Denzel Washington Broadway Heckled: Audience Heckled Actor During ‘A Raisin In The Sun’

Denzel Washington got heckled on Broadway, if you can believe that. The actor was performing in A Raisin In The Sun (which closed last month) when some audience members started screaming at him. According to NewsOXY, Washington’s co-star, Sophie Okonedo, said that fans would yell all kinds of things at the actor, especially during the scenes that the two had together.

Okonedo recalled:

“People would shout out: ‘Don’t, Denzel!’ or ‘You can’t treat her like that!’ At one point, Denzel and I have a kiss on stage and a woman shouted out, from the gods, ‘Forget her — I’m up here!'”

Denzel Washington likely did not think he would get heckled on Broadway, but stranger things have happened. What is interesting is that the play is a favorite amongst theater-goers, and many people traveled to New York City just to see Washington take on the role of Walter Younger — even the President and the First Lady were spotted in the audience one night. The Tony Award winner did the role justice and he received a great deal of praise for his work on the stage, despite the heckling.

In case you are unfamiliar with the play, Digital Spy reports:

“‘A Raisin in the Sun’ tells the story of a low-income African-American family as they argue about what to do with an insurance payment they receive. First produced in 1959, it would become the first ever production on Broadway that was written by an African-American woman.”

Although Denzel Washington was heckled on Broadway, his performance was great. According to NewYorkTheatre.com, the show received 4.6 out of 5 stars. The show ran for three months at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on 243 West 47th Street. One reviewer wrote:

“What a treat it was to see Denzel Washington performing live on stage. I had to pinch myself at the privilege. What was amazing, was that he didn’t outshine the other cast members. They were equally as brilliant and made up a powerful Broadway ensemble.”

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Denzel will be promoting his new film The Equalizer which is due out in theaters on September 26. This is the only film that Denzel has coming out this year, perhaps because his Broadway schedule kept him from filming for a few months. While it’s unknown if Denzel has any plans to return to Broadway, he will undoubtedly be making more movies in 2015 and beyond. So far, however, there aren’t any films starring Denzel in pre-production.

[Photo courtesy of Virginia Sherwood/NBC]