One of the themes of Caroline, or Change is that of the relationship between the Black maid, Caroline, and Noah, the white son of her employer. The complicated bond between the two unlikely friends (mother/friend and child/confidant) has been explored previously at Roundabout.
In 1989, Roundabout staged a play adaptation of Carson McCullers’s 1946 novel, The Member of the Wedding. The production reunited actor Esther Rolle (perhaps best known for her work on the 1970s television show Good Times, Rolle was a dancer and stage actor who worked with the Negro Ensemble Company) with director Harold Scott (one of the original repertory members of Lincoln Center Theatre and the first Black Artistic Director of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Scott went on to be Head of the Directing Program at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers). Both were involved in Roundabout’s staging of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (at the Union Square Theatre, 1986). That production has a unique history at Roundabout because it had a limited engagement tour, which included a stop in Los Angeles. Much of the New York cast toured with the production, but notable replacements included Rolle as Lena “Mama” Younger (replacing Olivia Cole) and Danny Glover as Walter Lee Younger (replacing James Pickens, Jr.).
A PBS taping of the Los Angeles cast under director Bill Duke (also a respected actor) was part of the American Playhouse series, which aired on public television in February 1989. This film version was based on Roundabout’s staging of the play. The theatre set designer who designed both A Raisin in the Sun and The Member of the Wedding, Thomas Cariello, donated his original drawings and elevations created for both productions to the Roundabout archives.
In her review of The Member of the Wedding, Deborah Stead, writing for The New York Times, teased up the challenges of race relations in this coming-of-age drama. Stead quoted Rolle as she reflected on working with a Black director with whom she shared common life experience: “‘I could see myself doing this play— [Scott]'s someone who can handle and deal with the relationships, understanding that this was in the more shameful days of our country.’”
Because Rolle had a close relationship with Roundabout, she was an active participant in offstage activities as well. The archives include photography depicting her at the Broadway Softball League games, happily ensconced among crew on the bleachers in Central Park. That season, Roundabout’s team was called “The Members of the Wedding.” The archives also include the subscriber newsletter “About Roundabout” from the Fall of 1988, mentioning Rolle’s return as well as the PBS airing of A Raisin in the Sun with an image depicting her with Danny Glover.
For more information on the Roundabout Archives, visit Roundabout Archives or contact Tiffany Nixon, Roundabout Archivist, at archives@roundabouttheatre.org.