My friend’s daughter had a 10 year old named Serena with long curly hair who wore frilly dresses like her older sister. One day she showed up at school with short hair and wearing overalls and announced his name was Jonah. For the most part, Jonah has been accepted and tolerated by all his old friends. But things are going to get harder as he deals with middle school, camp and even sports teams. But Jonah is lucky; His mother is a fighter and will do everything to keep him safe.

I thought about my friend and her daughter as I sat watching “Caroline,” the engrossing debut play written by Preston Max Alllen and directed by David Cromer. The drama unfolds slowly with two of the three characters, Caroline (River Lipe-Smith) and her mother Maddie (Chloe Grace Moretz) ordering breakfast in a roadside cafe. Their conversation seems typical except that Maddie seems to give in to everything Caroline asks. I assumed it was because the child’s arm was in a cast and she was hurting.

I didn't read about the play in advance so I was initially a bit confused as the two discuss what her new name should be. Were they mother and daughter? Were they running away so they had to change identities? What happened to Caroline’s arm?

My questions were answered soon enough. Caroline is transitioning and they left because Maddie’s new boyfriend got violent with Caroline who was wearing a dress.This explains her arm in a cast.

The scenes between Caroline and Maddie are natural and honest. Caroline doesn’t want anyone else to know she’s trans and suggests that her mother forge her birth certificate to get her into a new school. “You did illegal stuff,” Caroline tells her. “Can’t you do an illegal good thing?”

When they get to a hotel, Maddie explains they are going to see her parents with whom she has had no contact in years. In fact, they don’t know that Caroline was even born. Caroline doesn't want to share her personal information with them but Maddie explains that they have come because she needs help with school and medical care for Caroline, so they need to be honest.

Maddie explains that she’s estranged from them and she shares her history of addiction with her child, confiding that she did some awful things including stealing money from her parents before she ran away.

When Maddie’s mother Rhea (Amy Landecker) sees them at her door, she is immediately suspicious but shows little other emotion. She comes across as somewhat cold,speaking in quiet measured tones. It’s really hard to like or even care about Landecker. She evinces little feeling and even when she spends time alone with Caroline, she struggles to show warmth. Caroline’s observations about her grandmother are particularly astute. “She was kind of, like, too nice. She seemed stressed about being nice.”

You never forget Caroline’s a child, yet she’s very wise for her years. She is the only child of a single mother who confides and shares everything honestly with her. Caroline is extremely bright and the humor of the play is derived from her adult-like observations about the world, relationships and even politics

Caroline is played by a young experienced actor, River Lipe-Smith. Lipe-Smith delivers some of her lines in a mechanical way, but, like the rest of the play, her performance becomes more fluid and natural as it progresses.

The play builds to an almost violent crescendo as the adults hash out the past and Rhea gives Maddie an ultimatum about Caroline. Though she claims it’s to protect Caroline and give Maddie a chance to begin her life anew, Rhea shows no concern for her daughter.

Most impressive in the show is Moretz as the mother struggling trying to do her best.Her emotional reaction to her mother's suggestions is explosive. She gives a passionate and intense performance and wins the hearts of the audience.

Caroline is about universal mother-daughter relationships and how we are defined by our past. There are more current issues as well. Anyone who has dealt with a family member with addiction or going through transition will connect to Allen’s story.

David Cromer directs his characters to begin slowly, and I feared it would be a tedious evening. But I was wrong. sign of effective playwriting is what happens afterwards. Does the show stay with you? Have you been affected emotionally? On the trip home from “Caroline,” we talked and talked about the play. The play ended, the applause stopped but the conversation still continues.