Change is scary and inevitable. At times in history, it comes so forcefully that it can both divide and unite people.

Showing at Syracuse Stage now through Feb. 26, ‘Caroline, or Change’ reveals this through the emotionally charged story of Caroline, an African-American maid working for a Jewish family in 1963 Louisiana.

The play contrasts Caroline — a poor and long-suffering single mother with four kids, one of whom is at war in Vietnam — with the Gellman’s, a comfortably middle-class family dealing with the death of their mother and wife. Rose, Mr. Gellman’s new wife, struggles to find her place in the family. Discovering that her stepson Noah leaves change in the pockets of his dirty clothes, Rose decides to teach him a lesson. Rose tells Caroline that she can keep whatever change she finds. Noah is fond of Caroline and does not object at first, but the seemingly harmless arrangement soon brings up questions of pride, race and entitlement that set the plot in motion.

The musical, with lyrics by Tony Kushner and music by Jeanine Tesori, is through-composed, meaning it is entirely sung without spoken dialogue. Tesori combines American musical theater styles, gospel and traditional Jewish melodies into what she calls a ‘folk opera,’ according to the show’s program notes. The resulting songs are playful, spiritual and deeply moving.

The show’s 1960s setting made its sets and costumes charming and nostalgic. Costume designer Candice Donnelly clad the female characters in dresses with high, fitted waists and wide skirts, and the men wore suits with wide-legged pants. Scenic designer William Bloodgood wrapped the stage in the gnarly limbs of quintessentially Southern pecan trees while incorporating period details like aluminum-edged countertops.

Beyond the charming retro aesthetic, what is fascinating about the musical is that the audience relates to and feels sympathy for all its characters. Kushner employs a sort of moral relativism in which the scale of the characters’ problems is less important than the sympathy the audience feels for them.

Demonstrating this are the struggles faced by both Caroline and Rose. Unlike Caroline, Rose enjoys a life of financial stability and education, yet she struggles to feel accepted and loved in the family she married into. In contrast, Caroline is confined to poverty and soul-crushing manual labor, yet she shares a love with her children that Rose has not experienced. The two women come from completely different worlds, but both their hardships stir sympathy in the viewers.

The cast of brilliant actors also helped draw emotion from the audience. Stephanie Umoh played Emmie, Caroline’s willful and intelligent daughter. As the voice of the civil rights movement in the play, Emmie embodies what Caroline is too afraid to accept. Umoh captured both Emmie’s rebelliousness and sweetness, all while belting out passionate vocals.

More impressive singing came from Doug Eskew, who played personifications of a laundry dryer and a bus. His soulful voice seemed made for gospel, often eliciting whoops of appreciation from the audience. Also personified was the radio, played by Caitlainne Rose Gurreri, Christina Acosta Robinson and Gabrielle Porter in a way that evoked the musical ‘Dreamgirls.’

However, the show-stealer was Greta Oglesby in the title role of Caroline. Though Caroline was sometimes hard to like, Oglesby’s performance proved breathtaking, bringing the entire audience to its feet at the play’s end. When playwright Kushner saw her in a previous production at the Guthrie Theatre, he became choked up, according to a Syracuse Stage press release.

Timothy Bond, producing artistic director at Syracuse Stage, said he worked on bringing Greta Oglesby to town for a number of years, and ‘Caroline, or Change’ presented the perfect opportunity to do so. After the show, Bond expanded further on his reasons for bringing the musical to Syracuse.

‘I really wanted something that was going to touch people in a deep, historical way and also something to do with current issues around how divided we are in our country,’ he said.

Whether Bond was referring to economic, political or racial divisions, the show is meant to make a strong impression — and it certainly does. It combines brilliant writing, high production values and an exceptional cast to create a resounding image of life in the South during the 1960s, but its truths and messages are felt powerfully in the present. Theatergoers will be satisfied. And for those whose weekend plans don’t include a musical, perhaps it’s time for a change.

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Published on February 6, 2012 at 12:00 pm

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