'Caroline' Off-Broadway review — Chloë Grace Moretz leads a powerful cast in this emotional family drama
Read our review of Caroline off Broadway, a new play by Preston Max Allen starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Amy Landecker, and River Lipe-Smith.
As a mom and her 9-year-old chat in the opening scenes of Preston Max Allen’s Caroline, there are questions, so many questions. “Do you have a name you think of for yourself?” the mom, Maddie (Chloë Grace Moretz), asks. “Where are we going?” asks little Caroline (River Lipe-Smith). “What does Tylenol do exactly?” the girl continues, getting an audible audience reaction in light of current events.
As the characters wonder, we do likewise. That’s a real strength of the writer’s narrative structure. Then, at about the 15-minute mark, Caroline’s query snaps this compact and compelling drama into sharp focus: “Can you not tell them that I’m trans?” What’s come before is clear now.
“Them” is Rhea (Amy Landecker), Caroline’s well-to-do grandmother. She and Maddie have been entirely cut off since Maddie’s tumultuous teen years turned into a tsunami of drugs, alcohol, sex, and theft. Now 28, Maddie has cleaned up her act, but life with her boyfriend has turned dangerous, as evidenced by a cast on Caroline’s arm. The world can be cruel to anyone different.
So, Maddie returns to her family home near Chicago for Mom’s help. Whether Rhea will step up — and what that means — is eventually revealed in an ultimatum. Suffice it to say that audience members gasped at my performance.
Allen, an emerging writer, displays a fine-tuned ear for dialogue. Quiet heart-to-hearts and jagged arguments emerge true to life. While constantly engaging, the play occasionally disrupts its own momentum. Rhea’s reaction to her transgender grandchild is brief and nonchalant, though you’d expect a mom so understandably fixed on her daughter’s past to be more curious about Caroline’s history. And like many young characters, Caroline is a tad too wise beyond her years.
Three powerful performances under the direction of David Cromer (Dead Outlaw) make up for the script's shortcomings. Stylish and steely, Landecker recalls the detached mom in Ordinary People. Lipe-Smith’s work feels natural, never forced. Moretz shines from start to finish as she summons a deep well of anxiety and hurt.
It’s said that home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. Caroline makes you reconsider that.
Caroline summary
Three generations of a fractured family come together in Preston Max Allen’s richly emotional drama Caroline, now in its world premiere run at MCC Theater. When Maddie and her daughter, Caroline — a trans girl in fourth grade — connect with Maddie’s mom, Rhea, for refuge, the stakes can’t be higher and the outcome more unpredictable. The play is about reckoning with the past and confronting the future, identity, and forgiveness.
What to expect at Caroline
Running 90 intermission-free minutes, the play unfolds in fluid fashion as scenes go from a West Virginia diner to a hotel in Indiana to a home in Evanston, Illinois. Scenic designer Lee Jellinek divides the MCC Theater space into sections that come to life under Christopher Darbassie’s lighting. From Maddie’s punky sweatshirts and sneakers to Rhea’s tailored slacks and sensible shoes, David Hyman’s costumes help define characters.
What audiences are saying about Caroline
On Show-Score, the theatre review aggregator, the play has a 91% audience approval rating, with theatregoers praising the story, cast, and themes.
- “This is a must see! It’s a sometimes heart-wrenching story with very modern, current themes that are beautifully delivered by the stellar cast.” - Show-Score user AshleyAisle
- “Excellent! Small, realistic drama anchored by a terrific performance by Moretz.” - Show-Score user ZTheatre
- “A gem of a play. A glimpse into the lives of three characters as they attempt to bridge broken relationships and struggle with modern day issues. The acting by all three is outstanding. A short play that packs a punch.” - Show-Score user Kindra_6325
Read more audience reviews of Caroline on Show-Score.
Who should see Caroline
- Theatregoers keen on getting to know an emerging author will appreciate Allen’s work on this play that’s both timely and timeless.
- Fans of Moretz, known for Kick-Ass, Carrie, and Off-Broadway’s The Library, will want to catch her very fine work here as a daughter and mother.
- Audiences who appreciate family dramas in all their many forms will appreciate this addition to the genre.
- Theatregoers interested LGTBQ+ stories on stage will be drawn to the story told here.
Learn more about Caroline
Caroline is a beautifully acted and directed work that delivers a surprising emotional punch.
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