Clifton Duncan will join Anika Noni Rose in Carmen Jones at Classic Stage Company

Casting is now complete for Classic Stage Company's upcoming production of Carmen Jones.

Broadway alum Clifton Duncan will star as Joe, joining previously announced Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose and completing the cast of Classic Stage Company's upcoming production of Carmen Jones, which will now begin previews on June 9 (instead of June 8), officially open on June 27 and run through to July 29, 2018 off-Broadway.

Mr. Duncan made his Broadway debut last year in The Play That Goes Wrong and has previously appeared off-Broadway in Red Bull Theater's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, Signature Theatre's Kung Fu, The Public Theater's Good Person of Szechwan and Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night. He has also been seen on the small screen in "Flesh and Bone".

The complete cast of Carmen Jones includes Anika Noni Rose (in the title role), David Aron Damane (as Husky Miller), Erica Dorfler (as Myrt), Clifton Duncan (as Joe), Andrea Jones-Sojola (as Sally), Justin Keyes (as Rum), Lindsay Roberts (as Cindy Lou), Soara-Joye Ross (as Frankie), Lawrence E. Street (as Dink), and Tramell Tillman (as Sergeant Brown), whilst casting for the role of Joe will be announced shortly.

Carmen Jones features a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and music by Georges Bizet and is based on Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy's adaptation of Prosper Mérimée's Carmen.

Synopsis: "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."

Under the direction of CSC Artistic Director and Tony Award winner John Doyle, the creative team also features choreography by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones, music supervision & orchestrations by Joseph Joubert, scenic design by Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design by Tony Award winner Ann Hould-Ward, lighting design by Adam Honoré, and sound design by Dan Moses Shreier.

Carmen Jones originally premiered on Broadway in 1943, ran for over 500 performances and was also adapted into a 1954 film, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte.

Anika Noni Rose won a Tony Award in 2004 for her performance as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change (a role she originated at The Public Theater in 2003). She also earned a Tony Award nomination in 2014 for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger in A Raisin in the Sun and also appeared on Broadway as Maggie in the 2008 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and as Rusty in the Broadway premiere of Footloose. Off-Broadway she also appeared in the Vineyard Theatre's 2001 production of Eli's Comin'. Her many screen credits include the role of Lorrell Robinson in the 2006 film adaptation of "Dreamgirls" and voicing Tiana in Disney's animated classic "The Princess and the Frog".

Classic Stage Company's current production (co-produced by The Transport Group) is Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, which continues through to May 20, 2018.

^{(Clifton Duncan photo courtsey of The Publicity Office / Anika Noni Rose photo by Nathan Johnson)}