Caroline, or Change

Caroline, Or Change
Music	Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics	Tony Kushner
Book	Tony Kushner
Productions	2003 Off-Broadway 2004 Broadway 2006 West End
Awards	Olivier Award Best Musical

Caroline, Or Change is a through-composed Broadway musical with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and score by Jeanine Tesori that combines negro spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish Klezmer and folk music.

The musical was first workshopped in May 1999 at New York's Public Theater. Director George C. Wolfe continued to workshop the musical at the Public Theater through 2003, when the show finally opened. After a successful run Off-Broadway, it transferred to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and ran from May 2 2004 to August 29 2004 for a total of 136 performances, starring Tonya Pinkins in the title role. Despite its relatively short run, it was critically acclaimed and nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Opening in October 2006, a London production at the Lyttelton Theatre, also directed by Wolfe, ran successfully into January 2007, winning the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. The production also starred Pinkins in the title role.

Plot

The musical is set in Lake Charles, Louisiana during the American civil rights movement, just before, after and during the Kennedy Assassination.

Caroline Thibodeaux is a black maid for a Southern Jewish family, the Gellmans. The Gellmans' young son, Noah, is enamored of Caroline, a woman resistant to the sweep of change she sees around her. Their friendship has intensified since his mother's death. Noah's new stepmother Rose, unable to give Caroline a raise, enlists Caroline's help in a plan to teach Noah a lesson about leaving change in his pants pocket (since Caroline does the family's laundry as part of her duties). Rose tells Noah and Caroline that Caroline should keep the money Noah leaves in his pockets. Caroline is loathe to take money from a child – but her own children desperately need food, clothing and shoes.

The punishment goes awry when a $20 bill goes missing, and Caroline's relationship with Noah suffers a painful breakdown, causing a rift between her family and the Gellmans. With the death of JFK and the inspirational speeches of Martin Luther King, the tide of change begins to affect Caroline's life, and she must come to terms with racial turmoil and the end of segregation. But the upbeat ending, involving Caroline's daughter Emmie, portends hope for Caroline's community.

Notes:

• Much of Caroline's work day passes in the Gellmans' laundry room, which adds some surprising singing characters to the cast – the washer, the drier, and the radio.
• The title Caroline, Or Change has several meanings. The word 'change' is used in the sense of the change in Noah's pocket. Another sense is Caroline's tentative decision to quit her job. In addition, Noah goes through a social change after a family tragedy and Caroline changes by treating her family better and understanding Noah better. Finally, Rose changes from a Northerner to a Southerner. The nation changes as a result of JFK's death.

Cast

The opening night cast starred Tonya Pinkins as Caroline. Other cast members included Anika Noni Rose as Emmie Thibodeaux, Harrison Chad as Noah Gellman, and Chandra Wilson as Dotty Moffett.

The opening night cast in London (2006) starred Tonya Pinkins as Caroline. Other cast members included Pippa Bennett-Warner as Emmie Thibodeaux, Anna Francolini as Rose Stopnick Gellman, Hilton McRae as Mr Stopnick, and Clive Rowe as the dryer/bus

Awards and honors

Caroline, or Change was nominated for a total of six Tonys in 2004, winning one:

• Best Musical
• Best Book (Tony Kushner)
• Best Score (Jeanine Tesori)
• Best Actress (Tonya Pinkins)
• Best Featured Actress (Anika Noni Rose) - winner
• Best Direction (George C. Wolfe)

The musical won the Olivier Award in 2007, for Best New Musical (at the Lyttelton Theatre)

External links

• Official website
• ​Caroline, or Change​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• Caroline, or Change - Professional and amateur licensing at Music Theatre International
• Review of the Broadway production
• Review of the London production
• "Production: Caroline, or Change" - Working in the Theatre Seminar at American Theatre Wing.org
• Tonya Pinkins - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org