And from the LA Daily News:
"Tony Kushner may eventually have to return to the stratosphere to live among all those playwrights of ordinary to good abilities, but I sincerely hope that doesn't happen anytime soon. Here's earnestly wishing that the man's dramatic Midas touch ("Angels in America,' "Homebody/Kabul,' "Caroline, or Change') keeps up for a few more years.
"Caroline, of Change,' Kushner's collaboration with composer Jeanine Tesori and director George C. Wolfe, is a musical in that instruments play and characters sing. But it is like no other musical you have ever seen or, likely, will ever experience. Utterly free of spectacle and bombast (a la "Wicked') or hip, angst-ridden puppets ("Avenue Q') "Caroline' is neither old-fashioned nor derivative. There is no simple way to brand or categorize it. It's simply a challenging and important work that absolutely must be seen. And thanks to vacancy opened up by a collapsed tour of "Wonderful Town,' Ahmanson Theatre patrons have just that opportunity.....................
Kushner's is a story of commerce, of social change or loss, and of suppressed rage. Caroline's dilemma over how to dispense with the change (which Noah is leaving for her deliberately) mirrors what's going on in the world outside the Gellman household. Much can hinge on a civil-rights march, a decapitated statue or, as it turns out, an errant $20 bill.
In this story, no characters are perfunctory or cardboard archetypes. Stuart, who is miserable, will get his moment. Cox's Rose has her own issues and is in a highly unenviable position. The performers playing furniture may not be fully drawn characters, but they establish mood and showcase the brass of Tesori's soaring score most effectively. Sung dialogue has rarely resonated with such power as it does here.
Drama critics figure to be probing the workings of Caroline Thibodeaux for years to come, but only a certain fortunate few will be able to say they saw Tonya Pinkins in the role. Pinkins has played hot, dangerous and glamorous before.
Now 42, she brings the same fire to a character who can't transcend being ordinary. In her white uniform and unremarkable hairstyle, she makes Caroline a tower of uncertain strength and shifting principles. There's a moment toward the end of the play where Caroline breaks down and lets us inside her psyche. The scene is called "Lot's Wife,' and it's terrifying. Also exhilarating.
Kushner's writing -- now set to music -- has that effect. It makes you think, suffer, hope and, above all, makes you look for what he has up his sleeve next."
LA Daily News Review of Caroline, Or Change
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
