By Michele Markarian
“Caroline or Change”. Book and lyrics by Tony Kushner; Score by Jeanine Tesori; Directed by Allison Olivia Choat; Presented by Moonbox Productions at Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through May 11.
“39 and still a maid,” sings Caroline (Yewande Odetoyinbo), who, in 1963’s Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a single mother of four children, one of whom is serving in Vietnam. She works for a Jewish family, the Gellmans, who have just suffered a crisis of their own – Betty, the mother, has died of cancer. Widow Stuart (Robert Orzalli) has decided to marry his deceased wife’s best friend, Rose (Sarah Kornfeld). His eight-year old son, Noah (Ben Choi-Harris) does not like his stepmother, much to her sad consternation. He is attached to Caroline, who lets him light her cigarettes. She also delivers some pithy advice: “When cancer eat people Noah, it God eating them. God sometimes eat people like a hungry wolf. He make this whole world as a test. Cancer was your momma’s test, and her death is your test.” Sounds harsh, but ultimately more comforting than what the emotionally detached Stuart has to offer his son with “There Is No God, Noah”.
The high-strung Rose is mortified that the family can’t afford to pay Caroline extra – she’s making only $30 a week – and tells Caroline that she can keep the extra change that Noah often leaves in his pocket by mistake, just to teach him a lesson. Caroline feels badly taking money from a mere boy, but the extra coins come in handy. Noah begins leaving coins in his pockets deliberately, attempting to ingratiate his way into Caroline’s life. When he accidentally leaves a twenty dollar bill, a rift ensues. Mind you, all of this is taking place in 1963 – Kennedy’s assassination, the death of Medgar Evans, the ascent of Martin Luther King. Tensions abound, both inside and outside of the home. I kept wishing Caroline would find a better gig, or that Rose would find someone to at least be nice to her. Janie E. Howland’s two-tiered set design amplifies the distance between the two worlds. The Gellman’s life takes place on top, and Caroline’s world – the basement, the bus stop, and her home – takes place underneath.
The talented cast makes the most of the forgettable, meandering score, which the band, under the excellent direction of Dan Rodriguez, does its best to liven up. Odetoyinbo, in addition to possessing an amazing singing voice and range, has something even more elusive, which is star quality. She inhabits the stage and her character like a force of nature. Choi-Harris does well as the sad, tentative and hopeful Noah. Kornfeld manages to elicit sympathy as the unhappy Rose, who, despite her good intentions, can’t even remember how to say her employee’s name (she repeatedly calls her “Caro-LYN”). Kira Troilo is radiant as Emmie, Caroline’s ebullient, rebellious daughter who knows that there’s a better world beginning, despite her mother’s inability to move forward. As Moon (Pier Lamia Porter) sings, “Change come fast and change come slow”. Despite her anger, Caroline is not all that wired for change (at one point, she admonishes Emmie for referring to her race as black, instead of “Coloreds” or “Negroes”). She is not inclined to grow through attending night school, like her friend Dotty (Lyndsay Allyn Cox). But in the throes of her despair, when Caroline beseeches God to “Set me free, don’t let my sorrow make evil of me” we know that change is at work, and somehow, she will move forward after all. For tickets and info, go to: http://www.moonboxproductions.org/
