A NOTE FROM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR


Book and Lyrics by Tony Kushner Music by Jeanine Tesori Choreographed by Ann Yee Directed by Michael Longhurst


Starring Sharon D Clarke in an exhilarating, Olivier Award-winning performance, Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori's explosive musical launches to “the titanic dimensions of greatness" (Ben Brantley, The New York Times). With boundless imagination and transcendent songs, Caroline, or Change brings to life the changing world of 1963 Louisiana, where even the simplest acts shake the earth.


WHERE: Lake Charles, Louisiana WHEN: November – December 1963 WHO:


THE THIBODEAUXS


CAROLINE THIBODEAUX 39 years old. Works as a maid for the Gellman family. A divorcee with four children who is resistant to change in the world. Bitter, tired, devoted.


EMMIE THIBODEAUX 16-17 years old. Caroline’s only daughter. Observant, rebellious, and outspoken.


JACKIE THIBODEAUX 10 years old. Caroline’s son. Sweet and naïve.


JOE THIBODEAUX Eight years old. Caroline’s youngest son. Outspoken and skeptical.


CAROLINE'S FRIENDS


DOTTY MOFFETT Early 30s. Caroline’s high-spirited friend and a fellow maid. Recently started back at college and is embracing the progressive times.


THE WASHING MACHINE THE DRYER THE RADIO THE MOON THE BUS


Embodiments of the objects in Caroline’s life, these figures serve as her confidants, reflect her opinions, and give her someone to talk to in her lonely life working for the Gellmans.


THE GELLMANS NOAH GELLMAN


Eight years old. The son of Stuart Gellman. Shy, forgetful, and often looks to Caroline for comfort.


GRANDMA GELLMAN Noah’s grandmother and Stuart’s mother. Concerned about her son’s melancholy and admiring of his new wife.


GRANDPA GELLMAN Noah’s grandfather and Stuart’s father. He is unconcerned with the social changes occurring in the South.


ROSE STOPNICK GELLMAN Mid-to-late 30s. Recently married to Stuart and moved to the South. Very concerned for Noah’s well-being.


STUART GELLMAN


Mid-to-late 30s. A clarinetist, recently widowed and remarried to Rose. Still mourning the loss of his first wife and struggling to connect with his son and new wife.


MR. STOPNICK


70s. Rose Stopnick Gellman’s father. A politically progressive man who has no qualms about sharing his dissenting opinions.


When we announced Caroline, or Change’s first Broadway revival as part of our season, the response was overwhelming. Caroline, or Change premiered on Broadway in 2004 among a landscape of musicals that included smash hits Wicked and Avenue Q. Although it had a different path to success than some of its companions, it is a testament to the musical’s prescience and originality—not to mention the genius of its creators, Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori—that its reputation has only grown among critics and fans in the years since its debut.


TODD HAIMES


Originally seen at the Chichester Festival in the UK in 2017, director Michael Longhurst’s production received such acclaim that it transferred twice, eventually ending up on the West End, where it was nominated for multiple Olivier Awards. Caroline, or Change is one of those rare pieces of art that increases in importance and relevance as time goes by. In Michael’s words, “The show is about how we all exist together—how we should share and acknowledge our privilege, not avoid it, in order to exist in greater peace.” What could be more timely than that?


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