Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: March 16, 2007
Byline: Toby Zinman

'Caroline, or Change' sings a rich, complex tune

Unlike most musicals, Caroline, or Change is deeply human and passionately political (it's by Tony Kushner, after all, who gave us the huge and brilliant Angels in America). Jeanine Tesori's music — sometimes pop, sometimes chamber opera, sometimes witty, sometimes soaring — is sung by a big, fine cast who can both act and sing. And the Arden's new and bold production, under Terrence Nolen's direction, is just splendid.

The Caroline (Joilet F. Harris) of the title is an African American maid in a Jewish household in Louisiana in 1963. The "change" of the title is both the profound social change under way in America and also the coins that Noah (Griffin Back), the 8-year-old boy of the Gellman family, leaves in his pockets. His stepmother (Sherri L. Edelen), who wants to teach him the value of money, tells Caroline that any change she finds when she does the laundry is hers to keep. For a semi-literate, divorced woman with four children — one in Vietnam — making too little money to get by, the change becomes a temptation.

And so the issues float in the air: racism, poverty, the war in Vietnam, the vexed and complicated relationship between Jews and African Americans, the Deep South in relation to the rest of America. And it's November 1963: The bus (Jay Pierce, carrying headlights like a heavy yoke on his shoulders) will announce at the bus stop that JFK has been killed.

This is not a heartwarming tale of triumph-over-adversity, a stock button-pusher in realistic theatrical style. Each character — and there are many — is complicated. Even the props come to life: The washing machine (Ade Laoye) sings, and whenever Caroline turns on the radio, a Supremes-like trio (Tallia Brinson, Danielle Herbert, Marsha Lawson) performs, Motown style, the clever, plot-advancing lyrics. Kushner is a playwright who likes, and can fill, a large theatrical arena, while paradoxically creating intimacy through rich, emotion-driven characters.

Caroline is an angry, bitter, prideful woman, tormented by unmet needs and dashed hopes. She refuses change because her existence depends on her iron will and unbending strength. Her strength is what makes her so appealing to Noah, whose mother died of cancer and whose heartbroken, clarinet-playing father (Adam Heller) is emotionally absent.

Caroline's friend Dottie (Kelly J. Rucker) tries to persuade her to change her life and her attitude, and their musical throwdown becomes a fugue as their voices are joined by The Moon (Thursday Farrar) and The Bus.

Meanwhile, at her home, Caroline is faced with a rebellious teenage luxury-wanting daughter (Elyse McKay Taylor). Their generational conflict becomes another musical face-off, showing, again, how "small domestic tragedies / Bring strong women to their knees." Caroline's sung prayer, "Don't let my sorrow / Make evil of me" stopped the show. And, just at the moment of big emotional reconciliation, the radio trio comes out to sing "Salty Teardrops." The show is thrillingly unpredictable.

Besides the terrific singers/actors, every aspect of the production, from the set design (James Kronzer) focused on the hot, steamy basement, to the live music (an eight-piece band offstage led by Eric Ebbenga), is top-notch.

Caroline, or Change

Written by Tony Kushner (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music). Directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Music direction by Eric Ebbenga, sets by James Kronzer, costumes by Rosemarie E. McKelvey, lighting by Justin Townsend, sound by Jorge Cousineau, choreography by Patricia Scott Hobbs. Presented by the Arden Theatre Co.

Cast: Joilet F. Harris (Caroline Thibodeaux), Adé Laoye (The Washing Machine), Marsha Lawson (The Radio 1), Tallia Brinson (The Radio 2), Danielle Herbert (The Radio 3), Griffin Back (Noah Gellman), Jay Pierce (The Dryer/The Bus), Maureen Torsney-Weir (Grandma Gellman), Russell Leib (Grandpa Gellman), Sherri L. Edelen (Rose Stopnick Gellman), Adam Heller (Stuart Gellman), Kelly J. Rucker (Dotty Moffett), Thursday Farrar (The Moon), Elyse McKay Taylor (Emmie Thibodeaux), Nicholas Trawick (Jackie Thibodeaux), Malik Burrell (Joe Thibodeaux), Alan Kutner (Mr. Stopnick).

Playing at: Arden Theatre, 40 N. 2nd St. Through April 8. Tickets $27 to $45. Information: 215-922-1122 or www.ardentheatre.org