Chloë Grace Moretz navigates tough love as a recovering addict in 'Caroline'

By Matthew Wexler

Second chances are ripe subject matter this fall on New York stages. Punch, which recently opened on Broadway, interprets the true story of what happens to a troubled teen and his victim’s family after a violent crime turns fatal. On a more intimate, Off-Broadway stage, MCC Theater presents Caroline, a nuanced examination of an addict coming clean, the damage she’s left behind, and a mother whose boundaries are sure to elicit post-show debates.

Chloë Grace Moretz plays Maddie, eight years sober with a nine-year-old child (River Lipe-Smith). When she appears unannounced on her parents’ doorstep after years of estrangement, her mother, Rhea (Amy Landecker), battens down the emotional hatches in anticipation of what may unfold. But Maddie has run out of options, fleeing a relationship that’s turned abusive toward her transgender daughter and facing the myriad of complications from healthcare to job security.

Chloë Grace Moretz and River Lipe Smith in "Caroline." — Chloë Grace Moretz and River Lipe Smith in “Caroline.” Photo by Emilio Madrid.

Playwright Preston Max Allen reveals these circumstances judiciously throughout the opening scenes that take place between West Virginia and Evanston, Illinois. By the time the pair arrives, the audience is one step ahead. Or so we think.

Caroline’s gender, while a pivotal force in the play’s premise, skips the often-used trope of family rejection. Rhea, discovering she’s a grandparent, balks at the idea when asked if Maddie’s father will approve: “Of course, we’re not Republicans.”

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It’s a broad swipe, but one that cleans the slate for the mother-daughter showdown to come, in which Rhea offers what some may see as cruel and others as a necessary ultimatum to ensure Caroline’s safety and care.

Director David Cromer (Good Night, and Good Luck; Prayer for the French Republic) has a knack for extracting a kind of distilled specificity from his actors, and this trifecta rises to the occasion. Though a bit slowly paced in a preview performance I attended, the production has already been extended twice, perhaps driven by Moretz’s 23.8 million Instagram followers.

To Moretz’s credit, she has chosen a project that not only fits her wheelhouse but will also provoke thoughtful conversations about what it means to give, receive, or deny unconditional love.