Pinkins struggled vocally from the opening line to the point of distraction, but her acting made up for it. Veanne Cox was so pitiful, but also at turns absolutely HILARIOUS. But to me, the number I will never EVER forget is Anika Noni Rose singing "I Hate the Bus". Everyone goes on about Lot's Wife, but It was Anika's song that shook me to my core and I had her pegged there and then for the Tony. It was one of the best solo numbers I've ever seen performed in my life and I was moved to tears. That performance told me everything I needed to know about the character and perfectly defined the genrational resentment and determination for children struggling to rise out and above a poor family. While seeming so simple out of context, it was THE perfect song for that character in that setting and situation and the delivery was sublimely gut-wrenching. I saw another production later at the Court Theatre in Chicago and while it was a really good production, the direction for that song missed the mark. There was so much anger and movement, it came off as immature and petulant rather than epiphanous.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/15/11 at 12:53pm

I think one of the main reasons Pinkins didn't win the Tony is because she played one of the most aggressively unlikable characters I've ever seen in a musical. It was brutal, unflinching and brilliant. But I'm willing to bet that this was a major reason many people ticked the box for the green girl everyone could root for. Though I do think Menzel did a beautiful job grounding a very large, opulent production and providing the humanity needed to make it work to the extent it does.