British actor Molly Osborne is making her Broadway debut as Desdemona in Kenny Leon’s revival of “Othello,” performing opposite Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal. The production runs through June 8 at the Barrymore Theatre.
From seeing where the actors I admire trained, I knew I really wanted to go to drama school. I applied everywhere I could, but I didn’t get many callbacks. At the last minute, I sent an application to the musical theater course at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. I loved it; the school just had really good vibes and energy. That was probably because Trinity Laban made me feel happy and safe, even during the audition process. And fortunately, I got a place there.
Acting through song is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done; but learning storytelling within the confines of the magical realism of musical theater is such a good challenge. I didn’t go into drama school as a dancer, but throwing yourself into something that you know you’re going to look like an idiot doing is really good for you. It taught me discipline.
I got a self-tape notice for a production of “Othello” on Broadway starring two unnamed A-listers. It said: “American accents only” and “Show us a couple of your own Shakespeare monologues, if you want.” Particularly because they were looking for people with American accents, I was like, Yeah, sure, this is going to happen. I really didn’t think I had a shot, which was good, because it meant that I felt comfortable doing the work I wanted to do. Sometimes when I think there might be a sliver of hope, it works against me.
Molly Osborne and Denzel Washington in “Othello” Credit: Julieta Cervantes
Then I got a call saying that Kenny was going to be in London, so I met with him for a couple of hours. I bumped into him the next day on the red carpet at the premiere of “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” At the end, he said, “Great to see you. Take care,” and I was like, “Take care.” I was like, Wow. Kenny Leon. Wow.
It is such an honor and privilege to be in the room with this company. I’m learning so much every day from being in everyone’s orbit; Jake and Denzel have been so generous about sharing their wisdom and their process. I feel so grateful to be a part of it. I’m trying to find the balance between admiring these incredibly talented, huge people and saying to them, “I’m your scene partner. Here’s the truth; here’s my presence. Let’s do it.”
From watching them, I picked up the concept of being quiet enough inside myself to let the truth come out. It’s been a big learning curve for me—teaching myself to strip everything away and trust that instinct and honesty; the level of truth and presence is mind-blowing. We’re at the Barrymore, which is such a beautiful theater with more than 1,000 seats, so we’re learning how to communicate that to the audience.
Desdemona really believes in finding the good in people. I think she represents this hope for change; she’s a shining light before her ultimate demise. It’s been interesting to really dig deep and find that.
This essay is by Osborne, as told to Esther Zuckerman.
This story originally appeared in the Apr. 10 issue of Backstage Magazine.
