“Ohio State Murders” is Audra McDonald’s Masterclass in Acting

“Ohio State Murders” I Photo by Richard Termine

The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.

Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald returns to Broadway this holiday season in “Ohio State Murders,” a dark tragedy about the racially motivated murder of a new mother’s infant African-American daughters. This magnificently written and deeply-emotional production of “Ohio State Murders,” first published in 1992, marks the ninety-one-year-old playwright Adrienne Kennedy’s Broadway debut.

“Ohio State Murders” follows Suzanne Alexander, an African-American writer, as she returns to Ohio State, where she took classes as a young woman, fell in love with English and literature and experienced deep tragedy. During her visit, she is asked to give a speech about her career, and the source of the violent imagery in her writings. In response, she tells the story of her short romance with a white professor, her subsequent pregnancy with twins that ended her time at Ohio State and her relationships with her parents and the babies’ father. Alexander stayed with her aunt in New York but eventually returned to Ohio, where she became engaged to a man and planned to build a stable life for her infant daughters. Tragically, both babies were killed—“That is the source of the violent imagery in my work,” Alexander says.

“Ohio State Murders,” is directed by Kenny Leon. This play is a short seventy-five minutes on stage, but McDonald gives a tour-de-force performance as Alexander that is spell-binding to witness. She is joined by Bryce Pinkham, Lizan Mitchell, Mister Fitzgerald and Abigail Stephenson as the various characters that touch Alexander’s story, but it is McDonald’s performance that shines brightest. Among the many plays on Broadway this winter, this one is a deeply powerful and unforgettable story that isn’t to be passed over.

Ohio State Murders is currently running at the James Earl Jones Theatre through February 12, 2023.

Eli Johnson is the Theatre Columnist for the Empire State Tribune. He is a freshman at The King's College majoring in Business. He is an avid theatre-goer and always enjoys a game of chess.