Search - Jeanine Tesori, Tony Kushner, Tonya Pinkins :: Caroline, Or Change (2004 Original Broadway Cast)

Sondheim's Promise

Miss Otis | Peoria, Il | 10/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Do you remember what it was like when you first fell in love with musical theatre? You listened by yourself, and it took you on an emotional roller coaster, through feelings so strong that you literally got goosebumps? You wanted to share the show, but other people didn't quite get it and all you could do was listen to the show over and over and over again. This CD threw me head-first into why I loved musicals to begin with. It is the best evidence that Broadway isn't dead--it is a vital and exciting and amazing form that pulls on our emotions more deeply than anything else. This show fulfills the promise that Sondheim made, that Michael John LaChuisia has continued and now Tesori and Kushner have completed--the promise of an intelligent AND emotionally overpowering form that moves and challenges and celebrates."

The most thrilling cast album in years

Miss Otis | 07/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Caroline, or Change" is one of the more unusual musicals I've ever seen; it's virtually sung-through, yet it feels much more like a musical than an opera. It pushes the boundaries of contemporary musical theatre in its form, its style (yes, there is a singing washing machine, radio, dryer, and bus), and its content: there aren't easy answers here, nor is there anything resembling a traditional happy ending. Instead, the show's conclusion is true to life - a combination of deep sadness and hope. Jeanine Tesori, Tony Kushner, and director George C. Wolfe have achieved something monumental here, and if listening to the show is an altogether different experience from seeing it (I've been four times and counting), it is no less moving on disc. Indeed, to call this recording incredible would be an understatement. The more I hear this show, the more I think of it as this generation's "Sunday in the Park with George." It's as seminal a work as that is, and it's equally moving in its own way. Where "Sunday" is about (among other things) the ability of one human being to connect to the rest of the world, "Caroline" is about (among other things) the pain of being confined to one's inner world, unable or unwilling to share it with anyone, not even God. It's about the different ways people react to change and to life itself; it's about waiting for a bus that won't come. Caroline Thibodeaux ranks among the greatest roles written for a woman in musical theatre, alongside Mama Rose, Mrs. Lovett, Dot, and Norma Desmond, and Tonya Pinkins gives the performance of a lifetime both on stage and on this recording. Please buy it, and please see "Caroline, or Change," which has become one of my all-time favorite musicals."

Best new show this season

Veammn | New York, NY | 07/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In response to some previous reviews, I would like to begin by asking the following of some reviewers: Did you even listen to the CD at all?
I have seen Caroline twice on Broadway and fell in love with the show upon watching the first scene. The genius of this score lies in the brilliant use of motivic development employed by Tesori. Every line of music in this score is so specific to the character singing. You'll notice how most of Caroline's music roots itself in blues and gospel styles. Noah's music (the son of the family for which Caroline works) is very simple in both orchestration and meter (usually in 3), perfect for a child of 8 years old. Rose (Noah's stepmother) is direct from New York and thus her music is a very urban pizzicato, amelodic and very telling of her character. Of course, the Radio sounds exactly like the Supremes and the Washing Machine has an incredible rhythmic motif that perfectly embodies a washing machine...I could go on about this for hours, in summation, Tesori's music is remarkably implemented.
Take these motifs and then expand them, interweave them, and spread them out over an entire show and the result is a truly remarkable operetta, a quilt of many styles and colors.
Kusher's story is just as compelling. Both times I saw the show in New York, I cried. It is a tragic tale of a woman who cannot seem to connect to her time, and of the destruction of a relationship between a maid and a young boy. While Kusher's lyrics (mostly rhymed couplets) can get a little tedious, the symbolism he creates with his words is nothing short of incredible.
In the Broadway production, the show is broken up into scenes which seem to be determined by the subject at hand (for example, in act one, the scenes are as follows: Scene 1: Washer/Dryer. Scene 2: Cabbage. Scene 3: Long Distance. Scene 4: Moon Change. Scene 5: Duets. Scene 6: The Bleach Cup). In the Broadway program, these scenes are all that are listed. There are no real song titles, because this is a motivic operetta with a few Arias. On the CD, the producers were obviously obliged to change this format. They inserted new tracks on the CD every so often so that the listener could jump through each scene. Useful, yes, but this may interrupt the flow to a listener who simply skips about.
In summary, I would absolutely recommend this CD to anyone wishing to experience a truly provocative musical. This is an actual piece of theatre, not another fluffy spectacle."