The stars were well and truly out in style to celebrate Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal as they returned to Broadway for the opening night of Othello, after viewers were heartbroken over the rising ticket prices.
The Hollywood legends took to the stage at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in Manhattan for the classic Shakespeare play, which opened on Sunday following a record-breaking string of previews.
All eyes have been on the production in recent week after the ticket prices topped $1,000, meaning many theater-lovers missed out.
Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, Samuel L Jackson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Colman Domingo, Angela Bassett, Martha Stewart and Danielle Brooks were some of the famous faces lucky enough to snag a pass for the show, which is running until June 8.
Maggie Gyllenhaal was in the crowd to support her famous brother, while his girlfriend, Jeanne Cadieu, also made an appearance on the night.
President Joe Biden joined in the fun, along with his wife, Jill Biden, and the politician took a moment to pose for pictures with Denzel and Jake behind the scenes.
It was a huge moment for all involved with the production, which shattered records – according to CBS News it grossed a whopping $2.8million in just a single week, becoming the highest-grossing Broadway play ever.
However, while the pair were the toast of Broadway and earning rave reviews for their efforts, fans have been left devastated over the headline-making prices of tickets.
At the time of writing, some passes were on sale for as much as $1,006.88 each, while cheaper seats currently range between $458.85 – $782.88.
Flocking to Twitter to unpack the cost, social media users were still hopeful that they could get a glimpse of Denzel and Jake on stage.
Stanley Glover wrote: ‘Them Othello Broadway tickets so damn expensive but I want to see it.’
Andreakcastillo penned: ‘These “Othello” tickets on Broadway cost BREAD. My goodness.’
TourDeBackup fumed: ‘I love the arts but god damn there’s no reason Othello should be $900 a ticket.’
Bijon agreed: ‘Weeping as I look at the price of tickets for Othello on Broadway with Denzel.’
As DerillbutDarrell joked: ‘Denzel is in Othello on Broadway, searched up tickets and it’s about 900USD to sit in the nosebleeds. I’ll see you in another lifetime sir.’
The latest version of Othello is set in the near future, and sees Denzel playing the titular character, who has been reimagined as a military commander.
He finds himself in a murderous rage after being convinced by Iago (Jake) that his wife, Desdemona, had an affair.
However, this is a ploy from his jealous ‘friend’, who is secretly hoping to extract revenge after being passed over for a promotion.
Shedding light on his return to the stage, Denzel – who most recently lit up the big screen in Gladiator 2 – told CBS: ‘It’s the most excited I’ve been this century. Seriously.
‘I haven’t been this excited about anything I’ve done as I am about this.
‘I’m a stage actor who does film; it’s not the other way around.
‘I did stage first. I learned how to act on stage, not on film. Movies are a filmmaker’s medium. You shoot it, and then you’re gone and they cut together and add music and do all of that.
‘Theater is an actor’s medium. The curtain goes up, nobody can help you.’
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