Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – John Doyle’s distilled revival of CARMEN JONES is emotionally unbridled, as led by a searing Anika Noni Rose

• By drediman
• June 28, 2018
• No Comments

Anika Noni Rose and Tramell Tillman in John Doyle’s production of Bizet and Hammerstein’s “Carmen Jones” at Classic Stage Company.

Passions run high in John Doyle’s distilled, emotionally unbridled production of Carmen Jones, which opened last night Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company. The staging marks a rare revival of this curious beast, an updating of Georges Bizet’s popular opera to World War II-era America. The piece – with book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II – basically recycles Bizet’s immortal score almost in its entirety, with a touch of jazz and blues, and applies to it modernized English lyrics appropriate to the new setting.

The staging features Mr. Doyle’s now-familiar stripped-down aesthetic, and it works wonderfully in this case – as aided by Bill T. Jones’ rousing choreography – which is not always the case with this director. Indeed, I still cringe at the memory of his woefully mis-judged revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s lesser-known Allegro, also at CSC. By minimizing Carmen Jones’ specificity, the piece now registers very much like the underlying opera on which it’s based (as well as the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess); it also doesn’t hurt that nearly everyone in the cast possesses sterling, classically-trained voices. In Mr. Doyle’s hands, Carmen Jones attains a timeless, Greek tragedy-like quality, which works hand-in-glove with the intensity of the human passions on display and the plot’s inevitably escalating stakes.

In the title role, the gorgeous Tony-winner Anika Noni Rose (she won as a very young woman for that singular Tony Kushner-Jeanine Tesori concoction Caroline, or Change) makes a welcome return to the New York stage with a searing, all-consuming performance as the fabled femme fatale. She commands the stage with a feral and sexual confidence that seduces everyone around her, including the audience. You simply cannot take your eyes off of her. And vocally, she’s sounding better than ever, ably handling the demanding operatic requirements of the score. The rest of the top-notch cast, although not quite at Ms. Rose’s level in terms of exquisite perfection, is very, very fine.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

CARMEN JONES
Off-Broadway, Musical
Classic Stage Company
1 hour, 45 minutes (without an intermission)
Through July 29