PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
“Not only were so many people trying to get inside Court’s auditorium that the curtain was delayed by 20 minutes, but the conclusion of director Charles Newell’s emotionally unstinting and thoroughly GRIPPING FOUR-STAR PRODUCTION was greeted by a bigger roar of approval than I’ve heard in 15 years of shows in Hyde Park... an extraordinary performance in the central role from E. Faye Butler ... when produced at this level, I find this show to be INESTIMABLEY POWERFUL AND MOVING powerful and moving.”
– Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune (Full Review)
“...something wholly transformative has taken place at Court Theatre, where that MASTERFUL DIRECTOR, Charles Newell, with his uncanny gift for unlocking a show’s secrets, has unleashed something not visible in that earlier “Caroline.” Working with muiscal director Doug Peck, his incomparable creative partner, and with a cast of blinding luminosity and palpable heat, Newell has revealed the show’s heart. Leading the way in the title role is E. Faye Butler ... whose staggeringly bare-nerved, fiercely interior ... performance makes every superlative you offer seem cheap. Hers is a landmark portrayal... BREATHTAKING.”
– Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times (Full Review)
“... when director Charles Newell draws our attention to the characters and their emotions, the work achieves a rare potence... this production compellingly, sometimes even magically, brings the same thoughtful, challenging perspective to offbeat material. E. Faye Butler combines vocal virtuosity with deep inner life as Caroline... she brings VOLCANIC POWER AND IMPECCABLE MUSICIANSHIP to bear on a character of both towering strength and weary weakness... a richly textured ensemble work, beautifully played by a superb supporting cast.”
– Albert Williams, Chicago Reader (Full Review)
* * * * * * "Charles Newell’s steely, graceful production blows a hole through the heart... Doug Peck in an early career high, floods the intimate Court space like A RHYTHM-AND-BLUES HURRICANE tearing clean through a dam. Nothing else like it in American musicals has ever been successfully rendered... I’d like to tell you about Butler’s historic, humbling accomplishment as the titular character ... but instead I must offer an apology. I don’t have any words.”
– Christopher Piatt, Time Out Chicago (Full Review)
“... the season’s first MUST-SEE SHOW... As Caroline, E. Faye Butler—a treasure—is a bedrock of voice and character in her greatest performance yet... Caroline, or Change is complex and profound musical theater given a mesmerizing local premiere.”
– Jonathan Abarbanel, Windy City Times (Full Review)
