Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal’s ‘Othello’ Breaks Broadway Records

Theater enthusiasts are flocking to Broadway to witness Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal take center stage in Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Othello.

The highly anticipated production has already made history, setting four house records at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. According to Deadline, the show grossed an impressive $2,637,158 during its first seven preview performances, making it the highest-grossing show on Broadway for the week ending March 2.

Coming in second place was Wicked, which earned $2,368,448 over its eight-performance run. The soaring demand for Othello tickets has driven up prices, with the average ticket costing $361.90—more than double the price of the second-most expensive show, The Outsiders, which averaged $155.02 per ticket. By comparison, the average ticket price across all 27 Broadway productions was $118.14.

Washington’s Return to the Stage

Denzel Washington’s return to Broadway in the title role comes after initial doubts about playing Othello at this stage in his career. The two-time Academy Award winner revealed in an interview with Vogue that he had once believed he was “too old” for the role.

However, a conversation with fellow actors on the set of Gladiator II encouraged him to take a closer look at the play.

“I was sitting around with the other actors, and someone mentioned Othello,” Denzel Washington recalled. “I said, ‘Oh man, I wish, but I’m too old now.’ And one of them said, ‘No, no, no—go back and read the play.’”

Upon revisiting Shakespeare’s text, Washington noticed references to Othello’s age, including Iago’s taunt of “an old black ram” and Othello himself acknowledging he had “declined into the vale of years.”

Inspired, Washington reached out to director Kenny Leon, with whom he had previously collaborated on Broadway productions of Fences and A Raisin in the Sun.

Washington’s theatrical pedigree is well-established. Denzel Washington earned critical acclaim for his role as Brutus in a Broadway production of Julius Caesar two decades ago and received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Macbeth in Joel Coen’s 2021 film adaptation of The Tragedy of Macbeth. He also appeared in Kenneth Branagh’s 1992 film version of Much Ado About Nothing.

Interestingly, Washington first played Othello as a 20-year-old drama student. His performance now follows in the footsteps of legendary actors, including James Earl Jones, who won an Obie Award for his portrayal of Othello in Joseph Papp’s 1964 Central Park production.

Othello is set to officially open on March 23 and will run through June 8. With two of Hollywood’s biggest names leading the cast, the production is already one of Broadway’s hottest tickets, drawing theatregoers eager to witness Washington and Gyllenhaal’s interpretation of the timeless Shakespearean drama.