1963. In quiet Lake Charles, Louisiana, the destruction of a Confederate statue might just signal that change is in the air... But, whatever the progress of the civil rights movement, in the Gellman household things seem just the same - for now at least. Eight year old Noah, heartbroken by the death of his mother and his father's remarriage, sneaks down to the basement to spend time with the black maid he idolises, Caroline Thibodeaux: Caroline who runs everything. Whilst the basement may seem a fantastical place - even the appliances have a voice of their own - Caroline's work there is repetitive and badly paid. But when Mrs Gellman comes up with a way for her to take a little more money home, the consequences for Caroline and Noah's relationship are not what anybody might have expected... An Olivier Award winning musical with a hugely original, highly eclectic and uniquely American score, Caroline, or Change creates an uplifting and profound portrait of America at a time of momentous social upheaval.

About the Author

Tony Kushner's other plays include Angels in America, described as 'nothing less than one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century' (New York Observer). Jeanine Tesori's musical Fun Home won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Original Score.

Reviews

'Extraordinary... blends socio-historical breadth with intoxicating imagination'

* The Times *

'A modern masterpiece of considerable heft'

* Evening Standard *

'Magnificent... a thought-provoking and satisfying joy'

* WhatsOnStage *

'Fantastic... Kushner's writing achieves something rare: it points to hope, while issuing a reminder that what looks like change can be just going round in so many circles'

* Time Out, London *

'Extraordinary... Perhaps no one short of the author of Angels in America could pull this off... you feel that mixture of terror and rapture that arrives on those rare occasions in theatre and in life when you genuinely don't know what's going to happen next'

* New York Times *

'Groundbreaking, daring, beautiful and profoundly humane. The best show of the year'

* Time Out New York *

'Amazing piece of music-theatre... combines great dramatic intensity with wild flights of fantasy and music of thrilling variety and strength... the daring mixture of whimsy, passion and radical politics succeeds triumphantly'

* Daily Telegraph *

'Remarkable... Kushner's non-linear book focuses on a relationship while giving us a kaleidoscopic portrait of a community... the ultimate upstairs-downstairs musical'

* Guardian *

'Electrifying... there are moments in the history of theatre when stagecraft takes a new turn. This happened for the musical when Caroline, or Change bushwacked a path beyond the musical of the past thirty years'

* New Yorker *

'The first great piece of musical theater of the 21st century'

* Boston Globe *

'A monumental achievement. Joyful, wholly successful, immensely moving, told with abundant wit and generosity of heart... the finest musical to come our way in a long, long time'

* New York Observer *


Awards
Winner of Best Musical, Critics Circle Awards 2006 and Best New Musical, Olivier Awards 2007.



Book Information
ISBN 9781848427228
Author Tony Kushner
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books