Theater critics have given generally favorable reviews to the Roundabout Theatre transfer of the London revival of the 2003 musical Caroline, or Change, which premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2017. This limited engagement will run through January 9, 2022, at Broadway’s Studio 54. The creative team includes Tony Kushner (libretto), Jeanine Tesori (music), Michael Longhurst (direction), Ann Yee (choreography), Fly Davis (sets, costumes), Jack Knowles (lights), Paul Arditti (sound), Chris Fenwick (music direction), Nigel Lilley (music supervision), and Rick Bassett, Joseph Joubert, and Buryl Red (orchestrations).
Sharon D Clarke, making her Broadway debut, reprises her Olivier-winning performance as Caroline Thibodeaux. The cast also features Adam Makké / Jaden Myles Waldman / Gabriel Amoroso (Noah), Samantha Williams (Emmie), Caissie Levy (Rose), John Cariani (Stuart), Tamika Lawrence (Dotty), Arica Jackson (Washer), Kevin S. McAllister (Dryer/Bus), N’Kenge (Moon), Alexander Bello (Jackie), Jayden Theophile (Joe), Chip Zien (Mr. Stopnick), Stuart Zagnit (Grandpa), and Joy Hermalyn (Grandma), with Nasia Thomas (Radio 1), Nya (Radio 2), and Harper Miles (Radio 3). Below is Clarke singing “Lot’s Wife” during the 2019 Olivier Awards at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Broadway News (Charles Isherwood): [Clarke] commands the stage with such towering authority that it is almost surprising to see anyone else work up the nerve to step on it. … In her final solo, which all but blows the back wall off the theater … Clarke’s voice comes at you like a thunderbolt. … It is the unblinking yet compassionate portrait of the title character that lifts the show into the sublime, and Clarke’s performance … is the driving force behind its moments of transcendence.
Daily Beast (Tim Teeman): All the actors are sterling, but this is absolutely Clarke’s show. Her act two aria, “Lot’s Wife” — a fuller-throated cry from the head and heart it is unlikely that you will hear bettered this season — is so powerful it will lodge and vibrate in your bones. You will also sit in sheer wonder as she gives so much to give it to us.
Deadline (Greg Evans): Caroline, or Change places itself squarely at the forefront of the best in culture this city has to offer. Directed by Michael Longhurst with intensity and sensitivity, and performed by a cast that seems to have made a pact to sustain itself at the towering heights achieved early and unfailingly by its mighty star Sharon D Clarke, this Caroline, Or Change is a hurricane wind.
Did They Like It (Juan Michael Porter II): This West End transfer has been deprived of all urgency and bite. … Clarke betrays the game as soon as she appears onstage, leaving her with nowhere to build. She is not helped by timid vocal performance. … If one must attend this milquetoast production, I suggest that they rush home afterward to listen to the original cast album.
New York Daily News (Chris Jones): Clarke, who is vocally magnificent, is daunting of focus, craft and determination, and her chops are matched by Levy (who avoids all cliché), Lawrence and the majority of the cast. The physical production, designed by Fly Davis and overtaken by metaphor, has its bumps. … Simpler, less showy devices would have better matched where [Longhurst] wanted to go at times.
New York Times (Jesse Green): [Clarke] makes of the maid an almost Shakespearean figure. … In the scarifying 11 o’clock number “Lot’s Wife,” she commands attention without begging for it. … The result of that restraint is more painful than cathartic, leaving the story’s emotional release to those who can afford it: Caroline’s children. The chance to believe in change is her hard-won bequest to them — and, in this devastating, uncomfortable, crucial musical, to us.
Time Out New York (Adam Feldman): How often does a musical actually change your life? The deeply beautiful Caroline, or Change has that power. … The cast sings gloriously, but British director Michael Longhurst … pushes nearly everything and everyone too hard. … Make no mistake: Caroline, or Change is a masterwork, even in its altered frame. It should be experienced by everyone — and for all the things I might change about this version, I can’t wait to see it again. 4 out of 5 stars.
The Wrap (Robert Hofler): Longhurst’s revival is strongly sung, led by the astounding vocals of Sharon D Clarke in the title role. … It’s unfortunate that all this well-sung fantasy takes place on such an unattractive set. … The current Caroline may be one more for the ears than the eyes, but it still very much worth seeing.