Caroline, or Change, or a little late to the party, but...

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:04am

So...my boyfriend is on a trip to visit theme parks below the Mason-Dixon line because he and his friends are rollercoaster junkies. Although fun, I do not understand the obsession. So I kissed him goodbye, sent him off and decided to finally catch up with a show that I've put off for a while, Caroline, or Change.

The second that washing machine started in singing, I thought, 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph, am I in for a looooooooooong evening.' I just didn't think I could buy into the conceit of this show.

And then, not much later, I found myself completely absorbed in this story and the lives of the people on the stage of the Eugene O'Neill. One of the reasons I'd been putting it off was because of the adjectives I'd heard bandied about regarding this show: pretentious, slow, dark, intimate. Although I love my Tony Kushner and adore my Georgie Wolfe, I've never been a huge fan Jeanine Tesori. And the thought of a sung-through piece of just her music made my head throb.

I also was wary of another 'serious musical'. I loved PARADE and WILD PARTY and wished they had succeeded. But I also knew that one of the reasons they failed commercially was they were crushed by the weight of their darkness. They were unrelenting in their seriousness. And I feared the same for this show. What was so shocking, then, was the lightness with which this story was told. I thought it was going to be a miserable show about a miserable woman. Instead, the compassion and love that the authors and actors had for their characters made the evening almost fairy-tale like. I've rarely, if ever, seen a show with so many well-drawn characters. This goes to show you that you don't need major songs or soliliquies to express character. Sometimes, brief moments brilliantly acted is all one needs to get to the very core of a character. I'm thinking of David Constabile, who plays the Noah's (Harrison Chad) father. He has very little to do in the show, but it's so honestly written and performed that it's all that is needed to make a big impact.

I had heard the score was one that needs to be heard several times to really be appreciated...and I'm sure that's true. But on first hearing, the sounds of that era (1963) rise and meld to somehow create the perfect vocabulary for this tale. I found nothing pretentious or even off-putting about the score. It was, on its own terms, perfection.

The performances were all truly terrific. There was not one character on that stage (including singing appliances) that was in any way a caricature. Even the Trotskyite father of Rose (Veanne Cox) was given a depth that most other authors would not accord. Anika Noni Rose is enchanting as Emmie. The boys who play her two brothers are amazingly unmannered child actors. Veanne Cox is both hilarious and heartbreaking as the stepmother who is only trying to do right. Harrison Chad simply is the young Tony Kushner. And then there's the force of nature that is Tonya Pinkins. At times terrifying and hilarious, she shades her performance so beautifully that you can't help but love this angry, miserable woman. 'Lot's Wife', the number from the Tonys, is one of the greatest moments of theatre in the last decade. It's harrowing, heatbreaking and, in the end, beautifully redemptive.

I would like to state that I was stunned by how full the orchestra was for a Tuesday night (though I have no idea what the mezz. was like). And the response was overwhelming. I hope more and more people are finding this wonderful, entertaining (I will NOT use the term 'important' because that scares people...even though it is...very important) work. Run and see it. No matter what awards other shows have won, this is truly the best musical of the year.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:08am

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:14am

I am so dying to see this show I can't even stand it. It had so better be still running in March of 05 when I hit NYC for my 30th birthday or I shall be bitter.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:23am

Hey Pop,

Haven't seen you in a while! While I seriously hope it's still running, I can't guarantee that one. If some very smart production decisions are made (apparently, you can get $25 tickets to this show...I got mine on TKTS) and if it can get the word-of-mouth it deserves, it stands a chance.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:26am

If they want to keep the show open, they might want to dump Pinkins (who is dead weight anyways) and get Whitney Houston in there.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:27am

Or Beyonce.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:29am

No, no. Beyonce is too young. Whitney could bring the kind of cracked out, desperate quality the character so desperately calls for.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:30am

Girl,

You give Bobbi Christina about 30 years and she's gonna BE Caroline!

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:31am

30?? That 8 year old already got more baggage than Suzanne Sugarbaker on her way to Europe

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:37am

Right? She could play Mary Tyrone right now cause that bitch has SEEN IT!

[crp2000]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 11:41am

LOL! U Guys Are Crazy!

As for C,oC - i purchased the OBC and was far from impressed...though i wanted so badly to be blown away. I just found it to be boring and was sleep by the end of the second act. My plan is to see the show in person, then give the OBC another listen. Hope that helps....i just love Tonya's voice.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:35pm

Now Matt_G, you know I like your spunk, but you do seem to enjoy playing the provocatuer! Tonya Pinkins moved me to tears--the closest this lily white queer has come to understanding the black female experience. What next? Ethel Merman's voice was too big for Broadway?

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:46pm

midtown, anyone who knows me knows that I adore every single thing about this show and that any remark like the one I made up there is strictly a joke. I haven't taken this CD out of my player since last Tuesday. The woman is belting in my ears as I'm typing this.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:48pm

Well, precisely! I do not know you at all.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:49pm

Well, let's change that.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:51pm

But even reading Matt's comments on the board, you could tell he was joking. He (and Margo) are like Caroline's official cheerleaders. All they need is the pom poms.

Having said that, I did get concerned when he seemed to take my Beyonce quip seriously.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:54pm

LOL. I'm sticking to Whitney! Or Toni Braxton maybe.

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:55pm

Is Tookie Smith still alive? A blond Caroline would be fabulous!

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 12:57pm

One of the Landers sisters would be fabulous!

But which one.....

Updated On: 7/7/04 at 12:57 PM

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 1:01pm

Mea culpa. I'm still kinda new here. I want to be a cheerleader too. Go Tonya! Go Tonya! The poor woman paints a Picasso every night onstage, and still loses the Tony. No justice!

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 1:10pm

OK...I'm gonna step onto a minefield here...but if I had a Tony ballot in front of me, I probably would have picked Idina this year. Although Tonya's performance moved me the most, Idina's surprised me the most. I just didn't think she had it in her. Which probably would have swayed my vote.

Don't stone me!!!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 1:11pm

Ya know, I was thinking they could grab Isabel Sanford, if she's not busy with one of those Old Navy ads -- "Weezy" IS Caroline.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 1:13pm

Oh, Margo you've just come up with CAROLINE'S new slogan

"WEEZY JEFFERSON IS...

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE"

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 1:15pm

Add Marla Gibbs as Dottie Moffet and you got an even better ad slogan:

'They're movin' on up to Broadway!'

[Matt_G]

Posted: 7/7/04 at 1:19pm

If Weezy is not available (which is very possible what with her Old Navy and Dennys commitments), than why not Marla Gibbs as Caroline and Jackee as Dottie?

Updated On: 7/7/04 at 01:19 PM