Picture: Valerie Terranova/Getty Photographs
You might have heard that tickets for the Broadway manufacturing of Othello, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, are going for as a lot as $921. Whereas some have speculated that worth is fueled by A-list actor salaries, massive demand, and a excessive manufacturing finances, I’ve a sense one thing else is happening. What’s actually costing a lot? There’s the remainder of the solid, the crew, and, after all, the overall renovation of Gyllenhaal’s dressing room. To cite a special Shakespearean tragedy: Aye, there’s the rub.
Gyllenhaal not too long ago gave Architectural Digest a tour of his lavish dressing room. If you happen to’re pondering, He most likely introduced in his personal sofa and a enjoyable lamp from residence, you’d be flawed. In keeping with AD, the actor introduced in designers Ruby Kean and Lisa Jones of Atelier LK to assist him make over the house the place he will get into costume and does his vocal warm-ups. Kean advised the journal that all of them wished a room that was “narrative-driven, but additionally one thing that might be very comfy for him that he may actually retreat into.”
So, what precisely does one do to make a room narrative-driven? Effectively, the wallpaper is large blown-up pictures of Venice, the place the play initially takes place (per some opinions, the present manufacturing appears a little bit confused about the place the motion is going on). There’s a home made chess set as an ode to the “calculated gameplay” of Iago, Gyllenhaal’s character. If he desires to play a recreation, Gyllenhaal and his companion can sit in a pair of chairs — one mild, one darkish — that are supposed to signify the racial themes of the play. “I might by no means declare to try to be a dramaturge right here, however I do suppose the supplies that [Jones and Kean] picked — each mushy and hard, the hazard, and the consolation — all these juxtapositions are very, very proper for the themes of Othello,” Gyllenhaal stated.
Now, hey, perhaps Gyllenhaal paid for this himself. Perhaps he’s the one who dropped $9,200 on a Sophie Lou Jacobsen Tulipa lamp, or perhaps it’s only a loaner for the 15-week run. Somebody needed to pay for this, although, and whoever did is simply lighting cash on hearth. Gyllenhaal isn’t even spending that a lot time in his dressing room. “Denzel’s made his method up there a few occasions, however simply by way of the character of him being the overall, I are likely to go to his room,” he advised the journal. Nonetheless, he has hopes that his funding will repay quickly: “When time comes and we’re in our run and we get to come back in at 5 or 6 for an 8 p.m. present, I hope we’ll dangle on the market much more.” Right here’s hoping!
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