Othello on Broadway held its star-studded opening night on Sunday where a red carpet situated in front of the Ethel Barrymore Theatre even featured a Steinway & Sons piano with a pianist playing welcoming music for attendees.

The Shakespearean play, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, has already broken the box office for becoming the top-grossing play, with a weekly gross of $2,818,297.

The ticket prices to see Othello cost more than $300 with some people having paid up to $1,000 to see the limited-engagement show.

Director Kenny Leon spoke to DailyMail.com on the red carpet on March 23 about the sky-rocketing prices.

‘I was talking to my niece earlier and she’s going to Beyoncé and she’s taking all my little ones. So I was like, “You’re taking the whole family,” he responded.

He then compared the ticket prices to sitting courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.

Othello Director Kenny Leon spoke to DailyMail.com on the red carpet at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 23 about the play’s $1,000 tickets 

Denzel Washington, who stars as the play’s lead, was the one who approached Kenny about doing Othello since he was looking for a big project in 2025

Jake Gyllenhaal was convinced to join the play as the character Iago after having dinner with the director, Kenny revealed 

‘I love Lebron James. When we go to a basketball game, you get a floor seat.’

He continued, ‘So to me, with a commercial industry, people are paying what they think it’s worth. A guy showed up the other night and he said, “I paid $921 for this ticket and you know what? I don’t want a cent back. I want to figure out how to come back.”

‘That’s what I feel proud of every night. I have a 1,000 people in there and it’s so diverse. I have young people, I have people that are all economic ranges. We have student tickets for this show. We have digital lotteries everyday. 

‘I’m proud of the box office and I’m proud of what’s on the stage.’

The Tony Award-winning director also defended casting Denzel Washington for the lead role after some critics claimed that Othello should be in his 40s.

‘I want to lean into the fact that Desdemona is 35-40 years younger than Othello. I want to find someone in their 20s to play against you,’ Kenny explained to DailyMail.com about casting Desdemona who is played by Molly Osborne, 27.

He added that the chemistry between Denzel and Molly is ‘perfect’ and that this cast in particular, among the 18 Broadway plays he’s worked on, ‘has really grown together.’

A critic from New York Post, for example, wrote, ‘What [Denzel] does not deliver is a fleshed-out, impᴀssioned, fully compelling Othello. That Washington is 70 and his character is, at most, 40 is not disqualifying. 

Director Kenny Leon told DailyMail.com that casting Denzel and Jake were his ‘number ones’ and that he didn’t have any other actors in mind (pictured on the opening night, March 23)

‘However, the age gap between Washington and Molly Osborne’s decent Desdemona puts a roadblock in our quest to connect to them. Othello has an almost paternal energy with his wife that screams “be home by 10 p.m.” more than ᴅᴇᴀᴅly lovers’ quarrel.’

Leon, 69, responded, ‘I don’t know what show they’re going to. Shakespeare is clearly 55-60 years old as written. Put it this way – when Shakespeare wrote it there is clearly a 40-year difference between Desdemona and Othello. 

‘The whole idea was, “Is he too old or is he too black?” So people get it all confused. They get half information. Then they say, “Well, he’s supposed to be 30.”

‘No, he’s not. It’s supposed to be… they talk about how she’s a young white eel, he’s an old ram. He’s playing 58 or 60 years old. That’s the key to the story. 

‘I always get frustrated when people writing about things… we clearly can’t do this play with a 14 year old girl. So then you age up.’

Casting Denzel, who Leon has worked with on three other projects in the past, and Jake, 44, were always his ‘number one,’ he insisted.

The Equalizer star was the one who got in touch with Leon about doing Othello.

‘He said, “Hey, I’m free in January 2025. What do you want to do?” We talked about three other plays, maybe four, and we easily landed on Othello.’ 

Molly Osborne (left) and Kimber Elayne Sprawl (right) spoke with DailyMail.com about being cast in Othello and working with Denzel and Jake

Kimber, who plays Jake’s wife in the play, revealed that the star is a ‘good kisser.’ Meanwhile, Molly said that Denzel and Jake ‘have their own love story in the play’

Leon had Jake in mind for playing Iago and all it took was ‘one call,’ he spilled, and then Jake said, ‘Let’s go to dinner.’

As for casting Molly, Osborne told DailyMail.com that she submitted a self tape as part of her audition since she was living in London.

Then a few weeks later, she met with Kenny, who flew to London, and then she nailed the job. While she did do a few Facetimes with Denzel, she didn’t meet him for the first time until rehearsals began.

The actress said that the chemistry between Jake and Denzel is ‘electric’ and that Othello and Iago ‘have their own love story in the play.’

Meanwhile, actress Kimber Elayne Sprawl was cast to play Iago’s wife, Emilia.

When she did a chemistry reading with Jake, she told DailyMail.com that she was ‘so nervous.’ ‘The whole time I’m like, “I hope he likes me. There has to be chemistry.”‘

She teases that there’s ‘some kissing’ and ‘a lot of love between Iago and Emilia.’

‘It’s obviously complicated love but she has a duty to her husband, she has a duty to Jake, and I feel like she loves him so much but she’s willing to risk it all for the truth,’ she revealed.

The Othello opening night featured a high-profile entrance from former President Joe Biden. He wore a tuxedo with peaked lapels and a black bow tie, while his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, was dressed in a shimmering powder blue dress 

Former President Joe Biden and his wife Jill posed for pH๏τos with Othello’s cast during the opening night celebration on March 23

The 33-year-old also dished about Jake’s kissing skills: ‘He’s a good kisser. He’s sweet.’

She continued, ‘Both Denzel and Jake are extraordinary actors and they bring so much to the room and they’re so generous with their experience and their talent and wisdom. And they really gave us the space to sort of find our personal power and I feel like, through it, I’ve been able to really expand as an artist.’

Kandi Burruss, a former cast member on the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and her husband Todd Tucker are co-producers for Othello, working in partnership with lead producer Brian Anthony Moreland.

The TV personality has been in talks with Denzel since last year when she worked on Netflix’s The Piano Lesson with his son John David Washington.

As her fourth Broadway production as a producer, she told DailyMail.com, ‘I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I did Housewives for 14 seasons and you want to grow and you want to do more.

While she added she ‘doesn’t see’ herself going back to RHOA, she said, ‘There are things I want to accomplish right now and I’m on a mission.’

She shared her thoughts on meeting Jake Gyllenhaal for the first time at the table read: ‘He was really really cool, real nice and laid back. My producing partner had already met him before I did so I was asking him, “So how is he? Is he nice? Is he cool?”

‘And he was really really cool. He was welcoming. He was very friendly to everybody in the room and I just thought it was great because when you’re meeting other talent, other artist – especially when they have a big resume – you’re not really sure if there’s gong to be ego involved but everyone came to the table read with no ego.’  

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kandi Burruss told DailyMail.com about working on Othello as a producer: ‘I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I did Housewives for 14 seasons and you want to grow and you want to do more’

Jennifer Lopez turned heads in a sizzling two-piece ensemble that bared her ripped abs, while her 17-year-old child Emme walked the carpet in a black pinstriped suit 

Other stars on the red carpet included Katie Holmes, who traded out her usual casual-cool ensembles for an off-the-shoulder black dress

When asked what the play is really like, she explained, ‘We took Shakespeare and put it in 2025, 2028 and all the outfits that they’re wearing are current. 

‘Everything is like relatable. So now I’m in a position where I’m hearing Shakespeare – they’re saying the words – but they’re saying it like it’s second nature like it’s regular conversation like people I hang out with. It’s more understandable.’ 

Sunday’s performance was attended by stars including Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Scherzinger, Martha Stewart, Katie Holmes, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Gayle King, Spike Lee, and many more.

The Othello opening night also featured a high-profile entrance from former President Joe Biden, who showed up in a tuxedo with peaked lapels and a black bow tie, and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who was dressed in a shimmering powder blue dress.

Othello began previews on February 24. Tickets are now on sale through June 8.