Caroline, Or Change

I just got back from the musical Caroline, or Change at The Gallery Players theater. The theater was small, and it was definitely running on a low budget, but the musical didn't call for anything too elaborate. The musical, set in Louisiana in 1963, was different from our normal playwriting guidelines. One disadvantage to musicals in general is that there are automatically more redundancies throughout, because repetition is necessary in the music. Also, the plot in Caroline, or Change is pretty slow-moving, so the redundant music made the play feel even slower. The climax of the play occurs when the maid, Caroline, and her boss's son, Noah, get into a fight over $20... Then they make up. I think that Tony Kushner, the playwright, could have done more with the plot.

However, Kushner did a fantastic job with something that we practiced in class: he made his characters' wants clear. Every single character in the play had apparent, deep desires. Caroline, the main character, was poor and wanted a more stable living with a job that was more exciting. However, more importantly, she wanted to be happy and be able to be nicer to others. Rose, her boss, wanted loved and acceptance from her step son and her husband. Even though the plot was stagnant, the audience was definitely engaged for the majority of the play because of characters' passions. Not to mention, both the acting and the singing were fantastic.

The play was set in the 60's, an extremely political time. Although the play touched upon President Kennedy getting shot, and various hate crimes, it never showed any of them, and the civil activism that occurred in the '60's never really came to life. I think that Kushner could have made the musical more exciting by incorporating scenes where characters in the play witness or take part in political issues. For instance, at the end of the play Caroline's daughter, Emmie, admits to the audience in a monologue that she was in a protest that was on the news. It might have been more effective to see her in action at the protest, it could have been almost like a secret between her and the audience.

Overall, even though I have some issues with how the play was written, I enjoyed it. The plot was certainly unique, and it was interesting to see a take on such a vibrant political time. I would recommend this musical for people who a. want a local production to see, and b. have an interest in the southern white person - black person dynamic in the 1960's.