Carmen Jones

Reinterpreting a Classic

Hammerstein, who had written, produced, or directed more than 30 Broadway productions, including Oklahoma!, Show Boat, The New Moon, and Very Warm for May, had been interested in adapting Carmen to an African American context since the 1930s. Like his previous work on Show Boat, Hammerstein had intended for the musical to present African Americans in a sympathetic light, which was uncommon on Broadway at the time. Hammerstein, working with orchestrator Robert Russell Bennett, made few alterations to Bizet's score. Although some classical music purists decried the jettisoning of recitative in favor of spoken dialogue, Hammerstein noted that most of that music was composed by Ernest Guiraud after Bizet's death; he argued that his version adhered to Bizet's original intentions. In addition, he remained faithful to the general outline and themes of Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy's original libretto, and the 1845 Prosper Mérimée novella that inspired it.

Carmen Jones tells the tragic story of its eponymous character, a parachute-maker at an army-run factory in a small North Carolina town. When she scuffles with a coworker, the sergeant orders a young corporal named Joe to escort her to the appropriate authorities in a neighboring town. On the trip, Carmen makes several attempts to seduce Joe. However, due to his engagement to his longtime girlfriend, Cindy Lou, he initially rebuffs Carmen's advances. When Joe finally succumbs to her charms, Carmen uses the opportunity to escape, which results in his being disciplined by the army.

Carmen later encounters a prizefighter named Husky Miller, who takes a liking to her. Her close friends, Frankie and Myrt, attempt to convince Carmen to join them in Chicago to watch Husky box. She does head to Chicago, but is accompanied by Joe, who recently has created more trouble for himself by striking his sergeant. After she tires of hiding out from the military police with Joe, she starts dating Husky, who lavishes her with gifts and money. Cindy Lou finds Joe in Chicago and implores him to return to her. He spurns her in favor of Carmen, who, in turn, rejects Joe for Husky. Devastated by her refusal, Joe stabs Carmen.

Because Carmen Jones required a full company of black actors with the classical training to sing Bizet's score, the show was considered a risky investment; finding a producer proved difficult. Eventually, Billy Rose signed on to produce, and enlisted talent scout and civil rights advocate John H. Hammond to assist with the casting. Most of the performers cast were not professional singers: Muriel Smith, who played Carmen, had been a salesclerk; Luther Saxon, who played Joe, worked in a shipyard; and Glenn Bryant, who played Husky, was a police officer. The original [Page 448]production, which opened on December 2, 1943, played 502 performances at the Broadway Theatre. While the reviews were uniformly strong, some in the black community lamented what were perceived as the musical's negative representations of African Americans as promiscuous, violent, irresponsible, and materialistic.

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