Book & Lyrics by
Tony Kushner
Music by Jeanine
Tesori
Directed by Mitchell
Butel
Hayes Theatre Co. at
the Hayes Theatre, Sydney to 28 September
Reviewed by Len Power
11 September 2019
‘Caroline, or Change’ is a musical with book and lyrics by
Tony Kushner and a score by Jeanine Tesori that combines spirituals, blues,
Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music. It played on Broadway in 2004 and also had a
production by the National Theatre in London in 2006 where it won the Olivier
Award for Best Musical.
Set in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1963, the musical focusses
on Caroline, a black maid in the home of the Jewish Gellman family. Spending most of her day in the basement
doing laundry, Caroline resists involvement with the well-meaning family who
employs her and clashes with her daughter and a friend over the civil rights
movement that is gathering strength around her.
However, as the Moon sings to her, ‘Change come fast and change come slow
but change come’.
This is a highly emotional experience that has been
sensitively directed by Mitchell Butel with a strong cast of performers. Inhabiting the huge leading role of Caroline
so completely, Elenoa Rokobaro gives a powerful singing and acting performance
that is intensely moving. Amy Hack gives
a nicely layered performance as Rose Stopnick-Gellman, the woman who employs
Caroline and can’t understand why Caroline won’t respond to her offer of
friendship.
At the performance I attended, the demanding role of the
young boy, Noah Gellman, was played and sung very well by Daniel Harris. This child role is alternated at other
performances with Ryan Yeates. Nkechi
Anele gave a strong and heart-felt performance as Caroline’s increasingly
militant daughter, Emmie, and there were finely drawn, effective performances
by Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Genevieve Lemon, Andrew Cutliffe, Elijah Williams,
Emily Havea, Alexandra Fricot and Ruva.
The story takes place in various rooms in a three storey
house as well as Caroline’s own home.
This presented a design challenge for the small Hayes Theatre stage that
has been met superbly and with great atmosphere by set designer, Simon Greer, Alexander
Berlage’s lighting design and Anthony Lorenz’s sound design.
The musical direction by Canberra’s Lucy Bermingham is
excellent with the 5 piece orchestra playing the atmospheric score very well.
This is a fine musical set in a fascinating time and locale with
a lot to say generally about life and how people respond to change. The great music, singing and in depth
performances in this production make it a memorable experience.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.
