If I could cast ANYONE to make the dream cast for CAROLINE, OR CHANGE...

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:21pm

here is what it would be:

Tonya Pinkins ---------Caroline Thibodeaux
Chuck Cooper -----------The Dryer/The Bus
Reathel Bean -----------Grandpa Gellman
Harrison Chad ----------Noah Gellman
Tracy Nicole Chapman -- The Radio
David Costabile ------- Stuart Gellman
Veanne Cox ------------Rose Stopnick Gellman
Aisha de Haas --------- The Moon
Marcus Carl Franklin -- Joe Thibodeaux
Marva Hicks ----------- The Radio
Capathia Jenkins ------ The Washing Machine
Larry Keith -----------Mr. Stopnick
Ramona Keller-----------The Radio
Alice Playten ---------Grandma Gellman
Anika Noni Rose -------Emmie Thibodeaux
Leon Thomas III -------Jackie Thibodeaux
Chandra Wilson --------Dotty Moffett

.


look familiar?

-d.b.j-

Updated On: 7/13/04 at 10:21 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:22pm

Hey I get it! Thats the whole cast from the actual show! Wow! So funny... :-|

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:26pm

It IS perfection, isn't it? I do wish it would run long enough, so we could see a few first-rate replacements in the roles and see how the show plays with different actors in some of the roles. I think Lillias White and Jennifer Holliday would be very interesting in the role of Caroline -- not better, necessarily, but definitely a different take.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:29pm

Yesss. Perfection it is! Even Harrison Chad. I adore him. HOP OFF ! :) Wellll, sadly, it will not run long enough...but OOOH, how i wish it would? I would live this show, that is how much I adore it. I just can't get sick of it...no matter what...
-d.b.j-

[J.]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:30pm

Tonya Pinkins totally stole that part from Angela Lansbury.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:32pm

Yes, I am currently obsessed with it myself! That is a dream cast you have there, Nugget.

It would be fun to see others go into the show later. See what layers they add.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:33pm

I am really not trying to be rude, but since I hadnt heard Tonya sing since Caroline, is that really how she sings? Almost screaming? With her voice breaking at points? This is a serious question, cause she sounds good for Lots Wife, but it got kinda irritating during the show.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:36pm

no no noooooo. Her voice is raspy, though. her voice is perfect for the role, i think. and altogether, BEAUTIFULLY DIFFERENT!
-d.b.j-

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/13/04 at 10:46pm

Listen to her on the Jelly's Last Jam or Wild Party OBCs -- a rich, gorgeous mezzo voice, no raspiness of any kind (and a killer bod to die for, incidentally). Caroline is among the most difficult roles ever written for the musical theatre, that probably cannot be sung eight times a week without quite a bit of struggle, which is what Pinkins is going through now (Holliday endured the same kind of thing with Effie in "Dreamgirls). Be happy you've seen Pinkins in this -- people will be talking about this performance for years to come.

Updated On: 7/13/04 at 10:46 PM

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 12:21am

I agree with your cast. There is not a weak link within this whole cast. Everyone is perfect for their characters.

[twogaab2]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 9:53am

As good as Pinkins was I would love to hear Leslie Ugums attempt the role. Her voice is still in excellent shape and she has been singing since the early '50.

[FinnFanatic]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 10:02am

Have they posted an actual closing date yet? Please say no...

[robbiej]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 10:31am

Not that I'm aware of, Finn.

And please please PLEASE can we all give a little love to Veanne Cox. No...she's not the best singer in the world. But her performance should remind everyone that every performance in a musical should start with scrupulous, smart and true acting.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 11:13am

no, they haven't. but it will be happening. last week the orchestra was 3/4 full.
-d.b.j-

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 11:18am

ANd YESSSSSS YES YES YES I LOVE Veanne. LOVE LOVE LOVE Veanne sooo much. I enjoy Rose's music , too.
-d.b.j-

[twogaab2]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 12:16pm

Me too, I think Cox gave a marvelous performance.

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 12:23pm

I don't know if its the songs GIVEN to the mother and son that I don't like, or the actress and actor playing them, but I really thought that they were weaker than Tonya and the "underground" music. (Maybe because it's so brilliant) But it was WONDEFUL. Go see this show!

[dididda]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 1:06pm

yes, wholeheartedly agree about COx i think she's amazing as rose, and i havent seen the show just heard the cd. the vocals are lackluster with her, but a truly amazing actress. her character comes through so well. i adore this show. and i have a feeling it'll be likt L5Y where people are gonna start catching onto it now that theres a cd but itll be too late, it will close, and then after the fact there'll be a big following. thats my thought anyway. i adore, adore adore the show though. only thing ive listend to for the past week and i have like, music a.d.d. and switch every other second, so sticking with one cd says something

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 1:46pm

Veanne Cox is a friend of a friend. She was HILARIOUS in The Dinner Party. She and Henry Winkler stole the show.

I would LOVE to see Fuschia Walker as Caroline. She is an amazing performer.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 2:35pm

I haven't seen the show yet - but from the recording, I like Veanne Cox a lot - she's a character singer, pure and simple. Not everyone on the stage can (or should) have a beautiful sound...some roles call for more of a character voice and she fits the bill perfectly, in my opinion.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 9:42pm

i dooooo agree, redhot. but please, please SEE THIS SHOW. it needs it.

boo hoooooo
-d.b.j-

[BWayBoy88]

Posted: 7/15/04 at 12:45am

Veanne Cox isnt the best singer in the world but she gives a wonderful performance. She is very funny.

[J.]

Posted: 7/15/04 at 12:50am

I thought CHANGING CAROLINE already closed?

[Plum]

Posted: 7/15/04 at 1:23am

It's Caroline, or Change, J., and I think you know that. And it most certainly isn't closed. :)

I just got back from the show, and I loved it. Veanne Cox does indeed have a voice with more character than beauty, but her acting was excellent. And the absolutely gorgeous vocals from all the "inanimate" objects more than made up for it. Tonya Pinkins' upper register seems ravaged when she belts, but she stayed in tune and delivered a fine performance of a very difficult character. I hope she takes a vacation some time. Anika Noni Rose and Vanessa A. Jones, who was in for Chandra Wilson, also sang beautifully, though Jones seemed a bit young to be a contemporary of 39-year-old Caroline. The best part, though, is that I came out of it actually thinking. What a wonderful thing.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/15/04 at 7:36am

J, I already told you:

I think CHANGING CAROLINE is the prequel to CAROLINE, OR CHANGE where Caroline is a wee infant. The conceit is how her being restricted to diapers made her the way she is. Mama wouldn't change her diaper regularly, thus she was constantly "underwater". When she finally breaks free of her diaper, her lil "moon" sings a hell of an 11 o'clock number.

It would have run in repertory with C,OC, but critics found it to be stalled, festered, idle, laborious, and a complete waste of time.

:)