Carmen Jones made its New York premiere at the Broadway Theatre on December 2, 1943. Staged by Hassard Short, directed by Charles Friedman and choreographed by Eugene Loring, the production starred Muriel Smith, making her Broadway debut, alternating with Muriel Rahn.

The New York Herald Tribune hailed Carmen Jones: “Bravo! The theatre and music have had a memorable wedding…. The libretto has been brilliantly translated… It opens infinite and challenging horizons for the fusing of two art forms… Hammerstein has retained every mood and movement of a tortured romance, giving it immediate meaning and dramatic force.” Carmen Jones would go on to run 502 performances on Broadway.