Denzel Washington stars in the title role of Othello, and Jake Gyllenhaal as his secret nemesis Iago, in director Kenny Leon’s production of Shakespeare’s tragedy, opening officially tonight at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theater– the first “Othello” on Broadway in 43 years. The critics excerpted below offered mostly mixed to negative reviews of the production as a whole, disappointed with Washington’s performance, and impressed with Gyllenhaal’s and several other cast members. Most mentioned the high ticket prices.
The cast also features Molly Osborne making her Broadway debut as Othello’s wife Desdemona, Andrew Burnap (Tony winner for “The Inheritance”) as Cassio, Anthony Michael Lopez as Roderigo, Daniel Pearce as Brabantio, and Kimber Elayne Sprawl as Emilia.
Scenic design is by Derek McLane; costume design by Dede Ayite; lighting design by Natasha Katz; sound design by Justin Ellington; and hair and wig design by Mia Neal. The production is set in “The Near Future,” as a projection informs the audience at the start.
New York Times, Jesse Green: “…[A]s I felt the production’s blunt force more and more, I grasped its aura and aims less and less. “Othello,” unique among Shakespeare’s tragedies, is lean. (It’s even leaner in this production, thanks to some judicious cutting.) It has fewer major characters than most, and fewer sideshows. (Among the cuts: the annoying clown.) Its poetry is extraordinary. And though four principals die, all ultimately by Iago’s hand or influence, it does not tumble indiscriminately toward the blood bath. The deaths are specific and necessary to its themes. Leon’s “Othello” gets all that, except the themes. A good enough bargain, I suppose — or would be, except that center orchestra tickets are selling for $921.”
Time Out New York Adam Feldman: “… this production, though perfectly good in most regards and better than that in several, isn’t worth voiding your purse….Perhaps the curiously muted quality of Washington’s performance, especially at the play’s climax, stems from a desire to avoid antiquated tropes about Black men’s violent natures….This Othello does offer an intense, original and compelling depiction of jealousy. But it’s Iago’s jealousy, not Othello’s:…This is hardly the first Othello to be stolen by Iago, of course—he has the most lines in the play…”
Vulture, Sara Holdren: “Kenny Leon’s passionless new production ….has no reason for being beyond the movie stars at its center. It barely even has a pulse…. Audience and ensemble alike are lost in a hinterland so disconcertingly sleepy and beige that it’s hard to summon anything as visceral as fury. At the forefront of the whole thing, Washington isn’t bothering—at least in any legible way—to feel much, so how can we?…Gyllenhaal, while sturdy enough with the language, achieves only intermittent glints of Iago’s venomous vitality. Back in his Hurt Locker crewcut, he’s square-shouldered and furrow-browed, straightforward and bro-ish. He and Washington spend long stretches of the show with their hands in a martial clasp behind their backs — the kind of attempt at “realism” that’s always a bad excuse for not giving characters a full psychophysical life”
The Wall Street Journal, Charles Isherwood. disappointing, even dismal staging, directed by the busy and generally reliable Kenny Leon. The pity of it—so much talent deployed to such little effect….Mr. Leon, who directed terrific productions of “Purlie Victorious” and “A Soldier’s Play,” can’t seem to put a foot right here. Even the set design, by the veteran Derek McLane, is misguided: a monolithic array of gray columns that not only add another dreary layer to the dreary proceedings, but also, stretching to the proscenium, rob this most small-scaled of Shakespeare’s tragedies of its intimacy.”
Deadline, Greg Evans. “Washington is fine, a bit unsure of his characterization occasionally and fitful in his mood shifts. One thing he isn’t is too old for the role: At 70, Washington is several decades beyond the age of the usual Othello, and while his pairing with the much younger Molly Osborne’s Desdemona seems a bit less passionate than fatherly at first, the direction and performances settle into an entirely defensible approach wherein an aging, if powerful, man, beguiled by a beautiful young woman seeming to be in his thrall, falls victim to the green-eyed monster when the idea is planted that a much hotter and much more age-appropriate hot shot has arrived on the scene….If Washington seems still to be finding a steadier approach to the Moor, Gyllenhaal, as the great villain Iago, is having no such trepidations. Last seen on Broadway in the excellent 2019 solo one-acts Sea Wall/A Life, Gyllenhaal bounds, loose-limbed and bursting with malevolent energy, onto the Barrymore stage and barely takes a breath for the next nearly three hours. It is a remarkable performance, conversational, contemporary and unerringly convincing.
The New York Post, Johnny Oleksinski: “Despite the formidable presence and occasional specks of greatness from Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, vidaanter, Drd a real winner in Jake Gyllenhaal’s feisty Iago, this is one slooow-thello…..Nearly everything about Kenny Leon’s direction exists on a spectrum of wishy-washy to thoughtless. Even the actors’ movement around the stage is clunky and mechanical.”
Daily News, Chris Jones. Given the visibly well-heeled nature of the audience at the performance I attended, and the slick, contemporary attire used in Kenny Leon’s production, as designed by Dede Ayite, I felt at times like I was watching an immersive, militarized version of “Billions,” or “Succession.” ……[Jake Gyllenhaal] is far and away the most dynamic performance of the night, a riveting, turbo-charged interpretation that avoids any and all villainous cliches, or flowery self-doubts, and just presents a malevolent but highly effective military guy who sets out to do what he wants to straightforwardly do, a train hurtling down a track, gaining speed with every scene, determined to knock the Othello and Desdemona carriage into the ditch.
New York Stage Review, Roma Torre “The prices will keep a lot of deserving fans from seeing a most praiseworthy production featuring two stars at the top of their game. Director Kenny Leon set the play in “the near future” but thankfully it’s free of gimmickry. In fact, I’m told only a half dozen words were substituted for clarity. That’s impressive because aside from the modern costuming, this version retains a universal quality, neither entirely contemporary nor period. Leon’s streamlined staging on a mostly open stage framed by lighted columns feels organic, and that gives this 400+ year old tragedy a welcome resonance and authenticity.”
The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney. “There is no denying Denzel Washington’s magnetism….The two-time Oscar winner is the principal reason audiences are shelling out upwards of $900 to see Kenny Leon’s frustratingly underpowered revival of Othello on Broadway. Playing the Venetian general often disparagingly referred to as “the Moor,” Washington emanates the steely charisma of a man who has risen above casual racism by virtue of his military prowess. But there’s little evidence of a driving force behind his performance, which is symptomatic of the production overall…..When you come out of Othello mostly thinking how impressive the actors playing Cassio and Emilia were, something’s askew in the balance.”
AMNY, Matt Windham: It’s okay, at best – a pedestrian, cheap-looking, uninspired, forgettable staging that is far from the train wreck of Peter Sellars’ experimental, four-hour 2009 Off-Broadway production…A major problem is Washington’s half-baked performance. While he is fine at first as a stately military leader and relaxed new husband, he does not credibly convey the character’s transformation into mad jealousy and suspicion, reducing it to something vaguely kooky and unthreatening. He also displays little chemistry with Molly Osborne’s dignified, proactive Desdemona.
Entertainment Weekly, Dalton Ross. “To see two of the world’s finest thespians make a meal out of the all-too-easily manipulated military commander Othello and his scheming ensign Iago is too delicious an opportunity to pass up, and the duo are dynamic indeed….Washington’s vocal cadence has always been something akin to jazz — altering pace, inflection, and volume to keep other characters (and audience members) off balance. Those mannerisms expand here alongside Othello’s increasing jealousy as Iago’s deception begins to take hold. Watching the always dynamic actor yell, “Blood! Blood! Blood!” in a bitter rage is as impactful as you would imagine. But this stage truly belongs to Gyllenhaal, who is fully invested from the jump….”
USA Today, Patrick Ryan: “The cast is uniformly excellent. Osborne painfully conveys Desdemona’s distress and confusion over her husband’s unfounded accusations, while it’s impossible to take your eyes off the tremendous Burnap, who brings pathos and magnetism to the caddish Cassio. Kimber Elayne Sprawl also wows as Iago’s defiant wife Emilia, who becomes increasingly jaded over the ways in which women are oppressed and degraded….
“With an ensemble as mighty as this, it’s a shame that director Kenny Leon’s prosaic staging feels like such an afterthought, given his artful recent work on “Our Town” and “Purlie Victorious.” An opening title card announces that the story is set in a vague “near future,” where the men dress like Murray Hill bros, while the women look as if they stepped out of a Talbots catalog. (And please, dear God, it’s time for a moratorium on army fatigues in modern Shakespeare productions.) Derek McLane’s scenic design is frustratingly rote – mostly consisting of moving columns – although lighting designer Natasha Katz manages to create some stunning silhouettes as the violence ramps up in the second act.
