Sharon D Clarke to star in Caroline, or Change on Broadway

Caroline, or Change begins performances at Studio 54 on March 13, 2020.

Roundabout Theatre Company will present a Broadway revival of Tony & Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner and Tony Award winner Jeanine Tesori's musical Caroline, or Change next spring, with Sharon D Clarke reprising her 2019 Olivier Award-winning performance in the titular role from the acclaimed West End production.

Directed by Michael Longhurst, previews are scheduled to begin at Studio 54 on March 13, 2020, ahead of an official opening on April 7.

Synopsis: "Sharon D Clarke stars in an exhilarating, Olivier Award-winning performance as Caroline, an African-American maid whose world of 1963 Louisiana ripples with change both large and small. Erupting with transcendent songs and larger-than-life imagination, Caroline, or Change explores how, in times of great transformation, even the simplest acts shake the earth."

The creative team behind Caroline, or Change features choreography by Ann Yee, music direction by Chris Fenwick, music supervision by Nigel Lilley, scenic & costume design by Fly Davis, lighting design by Jack Knowles, and sound design by Paul Arditti.

This new production, starring Clarke and directed by Longhurst, originally premiered at the Chichester Festival Theatre in June 2017, before transferring Off-West End to the Hampstead Theatre in March 2018 and finally to the West End's Playhouse Theatre in November 2018. Read the 5* review by Mark Shenton on our London Theatre Guide sister site here.

Caroline, or Change staged its Broadway premiere in April 2004, earning five Tony Award nominations including "Best Musical" and a win for Anika Noni Rose. The show's West End premiere took home the Olivier Award for "Best New Musical" in 2007.

Sharon D Clarke will be making her Broadway debut with Caroline, or Change. Her many London stage credits include a 2014 Olivier Award-winning performance in The Amen Corner, and Olivier-nominated performances in Ghost The Musical, We Will Rock You, and Once on This Island. Other notable credits include Guys and Dolls, Rent, Fame, Disney's The Lion King, Chicago, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Hairspray, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Death of a Salesman, among others.

Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

^{(Photo by Helen Maybanks)}