West End Actor and Trinity Laban Musical Theatre alum Molly Osborne will join two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and Tony Award nominee and Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal in a new production of the Shakespearean tragedy.
Molly Osborne will make her Broadway debut as Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello this spring. The production will be directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon and produced by the celebrated Brian Anthony Moreland. She will join Denzel Washington in the title role and Jake Gyllenhaal playing Iago.
“I am so excited to welcome Molly Osborne to our Broadway cast of Othello as Desdemona,” says Kenny Leon in a statement. “Her unique blend of heart and intellect, coupled with a natural vulnerability, makes her a truly captivating actress. I am thrilled to welcome her to our theatre community and eagerly anticipate collaborating with her on her Broadway debut.”
Molly, originally from Wivenhoe in north-eastern Essex, discovered her love for performing at a young age and moved to London at 18 to study Musical Theatre at Trinity Laban. Molly has previously performed as Tzeitel in Menier Chocolate Factory’s Fiddler on the Roof and Chana in Menier’s Indecent. Most recently, she starred in the world premiere musical version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Cast of Benjamin Button and the adaptation of Sara Ryan’s beloved memoir Laughing Boy. On screen, Molly can be seen in PBS’ Call the Midwife and in Amazon Prime’s upcoming Anansi Boys. She eagerly anticipates beginning rehearsals in New York early next year.
The revival will be Denzel Washington’s first time back on the boards since starring in a 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh. The revival also reunites him with Kenny Leon, after working together on 2010’s Fences (which won Washington a Tony Award) and 2014’s A Raisin in the Sun. Jake Gyllenhaal made his Broadway debut in 2015’s Constellations, later returning for a 2017 revival of Sunday in the Park With George and 2019’s Sea Wall/A Life (also produced by Moreland), the latter of which earned him a Tony nomination.
This production of Othello will be the first Broadway staging of the tragedy since a 1982 revival starring James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. The play flows the Moor of Venice commander, Othello, who appoints Cassio – and not Iago – as his chief lieutenant. Driven by jealousy for both soldiers, Iago plots their downfall by turning Othello’s wife, Desdemona, against him.