Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose will take on the title role in Classic Stage Company’s upcoming revival of Carmen Jones. The previously announced Off-Broadway revival will begin performances June 8.
CSC Artistic Director John Doyle will helm the production, featuring choreography by Bill T. Jones. This marks the first major New York staging of the Oscar Hammerstein II musical since the 1943 original Broadway production.
The company will also include David Aron Damane (The Book of Mormon) as Husky Miller, Erica Dorfler (The Great Comet) as Myrt, Andrea Jones-Sojola (Porgy and Bess) as Sally, Justin Keyes (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) as Rum, Lindsay Roberts (Porgy and Bess) as Cindy Lou, Soara-Joye Ross (Les Misérables) as Frankie, Lawrence E. Street (Urinetown) as Dink, and Tramell Tillman ('Tis Pity She's a Whore) as Sergeant Brown. Casting for the role of Joe will be announced later.
Rose, who earned a Tony Award for Caroline, or Change, last appeared on the New York stage in the 2014 Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun (earning an additional Tony nomination). Her additional stage credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the Encores! presentations of Purlie and The Cradle Will Rock. She is also known for her work on the screen in Dreamgirls, The Princess and the Frog, and BET's The Quad.
Featuring a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Carmen Jones brings the score of Georges Bizet's iconic, Spain-set opera to southern America during World War II, as Carmen, now a parachute factory worker, is caught in a love triangle with an airman and boxer (instead of a corporal and toreador).
The revival will feature sets by Scott Pask, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting by Adam Honoré, sound design by Dan Moses Shreier and casting by Telsey + Company. Joseph Joubert serves as orchestrator and music supervisor. The limited engagement is currently scheduled through July 29.
