Show People with Paul Wontorek: Anika Noni Rose of CARMEN JONES

Get Tickets to CARMEN JONES: https://www.broadway.com/shows/carmen...

CARMEN JONES star Anika Noni Rose chats about the role that got away, the future of THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, what really went on during DREAMGIRLS and more on SHOW PEOPLE WITH PAUL WONTOREK.

Here are the must-read highlights:

ON FINALLY GETTING THE CHANCE TO PLAY CARMEN JONES
“I’m thrilled. It’s something I’ve been trying to get done for a long time, for years. I had just about given up. I thought, ‘Maybe it’s not going to happen.’ And then I heard through the grapevine that John Doyle and Classic Stage Company had gotten the rights to it. I jumped on it because it’s been something I’ve wanted to do my whole career. Sometimes the universe comes together when things are supposed to be. I think now is the perfect time. John Doyle is fantastic. We’ve got a wonderful cast. I’ve always loved this piece. I’ve always loved the movie with the amazing Dorothy Dandridge. It’s a really thrilling thing to be able to do.”

ON CARMEN JONES’ COMMANDING SEXUALITY
“I don’t think sexiness is about putting something on. I think it’s about letting things go. I think it’s about being completely comfortable within your person, allowing your entire essence to just free itself and take space. I think that’s the thing about her that men find completely irresistible. She lets her essence take up all the space that it needs to take. Sadly, for some, if you don’t make room for yourself, you get swallowed up. She’s this burning flame as she moves through life.”

ON DIRECTOR JOHN DOYLE
“He’s a minimalist. He is somebody who likes to get to the root of what’s happening, which is fantastic.”

ON HER GOLDEN VOCALS
“Singing is something that’s part of my person. It’s never not there. Even if I’m not performing, I’m not an opera singer. I trained myself to be able to do this opera because I wanted to do it justice.”

ON KEEPING HER DREAMS ON THE STAGE
“I went to Florida A&M [University], and I majored in theater, which means that I did everything. I did costuming and directing and lighting. I really learned about how the theater worked around me, which I’m very thankful for because I feel like it’s very easy for actors to feel like every single thing is about them, and it’s just not. There are a lot of things happening around us for us to make our lives easier. I loved creating sets. I loved directing. I didn’t love lighting—but I understood it, and I loved the way it worked. I stage managed for a minute—never [again]. I don’t know how they do it! I have so much respect for them.”

ON HER BROADWAY DEBUT IN FOOTLOOSE
“It was a very nice entryway to Broadway. It was fun. I was like, ‘This is great because Rusty doesn’t dance a lot.’ There was heavy dancing in Footloose. I remember the choreographer A.C. Ciulla was like, ‘Oh no. You’re going to dance.’ And he put me through it. Two weeks of rehearsal, and I was on that stage. It was terrifying but really exciting. When I did that first show, I was hyperventilating. I was singing, and I was dancing. I was so excited, and I was breathing with my mouth open. My throat got really, really dry. And you know when you’re throat gets dry, and you get that stupid, itchy cough? Not cute, right? I don’t breath with my mouth open onstage when I’m dancing hard anymore.”

ON CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
“Caroline, Or Change had actually been going on for like three years. We were workshopping it and creating it. We got paid...but...you know...it was an off-Broadway workshop. But what I did get were friends that I still talk to, the joy of working with Tony Kushner and George C. Wolfe and Jeanine Tesori. I can’t even tell you how great that was. It was the first time that I had done something from page to stage. How amazing is that, to be able to do that? It was crazy and very exciting. My character in the beginning was only in one act of the play. Every time we came back, Tony had written some more for her. I had no idea that I would even be nominated for a Tony, nevermind winning it. It was mind-blowing.”

ON THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
“It was really a blessing, and it continues to be. I continue to meet children who are wide-eyed and thrilled about it. Quiet as its kept, grown people who are wide-eyed and thrilled about it!”