Carmen Jones NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (226)
See it if you are curious about how Bizet's music works in this context, want to hear great music, see fine perfs & be absorbed by plot.
Don't see it if You're not a fan of Bizet's music or repelled by idea of it being used in a Broadway style musical, don't like 95-minute shows, no programs
See it if An all-star African-American troupe...powerful, masterful singing. Scaled down production looks large, John Doyle.
Don't see it if Blending of the opera and musical theatre worlds can alienate or invite ... up to you. See it.
See it if you want to see a marvelous, though spare production of an overlooked classic.
Don't see it if you need an elaborate set. You don’t like older pieces, even when the presentation makes them feel fresh again. Read more
See it if you even have to kill someone in order to obtain a ticket to this theatrical event.
Don't see it if that thought of missing out on a John Doyle directed production doesn't make you rethink attending your parent's funeral. Read more
See it if Wow, the voices are fabulous, the content is a mini-Carmen opera, players are riveting. Loved everything about this show.
Don't see it if If you hate opera or being close to the performers. You can feel their voices resonating in your body. So wonderful.
See it if You want a chance to see a seldom performed show by Oscar Hammarstein II with outstanding voices.
Don't see it if Opera related shows are not your cup of tea.
See it if The 95 mins flew by. Anika Rose is sexy & intelligent. Fantastic singing all around, with the exception of Joe who strains on high notes
Don't see it if You don't like contemporary lyrics set to Bizet.. If an opera purist this may not be for you. You don't like sparse imaginative staging.
See it if You are a fan of Bizet's wonderful opera (who isn't?) and want to see a different take on it.
Don't see it if You're in the mood for a comedy. Read more
Critic Reviews (39)
"It was such a joy to be reunited with Oscar Hammerstein II’s adaptation of Bizet’s opera...The most thrilling musical treat of the season so far...Doyle has once again cut to the essentials eliminating much of the size and splash of the huge original. With the use of only ten gifted triple-threat actors, a simple and suggestive set, and some colorful costuming, he’s delivered a glorious 'new' musical."
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"Anika Noni Rose sizzles with a vibrancy that shakes your very core...John Doyle who, with a pared-down cast of just 10 extraordinary actors, gives the rarely performed musical a new intensity, distilling it to the essentials...The colloquial vernacular of the black South can be jarring at times...Still, the strength of the story, combined with incredible vocals all around, is reason enough, as one of the songs suggests, to simply lose yourself in 'de sweetness in de music.'"
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“Stellar cast, but too much story is lost...While the elements for a classic melodrama are all there, the work ultimately suffers from a lack of subtlety and characterization...Doyle’s often lackluster direction puts too much emphasis on emotion rather than characterization, missing nuances...The script was initially two acts...perhaps too much of the story has been lost...All too frequently, the lyrics are impossible to hear clearly. They’re often drowned out.”
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“An evening of beautiful music, beautifully sung...In that style sometimes called ‘legit’...The music is irresistible, and it’s hard not to be charmed by Hammerstein’s warmth and wit...Doyle’s direction is well within his minimalist, story-centric approach. Sometimes things get a little too still for my taste, but that also means when Jones choreography bursts through it’s all the more powerful. It’s finally Rose’s show and she is magnificent. Recommended.”
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"A moderately successful revival...Doyle usually knows how to stage a show fluidly, without the show looking like someone actively staged it. Here, his hand is clearly visible, and the result is at times amateurish...The overall lack of a steady hand at the helm robbed the piece of a lot of its punch. Tony winner Anika Noni Rose as Carmen is a delight, with a natural stage presence, a rich and wide-ranging voice, and a devilish playfulness. Clifton Duncan as Joe was more problematic."
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“The strength of both the music and tragic romance are enough to motor Doyle’s typically stripped-down staging...studded with muscular singers and powerhouse performers...Rose fills Carmen’s form-fitting clothes to perfection...Rose is spectacular...Graceful and athletic choreography makes the tragedy visceral as well as emotional, and a tight six-piece ensemble plays Bizet’s well-known score as passionately as the remarkable Rose and the rest of the cast sing it.”
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"Razor-sharp...Doyle’s direction shines in this production...Doyle has reduced a work that sometimes suffers from its larger parts to an immersive, in-the-round retelling of ‘Carmen Jones’ that unearths the depths of the story. This smaller scale creates opportunities for intimacy and delicacy that turn Bizet’s succulent and technically difficult score into a playground for seasoned actors...The cast is sensational...The most remarkable aspect is Rose.”
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