Direct from a smash-hit run on London's West End, this new production of Tony Kushner (Angels in America) and Jeanine Tesori's (Fun Home) explosive musical launches to "the titanic dimensions of greatness" (Ben Brantley, The New York Times). The "incandescent" (Holly Williams, Time Out London) Sharon D Clarke stars in an exhilarating, Olivier Award-winning performance as Caroline, an African-American maid whose world of 1963 Louisiana ripples with change both large and small. Erupting with transcendent songs and larger-than-life imagination, Caroline, or Change explores how, in times of great transformation, even the simplest acts shake the earth.
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It is rare for a musical to have a stronger second act than first, with most outings' ambitions meeting their limits by the time the stakes are set. Kushner's story, which might fare better as a tight one-acter, has somewhat of a bumbling start as it muddles through its introduction of characters, plot, and artistic flights of fancy. Longhurst's direction valiantly makes its way through these flaws, and ends with a masterstroke of lighting (by Jack Knowles) and staging that banishes all misgivings one might find throughout the show. This production's final moment-a stark tableau of generational significance-is breathtaking in its simplicity, but earth-shattering in its artistry. If masterful theatre is measured by its ability to leave an audience reeling in catharsis, it is here that this production of Caroline, or Change emerges as an honor to experience, and a joy to have borne witness.
Now Clarke, who won an Olivier award for her performance in the British production, adds hers. She makes of the maid an almost Shakespearean figure; even at the depths of the character's despair, in the scarifying 11 o'clock number 'Lot's Wife,' she commands attention without begging for it, and does not allow herself, because Caroline wouldn't, the luxury of collapse. The result of that restraint is more painful than cathartic, leaving the story's emotional release to those who can afford it: Caroline's children. The chance to believe in change is her hard-won bequest to them - and, in this devastating, uncomfortable, crucial musical, to us.
2002 | Off-Broadway |
Workshop Off-Broadway |
2003 | Off-Broadway |
Original Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2004 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
2004 |
West Coast Tour |
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2006 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Studio Theatre Revival Washington, DC (Regional) |
2006 | London |
Royal National Theatre Production London |
2018 | West End |
London Revival West End |
2021 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway Revival Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Sharon D Clarke |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Caroline, Or Change |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Sharon D Clarke |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Caroline, Or Change |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Sharon D Clarke |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Caroline, or Change |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Fly Davis |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Sharon D Clarke |
2021 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | Sharon D Clarke |
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