Caroline, or Change - Softcover

Tony Kushner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559362480 ISBN 13: 9781559362481

Publisher: Theatre Communications Group, 2004

Synopsis

Caroline is a breakthrough a story so grounded in the ordinary details of life that it almost seems to have discovered a new genre.” Richard Zoglin, Time

Acute, smart and witty: a telling snapshot focusing with sharp clarity on characters captured at a fraught turning point in history a culture’s and a family’s.” Charles Isherwood, Variety

Thrilling. You’ve never seen anything quite like Caroline, or Change and likely won’t again anytime soon. There’s never a moment that the part-pop, part-opera, part-musical-theater score Jeanine Tesori has conjured up doesn’t ideally match Tony Kushner’s meticulously chosen words with clarion precision.” Matthew Murray, talkinbroadway.com

A monumental achievement in American musical theater. Joyful, wholly successful, immensely moving, told with abundant wit and generosity of heart.” John Helipern, New York Observer
Louisiana, 1963: A nation reeling from the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement and the Kennedy assassination. Caroline, a black maid, and Noah, the son of the Jewish family she works for, struggle to find an identity for their friendship after Noah's stepmother, unable to give Caroline a raise, tells Caroline that she may keep the money Noah leaves in his pockets. Through their intimate story, this beautiful musical portrays the changing rhythms of a nation. Tony Kushner and composer Jeanine Tesori have created a story that addresses contemporary questions of culture, community, race and class through the lens and musical pulse of the 1960s.
Tony Kushner’s plays include Angels in America; Hydriotaphia, or the Death of Dr. Brown; The Illusion, adapted from the play by Pierre Cornelle; Slavs!; A Bright Room Called Day; Homebody/Kabul; Caroline, or Change, a musical with composer Jeanine Tesori; and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols’s film of Angels in America and for Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Lincoln. His books include The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present; Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon.
Among many honors, Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award, two Oscar nominations, and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris.

Jeanine Tesori composed the scores for Tony Award-winning musicals Thoroughly Modern Millie and Shrek the Musical as well as Violet and Caroline, or Change. She is the recipient of multiple Drama Desk and Obie Awards, and her film composition credits include Nights in Rodanthe, Winds of Change, Show Business, and Wrestling With Angels.

About this title

About the Author

Tony Kushner’s plays include Angels in America; Hydriotaphia, or the Death of Dr. Brown; The Illusion, adapted from the play by Pierre Cornelle; Slavs!; A Bright Room Called Day; Homebody/Kabul; Caroline, or Change, a musical with composer Jeanine Tesori; and The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols’s film of Angels in America and for Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Lincoln. His books include The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present; Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon.
Among many honors, Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award, two Oscar nominations, and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris.

Jeanine Tesori composed the scores for Tony Award-winning musicals Thoroughly Modern Millie and Shrek the Musical as well as Violet and Caroline, or Change. She is the recipient of multiple Drama Desk and Obie Awards, and her film composition credits include Nights in Rodanthe, Winds of Change, Show Business, and Wrestling With Angels.

Review

The first great piece of musical theater of the 21st century. Both musically and lyrically, this is every bit as smart as Sondheim and every bit as emotionally compelling as Rodgers and Hammerstein.” Ed Siegel, Boston Globe

An extraordinary new musical. Perhaps no one short of the author of Angels in America could pull this off. As when the angel crashes into Prior Walter’s bedroom, you feel that mixture of terror and rapture that arrives on those rare occasions in theater and in life when you genuinely don’t know what’s going to happen next.” Frank Rich, New York Times

Manna from heaven. Caroline is, like Angels in America, ultimately a celebration of human fortitude, of the vast resources of love and hope that allow people of all backgrounds and belief systems to transcend hatred and despair.” Elysa Gardner, USA Today

Groundbreaking, daring, beautiful and profoundly humane.” Adam Feldman, Time Out New York

Beautiful. A landmark, certainly one of the most significant musicals to reach the New York stage in recent years. It’s almost unheard of nowadays for musicals to get to the emotional core of anything. In Caroline, or Change, Kushner and Tesori give us heart aplenty.” Peter Marks, Washington Post

A high point in my theater-going experience. Simple and profound, ravishing and revolutionary.”- John Lahr, New Yorker

A shining moment in American culture...Even by Kushner’s standards, the gentle masterpiece that is Caroline, or Change comes as a breathtaking surprise. Kushner and Tesori may not trip off the tongue like Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe, but this team’s first joint effort is the stuff of genius. Timeless, devastating a play like no other.” Octavio Roca, Miami Herald

Caroline demands your attention and a deep emotional investment. The rewards, however, are rich.” Melissa Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly

A towering and, I believe, historic musical. There is nothing quite like Caroline, or Change in the American musical-theater canon. Tony Kushner’s first musical possesses the theatricality, rich language and fascinating tangle of ideas that we have come to expect from him.”- Damien Jacques, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Positively brilliant.” Plain Dealer

A show that really does have the power to change the cultural landscape.” Matt Wolf, Guardian

Miraculous. Let’s get it over with and call Caroline, or Change a masterpiece.” Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News

Uncompromising and profound, Caroline, or Change may well prove a turning point in musical theater history.” Anne Marie Welsh, San Diego Union-Tribune

When Caroline burns brightest, no other show surpasses its conviction, or the depths of its concerns: emotional, political and spiritual alike.” Jeremy McCarter, New York Sun

A thoughtful, gracefully crafted musical-drama that sincerely involves characters, not cartoons.” Michael Sommers, Star-Ledger

Unique and thrilling, funny and joyous, emotionally overwhelming. It’s Kushner at his best.” David Cuthbert, Times-Picayune

Intelligent and affecting a blend of spunk, soul, rage and redemption that features some of Kushner’s most ingratiating writing.” Eric Grode, broadway.com

Creative, exciting and refreshingly original. Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori have written a full-fledged opera, and a remarkable one.” Brooke Pierce, theatermania.com

Kushner's libretto is artfully crafted, his ability to capture the nuances of his characters is unparalleled and in Caroline, Or Change he creates people who seem to have sprung fully formed from the pages of the script.” broadwayworld.com

“The first great piece of musical theater of the 21st century. Both musically and lyrically, this is every bit as smart as Sondheim and every bit as emotionally compelling as Rodgers and Hammerstein.” –Ed Siegel, Boston Globe

“An extraordinary new musical. Perhaps no one short of the author of Angels in America could pull this off. As when the angel crashes into Prior Walter’s bedroom, you feel that mixture of terror and rapture that arrives on those rare occasions in theater and in life when you genuinely don’t know what’s going to happen next.” –Frank Rich, New York Times

“Manna from heaven. Caroline is, like Angels in America, ultimately a celebration of human fortitude, of the vast resources of love and hope that allow people of all backgrounds and belief systems to transcend hatred and despair.” –Elysa Gardner, USA Today

“Groundbreaking, daring, beautiful and profoundly humane.” –Adam Feldman, Time Out New York

“Beautiful. A landmark, certainly one of the most significant musicals to reach the New York stage in recent years. It’s almost unheard of nowadays for musicals to get to the emotional core of anything. In Caroline, or Change, Kushner and Tesori give us heart aplenty.” –Peter Marks, Washington Post

“A high point in my theater-going experience. Simple and profound, ravishing and revolutionary.”- John Lahr, New Yorker

“A shining moment in American culture...Even by Kushner’s standards, the gentle masterpiece that is Caroline, or Change comes as a breathtaking surprise. Kushner and Tesori may not trip off the tongue like Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe, but this team’s first joint effort is the stuff of genius. Timeless, devastating―a play like no other.” –Octavio Roca, Miami Herald

“Caroline demands your attention and a deep emotional investment. The rewards, however, are rich.” –Melissa Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly

“A towering and, I believe, historic musical. There is nothing quite like Caroline, or Change in the American musical-theater canon. Tony Kushner’s first musical...possesses the theatricality, rich language and fascinating tangle of ideas that we have come to expect from him.”- Damien Jacques, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Positively brilliant.” –Plain Dealer

“A show that really does have the power to change the cultural landscape.” –Matt Wolf, Guardian

“Miraculous. Let’s get it over with and call Caroline, or Change a masterpiece.” –Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News

“Uncompromising and profound, Caroline, or Change may well prove a turning point in musical theater history.” –Anne Marie Welsh, San Diego Union-Tribune

“When Caroline burns brightest, no other show surpasses its conviction, or the depths of its concerns: emotional, political and spiritual alike.” –Jeremy McCarter, New York Sun

“A thoughtful, gracefully crafted musical-drama that sincerely involves characters, not cartoons.” –Michael Sommers, Star-Ledger

“Unique and thrilling, funny and joyous, emotionally overwhelming. It’s Kushner at his best.” –David Cuthbert, Times-Picayune

“Intelligent and affecting―a blend of spunk, soul, rage and redemption that features some of Kushner’s most ingratiating writing.” –Eric Grode, broadway.com

“Creative, exciting and refreshingly original. Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori have written a full-fledged opera, and a remarkable one.” –Brooke Pierce, theatermania.com

“Kushner's libretto is artfully crafted, his ability to capture the nuances of his characters is unparalleled and in Caroline, Or Change he creates people who seem to have sprung fully formed from the pages of the script.” –broadwayworld.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1559362480
• ISBN 13: 9781559362481
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128