“Caroline, or Change” is objectively a strange show. But with the amount of talent onstage at Footlite Musicals, you’d hardly notice.
Written by American playwright Tony Kushner with a musical score by Jeanine Tesori, “Caroline, or Change” takes place in 1963 Louisiana against the Civil Rights Movement. The show first premiered on Broadway in 2004 and ran for only 136 performances. It received six Tony nominations with Anika Noni Rose winning for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Directed by Bradley Allen Lowe, “Caroline, or Change” is making its Indiana premiere onstage at Footlite Musicals now through March 16. I saw it last Friday; let’s get into it!
The show is strange because the washing machine sings, and so does the dryer, the radio, the bus and the moon. The musical is incredibly intense from start to finish. It includes themes of poverty, privilege, racism and domestic violence. It is funny at times, hopeful even, but overall, “Caroline, or Change” is not a happy show with a happy ending.
I struggled with this review because the show is incredibly complex and not necessarily one of my favorites. If you’re reading to find out if it was good and if you should go see it, the answer is yes. You can catch “Caroline, or Change” for one more weekend at the Hedback Theatre, and I always recommend supporting local theater.
However, if you want a more in-depth review, stick around.
“Caroline, or Change” follows a Black single mother named Caroline Thibodeaux, who works as a maid for the Gellmans — a white Jewish family — in the 1960s. She’s a domestic violence survivor, but she’s poor and wrestles with her pride, cooking and cleaning for literal pennies and dimes to care for her four kids — Emmie (Kaylee Johnson-Bradley), Jackie (Cairo Graves), Jo (Praia Graves) and an offstage baby I can’t remember the name of.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Keep in mind Footlite Musicals is entirely volunteer. I typically review professional and equity theater productions, but I’m digging deeper into Indy’s arts scene, and I’m so glad I did! The amount of not-so-hidden talent in this production blew me away. From the second the curtain rose to reveal Caroline (Damaris Burgin) dressed in a freshly pressed maid outfit, singing about being 16 feet beneath the sea, I knew everyone in that theater was in for a treat.
You can usually tell the popularity of a show based on attendance. Even on its second weekend, “Caroline, or Change” was near a packed house. Burgin’s performance as Caroline is what I’d call a once-in-a-lifetime performance, heightened by Johnson-Bradley’s fiery energy and crazy vocals as Caroline’s oldest daughter and budding teen Civil Rights activist Emmie Thibodeaux.
You don’t see passion like that every day. And you don’t see talent like Angela Manlove (The Moon), Samuel McKanney (The Bus), Zarah Shejule (Dotty Moffett) or Emily Mae Gaddy (Rose Stopnick Gellman) every day, either. Every character, big and small, was captivating.
Regarding musical numbers, “Caroline, or Change” includes a lot of medleys and talk singing — like “Les Miserables.” There’s not a lot of spoken dialogue in the show, so pay attention or you’ll miss important context.
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A tried and true musical theater classic is the Greek chorus, and for “Caroline, or Change,” that’s the Radio, played by Jada Radford, Nia Hughes and Vivian Husband. These ladies absolutely shined onstage. I adored their glittery outfits with radio headset headbands and the way they captured the audience with stunning harmonies.
The set for “Caroline, or Change” is one you’ll have to see to understand. The entire set, designed by Ian Marshall-Fisher, was essentially one piece — not a single set change was needed! The attention to detail in each room of the house was impressive, right down to how characters engaged with props, creating a believable world for the actors to engage with and breathe life into the story.
Lastly, I have to give recognition to Marina Tuner and Etta Biloon for their work in costume design for this show. Every character’s costume and makeup were unique and told a visually rich story, whether they were on stage for a few numbers or changed throughout the show — of course, when styling a washing machine and the moon next to a maid and a housewife, you’d have to get creative. Bravo!
As a former theater gal myself, I hate pointing out the things I didn’t like or things that went wrong. This is community theater; everyone involved in the production volunteered their time, talent and hard work.
That being said, there were some issues with sound and mics being too loud or cutting out during the show — enough to notice. In a show where almost everyone can belt, please turn down the mics.
“Caroline, or Change” is onstage at Footlite Musicals at the Hedback Theatre, 1847 Alabama St., now through March 16. Tickets are $15. For more information, visit footlite.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe graduated with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and her previous work includes freelancing for Indy Maven, Assistant Arts & Life Editor for The Lantern, and editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Chloe enjoys covering all things arts and culture — from local music, visual art, dance, theater and film, as well as minority-owned businesses. In her free time, Chloe enjoys reading, cooking and keeping her plants alive.
