Caroline, Or Change (2004 Original Broadway Cast)
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CD Details
Edition: Music CDCD Release Date: 2004-06-29
Music Label: Hollywood Records
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- 16 Feet Beneath the Sea - Caroline, The Washing Machine
- The Radio - The Radio
- Laundry Quintet - The Radio, Caroline, The Washing Machine
- Noah Down the Stairs - Noah
- The Cigarette - Caroline, Noah, The Washing Machine
- Laundry Finish - The Radio
- The Dryer - The Dryer, The Radio
- I Got Four Kids - Caroline, The Dryer, The Washing Machine
- Caroline, There's Extra Food - Rose, Caroline, Grandma Gellman , Grandpa Gellman, Noah
- There is No God, Noah - Stuart
- Rose Stopnick Can Cook - Grandma Gellman, Grandpa Gellman, Stuart, Rose, Caroline, Noah
- Long Distance - Rose
- Dotty and Caroline - Dotty, Caroline, The Moon
- Moon Change - The Moon
- Moon Trio - The Moon, Dotty, Caroline
- The Bus - The Bus
- That Can't Be - Dotty, Caroline, The Moon
- Noah and Rose - Noah, Rose
- Inside/Outside - Moon, Noah, Rose
- JFK - Grandma Gellman, Grandpa Gellman, Dotty, The Moon, Noah
- Duets: No One Waitin' - The Radio, Emmie, Caroline
- Duets: `Night Mamma - Emmie
- Duets: Gonna Pass Me a Law - Caroline, Noah
- Duets: Noah Go to Sleep - Caroline, Noah
- Noah Has a Problem - Caroline, Rose
- Stuart and Noah - Stuart, Noah, Caroline
- Quarter in the Bleach Cup - Noah, Caroline, The Washing Machine
- Caroline Take My Money Home - Noah, Caroline, Emmie, Jackie, Joe
- Roosevelt Petrucius Coleslaw - Noah, Emmie, Jackie, Joe, Caroline
- Santa Comin' Caroline - The Radio, The Washing Machine
- Little Reward - The Washing Machine, Caroline, The Radio
- "1943" - Caroline, The Radio, The Washing Machine
- Mr. Gellman's Shirt - Rose, Caroline
- Ooh Child - The Washing Machine, The Radio
- Rose Recovers - Rose, Caroline, The Dryer
- I Saw Three Ships - Jackie, Joe, Emmie, Caroline
- The Chanukah Party - Stuart, Noah, Rose, Grandma Gellman, Grandpa Gellman, Mr. Stopnick
- Dotty and Emmie - Dotty, Emmie, Caroline
- I Don't Want My Child to Hear That - Caroline, Mr. Stopnick, Grandma Gellman, Grandpa Gellman, Rose
- Mr. Stopnick and Emmie - Emmie, Mr. Stopnick, Caroline, Rose
- Kitchen Fight - Dotty, Emmie, Caroline
- A Twenty Dollar Bill and Why - Mr. Stopnick,Rose, Noah, Grandma Gellman, Dotty
- I Hate the Bus - Emmie
- Moon, Emmie and Stuart Trio - Moon, Emmie, Stuart, Rose
- The Twenty Dollar Bill - Noah, Rose, Mr. Stopnick, Grandpa Gellman, Grandma Gellman, The Washing Machine and Caroline
- Caroline and Noah Fight - Noah, Caroline, The Dryer
- Aftermath
- Sunday Morning - Caroline, Dotty
- Lot's Wife - Caroline
- Salty Teardrops - The Radio
- Why Does Our House Have a Basement? - Noah, Rose, The Washing Machine
- Underwater - Caroline and Noah
- Epilogue - Moon, Emmie, Jackie, Joe
Music reviews of Caroline, Or Change (2004 Original Broadway Cast)
Music Review: A Unique but Flawed Work of Theatre
Rating: 4 Stars
Like most innovative works of theatre, "Caroline, or Change" has its fair share of champions and detractors. Some view this sung-through contemporary opera as a revolutionary masterpiece, while others view it as a pretentious vanity project for Tony Kushner and star Tonya Pinkins. The truth is the work is highly original and unlike almost anything else in the musical theatre cannon, and like most works that strive to break new ground contains a few fundamental flaws.
No matter how you look at it, "Caroline" is a difficult work to wrap your head around. A far cry from her more traditional work on "Thoroughly Modern Millie," composer Jeanine Tesori's score is built out of what has been described as musical pocket change, fragments of melodies that are frequently repeated but rarely evolve into anything resembling a traditional musical theatre song. Yet these fragments, which span rhythme and blues to traditional Jewish folk styles, are in their own right quite beautiful and are often thrown together in unique ways, such as how Ms. Tesori creates the sounds of Caroline's basement at the beginning of the show.
Another challenging element of the show is the large amounts of anthropomorphic objects running around. Caroline's washer, dryer, and radio as well as the moon all are given distinct voices by some talented actors and actresses, and part of the challenge of the show is wrapping your head around what their function in the story is. Sometimes they merely set the mood, sometimes then introduce important thematic material, and in the case of the radio they talk directly to Caroline and reveal bits of the inner workings of her psyche. These objects highlight the fact that instead of a traditional book show with an emphasis on plot, "Caroline, or Change" is in reality a complex character of the black maid Caroline.
Which leads me to one of the show's greatest strengths, which is Tonya Pinkins' excellent portrayal of the title character. Pinkins' Caroline oozes emotional depth, always giving you the feeling there's much more going on than she lets show. And when this emotion comes the forefront, such as in the powerful "Lot's Wife" (more on that in a sec), Pinkins soars to new heights and gives one of the most commanding musical theatre performances in years. Although her vocals aren't always the most pleasing, Pinkins manages to keep you riveted and invested in the trials of this downtroden maid who only wants a better life for herself and her children.
And now "Lot's Wife," one of the most talked about songs in the show. Most often compared to "Rose's Turn" in "Gypsy," "Lot's Wife" is the culmination of all the emotional stress placed on Caroline throughout the show and is easily the best track on this two disc set. Ms. Tesori's music reaches its peak and Tonya Pinkins acts the number superbly, but it also highlights the main problem I have with her performance. See, the role's a little out of her range, and she ends up screaming a lot of the high notes, which lends them power but not necessarily aural appeal. This problem is evident throughout the disc, but it seems most prevelant here. However, as I said before, Pinkins' acting is so strong you almost don't care.
At the end of the day, "Caroline, or Change" is a very worthy piece of theatre but not necessarily the best CD. The show's intellectual and emotional complexity as well as the non-traditional nature of the score pretty much demand that you dedicate yourself to listening to the entire thing straight through with your full attentnion. But if you have the time, the rewards are many.
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