Starring: Jully Black, Vanessa Sears, Measha Bruggergosman
Director: Robert McQueen
Music: Jeanine Tesori
Lyrics and Book: Tony Kushner
Venue: Winter Garden Theatre
Run Information: Caroline, or Change is currently running through February 16, 2020.
Rating: ★★★★
A powerhouse cast helps to bolster Tony Kushner’s musical about a black maid living during the civil rights movement.
Toronto theatre producers: Sign Jully Black onto another musical ASAP! In her musical theatre debut, the Canadian R&B singer is currently giving a roof-raising performance as Caroline Thibodeaux in the Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre Company’s production of Caroline, or Change. It would be a huge loss if Torontonians don’t get the chance to see this powerhouse performer weave her stage magic again, once this limited engagement ends.
It seems as if Tony Kushner wrote the character of Caroline specifically for Black. As a black maid and a single mother living during the civil rights movement, Caroline is hesitant of the social change occurring around her. Down in the basement of the dysfunctional Gellman house, she lives in an imaginary world far from reality — where inanimate objects such as the washing machine (Keisha T. Fraser), the dryer (Stewart Adam McKensy) and the radio (Alana Hibbert, Camille Eanga-Selenge, and Samantha Walkes) come to life.
Black effortlessly embodies Caroline, who is a bundle of contradictions. The mother of four is ‘mean and tough’, yet is also a broken soul who is scraping by to earn a meagre 30 dollars each week. Throughout the first act, Black’s Caroline is stoic and emotionless, despite everything happening above her in the Gellman household. Eight-year-old Noah (Evan LeFeuvre) lives with his distant father Stewart (Damien Atkins) and his loving, yet over-controlling step-mother Rose (Deborah Hay).
Following the death of his biological mother, the only person he connects with is Caroline, who lets him light her daily cigarette.
Caroline’s life changes, however, when Rose allows Caroline to keep any pocket change she finds in Noah’s pockets, in order to teach him a lesson. While the piece lacks a substantial plot and points of conflict, Kushner’s story is more of a reflection of three types of ‘change’: social change, personal change, and pocket change.
There is also a continuous background narrative of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the toppling of an old confederate statue. Despite Caroline’s hesitance towards social change (fearing that it would disrupt the status quo), she is surrounded by others who yearn for it: her daughter Emmie (Vanessa Sears) cannot wait for a better life and her friend Dotty Moffett (also played by Hibbert) is already taking college classes to gain an education.
At times, Kushner’s story feels cumbersome. While some of the anthropomorphic characters, such as the bus (also played by Stewart Adam McKensy), have deep symbolic meaning, others, such as the moon (Canadian opera sensation Measha Bruggergosman) take away from the realism of the piece. The musical could also use some trimming, especially in the exposition heavy first act. Nonetheless, Kushner should be commended for crafting such a complex piece that still resonates today, in a society that is still undergoing great societal and political upheaval.
Jeanine Tesori’s score is a musical pastiche of blues, motown, klezmer, and jazz. Though Tesori’s through-composed, Tony-nominated work has few hummable tunes, the songs work perfectly to convey the emotions in each scene. Black, with her powerhouse voice, handles the challenging score with ease. Her 11 o’clock number ‘Lot’s Wife’ packs an emotional wallop that will leave audience members breathless in their seats.
Black is bolstered by a formidable ensemble behind her. There is no weak link in the cast and everyone performs feats of vocal acrobatics. Particular standouts include Sears as Caroline’s zealous daughter Emmie, Hibbert as the steadfast Dotty, and McKensy in both of his vocal-heavy roles. If only Peter McBoyle’s sound design could be more sharp and Kimberly Purtell’s lighting design could be less muddled. As this is the Musical Stage Company’s first show of their residency at the beautiful Winter Garden Theatre, I’m confident, however, that these technical details will be sorted out before next season.
In spite of these hiccups, the rest of Robert McQueen’s production is thoughtfully executed. Michael Gianfrancesco has designed a beautiful three-tiered set that is thoroughly used. And Tim French’s choreography in the scenes involving the radio and Caroline’s children adds much needed liveliness to an otherwise serious affair.
But the main draw of this production is the cast. With a Broadway revival of Caroline, or Change set to open in April, this all-Canadian cast has the talent to transfer to Broadway. We are so incredibly lucky to have this depth of talent in our city. Many of the actors on the Winter Garden stage, including Jully Black, are delivering performances that would be worthy of a Tony Award.