One thing you won't get in the civil rights-themed "Caroline, or Change" at Centerstage is a dry history lecture. What you'll get instead includes a personified washing machine and dryer in a maid's laundry room in Louisiana in 1963. It's such a creatively lively show that sometimes it verges on being unruly.

This 2003 musical isn't the usual showbiz package. The book and lyrics by Tony Kushner ("Angels in America") bristle with sociological observations that go beyond the genre's escapist norm. Although his demographic presentation of black and Jewish characters occasionally verges on caricature, he manages to hold onto their humanity in this energetic history lesson.

The music by Jeanine Tesori provides such a continuous bombardment of short songs that the show is almost entirely sung, with only scattered bits of spoken dialogue along the way. The effect tends to be closer to a music hall presentation than a traditional book musical.

Perhaps it's best to think of "Caroline, or Change" as a sort of musical collage. Its political and pop cultural elements are festively interwoven, and it more or less holds together through all that hectic activity.

The principal reason it remains cohesive is its central character, Caroline Thibodeaux, a 39-year-old black maid working for a white family. This divorced mother of four children is a diligent employee, but her simmering resentment builds with each load of laundry she does. Besides the personal worries that are effectively spelled out in Kushner's script, Caroline is the white uniform-clad embodiment of hard-working black people who had lived their entire lives bound by Jim Crow laws.

Caroline's no-nonsense manner tends to give her a gruff exterior, but there's obviously a good heart beating within her. This richly conceived character is brought to life by E. Faye Butler in an emotionally intense performance that makes you sit up and take notice.

Her daily chores in the laundry room are enlivened by some fantastic appearances. The actual washing machine and dryer sit there as always, but nightclub garb-costumed human performers appear alongside them and choreographically churn as human appliances. Danielle Lee Greaves as The Washing Machine and Milton Craig Nealy as The Dryer are among the elements that make the show like a musical revue.

Also providing entertainment relief for Caroline is The Radio. This is represented by three sequin-gowned young ladies (Ta'Rea Campbell, Adrienne Muller and April Nixon) singing like an early '60s girl group akin to the embryonic Supremes.

The pop, blues, gospel, jazz and R sounds are the eclectic musical manifestation of Caroline's identity. Long-established notions about cultural identity are up for grabs as the civil rights movement gains momentum in that era. This is displayed in alternating scenes at her employer's house and her own much more modest dwelling, with all these changes facilitated by a two-level set and scenic backdrops that float in and out as needed.

At the emotional heart of the show is the relationship between Caroline and her employer's 8-year-old-son, Noah Gellman (Bradley Bowers alternating with Matthew Demetrides). Noah's father, stepmother and grandparents are given plenty of time on stage to establish that as a Jewish family they also live with reminders of their minority status within American society.

The generous and yet sometimes testy relationship between this Jewish family and its black maid serves as the unwavering thematic spine for a show that tends to sprawl with its many characters. Its didactic content also threatens to become too heavy in places, but director David Schweizer, music director Wayne Barker and a talented cast ensure that you receive a smooth-flowing musical education.

"Caroline, or Change" continues at Centerstage (700 N. Calvert St. in Baltimore) through Jan. 18. Tickets are $10 to $65. Call 410-332-0033 or go to www.centerstage.org.

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