Clifton Duncan Joins Cast of Carmen Jones at Classic Stage Company

Classic Stage Company has announced that Clifton Duncan, most recently seen on Broadway in The Play That Goes Wrong, will play Joe in the company's upcoming new production of Carmen Jones. It will now begin performances on Saturday, June 9, and run through Sunday, July 29, with opening night set for Wednesday, June 27. Marking the finale of the CSC's 50th anniversary season, this is the first major New York revival of the musical since its Broadway debut 75 years ago.

Duncan will join the previously announced Anika Noni Rose playing the title role. The cast will also feature David Aron Damane (Husky Miller), Erica Dorfler (Myrt), Andrea Jones-Sojola (Sally), Justin Keyes (Rum), Lindsay Roberts (Cindy Lou), Soara-Joye Ross (Frankie), Lawrence E. Street (Dink), and Tramell Tillman (Sergeant Brown).

Set in the South as World War II rages overseas, Carmen Jones tells the story of a tempestuous parachute factory worker who ignites her own battle in a tragic love triangle with an airman and a prizefighter. Adapted from Bizet's legendary opera Carmen, Hammerstein shifted the story from Spain to World War II America, featuring an all African-American cast. Carmen Jones premiered on Broadway in 1943 and ran for over 500 performances.

John Doyle will direct the production, which will feature choreography by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones. Scenic design will be by Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costumes by Tony Award winner Ann Hould-Ward, lighting by Adam Honoré, and sound by Dan Moses Shreier.