Title

Caroline, or Change

A through-composed musical: Music - Jeanine Tesori: Lyrics - Tony Kushner; Book - Tony Kushner

Productions 2003 Off-Broadway
Eugene O'Niell Theatre, Broadway - May 2, 2004 to August 29, 2004 (136 performances)
National Theatre on the Lyttelton stage (in rep) October, 2006 - 4 January, 2007

Synopsis

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

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.

Story

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.

Cast

• Grandma Gellman
• Emmie Thibodeaux
• Noah
• The Moon
• Jackie and Joe Thibodeaux
• Dotty Moffett
• Rose Stopnick Gellman
• Stuart Gellman
• The Radio
• Grandpa Gellman
• The Radio
• Mr Stopnick
• Noah
• The Washing Machine
• Caroline
• The Bus

Musical Numbers

1. Feet Beneath the Sea
2. Radio
3. Laundry Quintet
4. Noah Down the Stairs
5. Cigarette
6. Laundry Finish
7. Dryer
8. I Got Four Kids
9. Caroline, There's Extra Food
10. There Is No God, Noah
11. Rose Stopnick Can Cook
12. Long Distance
13. Dotty and Caroline
14. Moon Change
15. Moon Trio
16. Bus
17. That Can't Be
18. Noah and Rose
19. Inside/Outside
20. JFK
21. Duets: No One Waitin'
22. Duets: 'Night Mamma
23. Duets: Gonna Pass Me a Law
24. Duets: Noah Go to Sleep
25. Noah Has a Problem
26. Stuart and Noah
27. Quarter in the Bleach Cup
28. Caroline Takes My Money Home
29. Roosevelt Petrucius Coleslaw
30. Special Features [CD-ROM Track]
31. Santa Comin' Caroline
32. Little Reward
33. 1943
34. Mr. Gellman's Shirt
35. Ooh Child
36. Rose Recovers
37. I Saw Three Ships
38. Chanukah Party
39. Dotty and Emmie
40. I Don't Want My Child to Hear That
41. Mr. Stopnick and Emmie
42. Kitchen Fight
43. Twenty Dollar Bill and Why
44. I Hate the Bus
45. Moon, Emmie and Stuart Trio
46. Twenty Dollar Bill
47. Caroline and Noah Fight
48. Aftermath
49. Sunday Morning
50. Lot's Wife
51. Salty Teardrops
52. Why Does Our House Have a Basement?
53. Underwater
54. Epilogue