Denzel Washington Has Heard The Fan Complaints About His Othello Ticket Prices. What He Has To Say In Response To The Beyoncé Comparisons

Denzel Washington's best movies are beloved, but his heart has always been with theater. After all, the Oscar winner doesn’t view himself as a “Hollywood actor” for that reason, using the skills he acquired on the stage toward his film performances. With fans complaining about his Othello show tickets being so expensive, Washington responds to those ticket stubs being compared to Beyoncé’s.

Any fan of Denzel Washington would love to see him reciting Shakespeare live on the Broadway stage. Creating a dynamic duo with Jake Gyllenhaal, the two present a modern take with them playing military men locked in a tense battle of deception and portrayal. However, one thing about these Othello tickets is that they are sky-high in price. While speaking to ET at the Entertainment Community Fund Gala, Washington made one thing clear about tickets being as high as $900:

There’s no doubt that Broadway ticket prices are expensive. Whereas movie theater tickets are around the ballpark of $9-$20, stage productions are considered classy entertainment. According to TheaterMania, the average price of a Broadway ticket is around $133. But with A-list actors like Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal starring in the 400-year-old production, the high ticket demands can easily raise the prices.

With Othello prices zooming as high as $900, ET commented to Denzel Washington that he must have felt like Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Here was the actor’s humble response to that:

The Malcolm X actor may not be a singer or a rapper, but you can’t deny how popular he is. Fans are always watching Denzel Washington in the US and his movies have grossed over $2.5 billion at the box office. Naturally, I wouldn’t be surprised for ticket sales to soar, seeing the award-winning actor show off his theater chops.

Denzel Washington ought to consider it a huge compliment for Othello to be compared to Beyoncé, as her RENAISSANCE tour had fans scared that Ticketmaster wouldn’t be able to handle the on-demand surge. Even the singer’s Cowboy Carter Tour tickets are as high as four-digit prices, depending on how close you want to be to the stage and VIP packages. Despite high Othello ticket prices, the Fences actor/director made sure to tell ET how “blessed” he was to be part of his sold-out Shakespeare show:

It must be an incredible feeling for a celebrity to know that fans want to support their work throughout the years. If actors like Daniel Radcliffe can headline sold-out Broadway shows, I’m confident a theater pro like Washington will draw Broadway theatergoers to go see his successful Shakespeare adaptation. With many dates on the Othello website showing there are a lot of dates with just a few seats left, I would say ticket demands aren't stopping anytime soon.

Fans may have pointed out the expensive ticket prices of Othello, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the star power of Denzel Washington is as equal to Beyoncé’s. The stage and screen actor knows how to win over a crowd, and I’m confident he’ll continue doing so no matter how high ticket prices go. Make sure to catch Washington’s newest stage role playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre until June 8th.