Tonya Pinkins to Take Caroline, or Change to London's National

Tonya Pinkins, who was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Caroline Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change, will reprise her performance in the National Theatre's U.K. premiere of the Tony Kushner-Jeanine Tesori musical. The show opens at the Lyttelton Theatre on 19 October following previews from 10 October. George C Wolfe, who directed the original production, is also reprising his directorial duties at the National.

In Caroline, or Change, set in Louisiana in 1963 in the immediate aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, Pinkins plays the black maid to a southern Jewish family that is struggling to keep afloat both emotionally and economically. The plot centers on the confrontation Caroline has with the young son of her employer as he tries to make sense of the world following the death of his mother.

Caroline, or Change premiered off-Broadway at the Public Theater in the fall of 2003. After that run, it moved to Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre, where it ran from April 13 to August 29, 2004.

As well as previously announced players Clive Rowe, Angela M. Caesar, Malinda Parris and Nataylia Roni, the company of the National Theatre production will also include Valda Aviks, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Greg Bernstein, Ronald Chabvuica, Nora Cole, Louis Ekoku, Anna Francolini, Kuan Frye, Richard Henders, Jamal Hope, Ramona Keller, Ian Lavender, Joy Malcolm, Hilton McRae, Perry Millward, Jonny Weldon and Mitchell Zhangazha.

Caroline, or Change will be in the repertoire of the Lyttelton Theatre at the National starting January 4, 2007.