With hit after hit, Tony Kushner's reign in the West End has boomed over the last two years. His latest offering is the musical Caroline, Or Change, opened last night at the Playhouse Theatre, but what did the critics think?

The Evening Standard was stunned by the production. In their five star review, they said Caroline, Or Change is a "morally charged examination of class, race and grief is nothing short of a triumph". They continued with praise for the musical's star, Olivier Award winner, Sharon D. Clarke, saying "this daringly strange show is nothing less than a career-defining triumph. Her performance is vocally majestic, beautifully controlled and rich in its emotional truth". 

London Theatre mirrored the sentiment saying that Clarke was "extraordinary" in their five-star review. They continued with "... a supremely entertaining and refreshingly adult musical". In our own review, Abigail praised Clarke saying "Sharon D. Clarke stuns as our titular character...Clarke embodies the role in one of the finest pieces of character work I've ever seen" before continuing with "With the blues, classical music, and Jewish Klezmer all featuring in this production, Caroline, or Change isn't necessarily just a story about the civil rights movement. It's a story about being human, in all its joys and challenges."

What is Caroline, Or Change about?

Little Noah is heartbroken and angry, grieving his mother's death and upset at his father's re-marriage he escapes to the basement where his beloved maid, Caroline Thibodeaux works all day. Caroline's work is monotonous, tiresome and badly paid, but when the new Mrs Gellman hatches a plan for Caroline to take some more money home, Caroline's and Noah's relationship provides consequences that nobody expected.

Caroline, Or Change is now playing at the Playhouse Theatre through to 6th April.