"Sublime. There’s no point trying to resist such sheer, distilled beauty...In its own way, this production is as primal and breathlessly seductive as the great director Peter Brook’s 'La Tragédie de Carmen'...Electrically choreographed by Bill T. Jones; the audience feels what the characters feel, on the rutted road to a harrowing catharsis...Smashingly effective...Mr. Doyle and his team go with the magnetic flow and personality-shaping detail of the original composition."
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"Offers a physically spare but musically rich account of a historically significant curio. Hammerstein’s attempts at African-American vernacular are often clunky, and the staging fumbles a few key moments of violence. But the score is sung thrillingly...It’s hard not to be seduced."
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“In Doyle, Rose may have found her ideal director, someone who lets her play to her strengths...It’s Rose’s investment in the character that illuminates the production from moment to moment...It’s a relief to see actors of color being allowed to concentrate on acting...Doyle doesn’t let us get sentimental about any of this. His staging, spare and quick but not rushed—only a great director could have fashioned this tight, ninety-five-minute jewel—shows Carmen as a woman who’s trying to survive."
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"A show that deserves to return to Broadway and will surely end up there...As for Doyle’s small-scale staging, performed by a cast of 10 and accompanied by a six-piece band, it is simple, subtle and wonderfully lucid, and features a performance of the title role by Anika Noni Rose for which the word 'hot' is a wan understatement...I wasn’t fully convinced by Doyle’s production, persuasive though it undeniably is. 'Carmen' isn’t a grand opera by any means, but it isn’t a chamber opera, either."
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"It's rendered especially captivating by the long overdue return to musical theater of Rose in a sizzling take on the title role... Doyle has made the right choice in treating it as a history piece. He has also cast gifted singers...The production doesn't quite make a case for 'Carmen Jones' as a neglected classic, but the 75-year-old cross-genre mashup does emerge as a fabulous artifact that still thrums with irresistible vitality."
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"Rose gives an authoritative and sexy performance in the title role...While Hammerstein’s slang-style lyrics have not aged especially well, 'Carmen Jones' remains an unusual and fascinating historical artifact...While the opera’s blockbuster moments may feel underpowered, the arias and two-character scenes take on extended potency in the intimate environment. And all in all, the 10-member ensemble cast is vocally spotless."
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“A master of revelatory and efficient revivals of classic musicals, Doyle gives 'Carmen Jones' the stripped-down treatment, forcing us to think about the porous border between romance and terror…We're taken in by the joy and enthusiasm that radiates from the cast as they seamlessly pull these elements together to tell a good story….That level of can-do resourcefulness is what makes 'Carmen Jones' both refreshing and impressive. It's the performances, however, that make it unforgettable.”
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“Mounted with such an abundance of cuts...Unaware audience members can be misled into thinking that what they're seeing represents what the author created...The knockout performance of Rose makes the endeavor well worth a visit...So cutting 'Carmen Jones' down to its not especially compelling plot dilutes what Hammerstein originally achieved....Fortunately, Doyle has employed an exceptional ensemble of actor/singers who oftentimes sound downright glorious.”
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