If you don’t get a gift from me this holiday season, it’s because I’m saving up to snag tickets to see Denzel Washington on Broadway. In an ideal world, the Oscar winner’s “Othello,” which opens in February with co-star Jake Gyllenhaal, would be playing right here in the Twin Cities. But there’s about as much chance of that as William Shakespeare coming back from the dead to open a fish-and-chips shop in Uptown.
A-list celebrities rarely make their way to our state’s stages. And that’s just fine with lots of purists. They’d insist that our local pool is more than deep enough.
True. But recruiting movie and TV stars is a great way to rope new audience members into the theater. And even regular patrons have to admit it’s a thrill watching celebrities in an intimate setting without the safety of re-takes, editing, dubbing and CGI. They’re forced to prove themselves -- and you get to watch them sweat.
While in Boston earlier this year, I caught an in-the-works production of “The Queen of Versailles,” a musical that re-unites composer Steven Schwartz with his “Wicked” standout Kristin Chenoweth. The show needs a lot of work before an expected 2025 run on Broadway, but it was a hoot to watch Chenoweth go the extra mile to sell the new songs and see her 85-year-old co-star F. Murray Abraham do his best to keep up, four decades after winning an Oscar for playing the devious Antonio Salieri in “Amadeus.”
Having Washington in our midst for a few weeks may be a pipe dream. But could our community lean on a little more on its stellar reputation in the theater world to try and snag other celebrities? Local theater directors were asked to fantasize about securing a big name and what show they would cast them in. Here’s their tantalizing list.
The star: Ariana DeBose

The role: Deena Jones in “Dreamgirls”
The venue: Theater Latté Da, Minneapolis. “The character, inspired by Diana Ross, is all about navigating the complexities of fame, identity, and the cost of success in the music industry,” said artistic director Justin Lucero. “Given Ariana’s real-life star power and her ability to bring depth and vulnerability to her roles, she would bring a fascinating authenticity to the role.”