Caroline, or Change

Caroline, or Change is one of those shows that is so good, it reminds you why you like musical theatre. I really didn't know anything about it before listening to it, and I love every single second. It's entirely sung through, but nothing is like... a "song." I need to explain what I mean, yes? Ok, so, in Les Mis everything is sung through, and everything they sing is a song. It's like song after song after song, where everything else stops when they're singing. The song is actually not part of the narrative: maybe it tells their feelings or something, but nothing is happening (with a few exceptions). In Caroline, or Change something is ALWAYS happening. You're getting their feelings, but you're also getting everything else. It's not all structure and rhyming; the end of the song bleeds into the next. This is not the show to look to for your next 16 bar audition cut, basically.

But this IS the show to look for if you want to be seriously moved. If you like stories where every single character is in the wrong, this is the show for you. God, I loved it. It's so conflicting. Everyone thinks they're right and in a way they ARE all right, but they're also all wrong.

This is also the show for you if you are a woman, as 7 of the main roles are woman (with 3(ish) male leading roles and 2 more supporting men and 1 supporting woman). 

With basically the entire play on the cast recording, you can hear the entire story just from the music (which is to be expected, since it's sung through). I also watched a bootleg on youtube, but this just reinforced my previous feelings. I related to Anika Noni Rose's character in so many ways. She is incredible, as is EVERYONE from the cast.

This musical gets an A+ and you should listen to it.

Caroline, or Change

Music by Jeanine Tesoro

Lyrics and Book by Tony Kushner