Name: Ohio State Murders starring Audra McDonald on Broadway
Start: 2022-11-11
End: 2023-01-15
Location: James Earl Jones Theatre

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Ohio State Murders starring Audra McDonald on Broadway - NYC

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Ohio State Murders starring Audra McDonald on Broadway

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Audra Ann McDonald&nbsp;was born on July 3, 1970 in West Berlin, Germany and is a six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran.

McDonald was born in Germany as her American father was&nbsp;stationed there with the United States Army;&nbsp;however, she was raised in Fresno, California, attending the Theodore Roosevelt High School and graduating from the Roosevelt School of the Arts program. She went on to study&nbsp;classical voice at New York City's famed Juilliard School and graduated in 1993.

McDonald is primarily known for her work on Broadway. She&nbsp;made her Broadway debut in 1992, assuming the role of Ayah in the Broadway premiere of&nbsp;The Secret Garden&nbsp;and reprising the role on the show's national tour. Her breakthrough performance was as&nbsp;Carrie Pipperidge in the 1994 revival of Rodgers and&nbsp;Hammerstein's&nbsp;Carousel, for which she won her first Tony Award, alongside a Drama Desk and Theatre World Award. Since then, she has gone on to win an additional five&nbsp;Tony Awards for her performances as Sharon in&nbsp;Master Class&nbsp;(1996), Sarah in&nbsp;Ragtime&nbsp;(1998), Ruth Younger&nbsp;in&nbsp;A Raisin in the Sun&nbsp;(2004),&nbsp;Bess&nbsp;in The Gershwins'&nbsp;Porgy and Bess&nbsp;(2012), and&nbsp;Billie Holliday in&nbsp;Lady Day at Emerson's Bar &amp; Grill&nbsp;(2014). She has won more Tony Awards than any other actor in Broadway history and is also the only person to have won Tonys in all four acting categories, justifying her moniker as "Mama Broadway."

Her other Broadway roles include the titular character of the 1999 premiere of&nbsp;Marie Christine,&nbsp;Lady Percy in the 2003 revival of&nbsp;Henry IV,&nbsp;Lizzie Curry in the 2007 revival of&nbsp;110 in the Shade, and&nbsp;Lottie Gee in the 2016 premiere of&nbsp;Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. She has appeared off Broadway in&nbsp;The Vagina Monologues&nbsp;at the <a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/westside-theatre">Westside Theatre</a> and&nbsp;as Olivia in the Public's 2009 Shakespeare in the Park&nbsp;production of&nbsp;Twelfth Night.&nbsp;She made her West End debut&nbsp;reprising her performance as Billie Holliday in&nbsp;Lady Day at Emerson's Bar &amp; Grill&nbsp;from June to September 2017, earning her first Olivier Award nomination for her efforts. In 2017, she was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.

McDonald has also enjoyed a prolific career as a recording artist, having released a total of six studio albums to date and headlined countless solo concerts and tours both nationally and internationally. Her recording of Kurt Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny&nbsp;won the Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album&nbsp;and Best Opera Recording&nbsp;in 2008.

On screen, McDonald is perhaps best known for her TV role as&nbsp;Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC's Private Practice, appearing in 77 episodes&nbsp;from 2007 to 2013,&nbsp;and as Liz Reddick-Lawrence on CBS's&nbsp;The Good Fight&nbsp;in 2018, having first debuted in the role on The Good Wife&nbsp;in 2013.&nbsp;She won an Emmy Award in 2015 for her performance in Live from Lincoln Center&nbsp;and earned Emmy nominations for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar &amp; Grill&nbsp;(2016), Live from Lincoln Center: Carousel&nbsp;(2013), A Raisin in the Sun&nbsp;(2008), and Wit&nbsp;(2001). Her other notable screen credits include the role of&nbsp;Madame Garderobe in Disney's 2017 live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast,&nbsp;Sally in the 2017 film adaptation of Hello Again,&nbsp;and appearances in Ricki and the Flash,&nbsp;Rampart,&nbsp;Grey's Anatomy,&nbsp;Kidnapped,&nbsp;The Bedford Diaries,&nbsp;Mister Sterling,&nbsp;Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit, and Cradle Will Rock,&nbsp;among others. She also starred as&nbsp;Mother Superior in NBC's The Sound of Music Live!&nbsp;in 2013.

McDonald returned&nbsp;to Broadway to star as Frankie alongside Michael Shannon&nbsp;in a revival of Terrence McNally's&nbsp;Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune&nbsp;at the <a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/broadhurst-theatre">Broadhurst Theatre</a> from May 4 through July 28, 2019.

Audra McDonald - NY

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune on Broadway [15971]

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune on Broadway

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune on Broadway [15971] Product Media

The Broadhurst Theatre is a prestigious, century-old Broadway venue located in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It was named after the renowned playwright George H. Broadhurst, an Anglo-American who was originally from Bristol, England. Constructed by the Shubert Brothers and designed by the architectural firm Kirchoff & Rose, Broadhurst Theatre opened its doors to the public on September 27, 1917, with its first-ever staged play, George Bernard Shaw’s 'Misalliance'. Spanning over a wide space of 20,000 square feet, it can comfortably seat slightly over 1,100 spectators on two levels. With its decorative ceilings, excellent acoustics, central location, and intimate seating arrangement, the Broadhurst Theatre has been attracting Broadway artists and audience for over 100 years. 
 
##How to get to the venue
The Broadhurst Theatre is centrally located at 235 West 44th Street, and this strategic location makes it easily accessible from all parts of the city. If you're using public transportation, Times Square's 42nd Street subway station is the closest, served by various train lines such as the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, S. Also, multiple buses serve 44th Street, including the M20 and M104 lines. Hence, reaching the Broadhurst Theatre isn't difficult regardless of where you are starting your journey.

Broadhurst Theatre - NY

Broadhurst Theatre

Broadhurst Theatre is a historic Broadway venue in Manhattan, renowned for its intimate seating, excellent acoustics, and accessible location.

The most important thing to highlight about [*Ohio State Murders*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/24218-ohio-state-murders-tickets) on Broadway is that it is here. At long last, it is here, with a trio of Black theatre icons (and icons, period) attached. Two are [Audra McDonald](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/audra-mcdonald), the six-time Tony-winning star of the production, and [James Earl Jones](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/james-earl-jones-theatre), for whom the theatre housing *Ohio State Murders* has just been renamed.

And finally, there's Adrienne Kennedy, who wrote such masterworks as *Funnyhouse of a Negro* in her decades-long Off-Broadway career that pushed the boundaries of theatrical writing. At 91 years old, she is now a Broadway playwright. With a Theater Hall of Fame induction and multiple other lifetime achievement awards under her belt already, it's an honor long overdue.

One can wager various guesses as to the delay. [Kennedy herself cites racism](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/t-magazine/adrienne-kennedy-broadway.html), and she would know — parts of *Ohio State Murders* are based on her own experiences facing academic discrimination as an aspiring writer at her alma mater of the title. Another is the belief that mainstream audiences (and even theatremakers) might not know what to make of Kennedy's experimental writing, which often abandons realism in favor of symbolism, allegories, and pretzel-like twists of time and space to explore the Black experience.

Not that that's any particular excuse. We can't expand what flies as Broadway theatre if no one dares to try. This Kenny Leon-directed production is imperfect, but it deserves credit for trying and for what it gets right, including McDonald's riveting lead performance.

*Ohio State Murders*, which features one of Kennedy's more linear plots, is a good choice for testing the waters. This still being Kennedy, of course, it's told out of chronological order, by the writer Suzanne Alexander (McDonald). Suzanne is giving a lecture on why violence features so heavily in her works: because she's also a grieving mother whose twin daughters were murdered, and the memory still weighs heavily on her mind.

An out-of-order retelling makes sense for such a story: Suzanne is trying to piece together multiple fragmented, traumatic memories — of getting underestimated for her talents, then rejected from the English program, then pregnant, then expelled, then undone by loss — in real time as she talks about all this openly for the first time.

*Ohio State Murders* is at its best when Suzanne is unraveling her memories for the audience. The short scenes of dialogue, most of which are with her English professor Robert Hampshire, stall the play's momentum. In those moments, Leon can't quite seem to decide whether his *Ohio State Murders* is closer to a memory play or a theatrical memoir.

But we can't disregard Hampshire, though he's unremarkably aloof and Bryce Pinkham plays him as such. He's also the father of Suzanne's twins (this isn't a spoiler), and is, theatrically, her perfect foil.

He and Suzanne each deliver lectures during *Ohio State Murders*, both with a certain emotionlessness. But while his matter-of-fact tone is disinterested, Suzanne's is anything but. There is a palpable, thinly veiled rage simmering beneath most of McDonald's expertly layered performance. Rage at Ohio State for dismissing her writing talents because of her Blackness, at Hampshire for tossing her aside the minute she became pregnant, at everyone involved in covering up the identity of her child's murderer because they were (you guessed it) white.

McDonald is so transformative that in her few moments of bygone joy, such as when she convincingly plays with a pink scarf as though it were a real child, we momentarily forget Suzanne's anger. But when it brings her to her knees as she finally, for one piercing moment, lets all her pain boil over, we're reminded anew that the most violent force in *Ohio State Murders* is racism itself. "Did you write this yourself?" Hampshire doubts, for example, of a brilliant assignment Suzanne submits for his class. Small microaggressions and murderous acts are all rooted in the same hatred.

Kennedy lets this point suggest itself, and Leon's direction of the actors smartly preserves the subtlety of her writing. Beowulf Boritt's set, too, with library stacks akimbo in front of a gaping, dark ravine and snowfall, sets the sinister tone without a word, aided by Allen Lee Hughes's lighting.

If you're looking for a show that announces its themes with pomp and circumstance, *Ohio State Murders* isn't it. Such an even-keeled approach might make a longer show dull, but at just 75 minutes, *Ohio State Murders* holds attention overall amid its muddy moments. And as McDonald's performance attests, nothing is as it seems on the surface. There's plenty bubbling below. This is a murder mystery of sorts, after all, so put on your detective's hat and keep your eyes and ears peeled for the clues.

[*Ohio State Murders* is at the James Earl Jones Theatre through February 12. Get *Ohio State Murders* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/24218-ohio-state-murders-tickets)

*Photo credit: Audra McDonald in Ohio State Murders. (Photo by Richard Termine)*

'Ohio State Murders' review — Audra McDonald chills and thrills in Adrienne Kennedy drama

The **James Earl Jones Theatre** in New York is deeply ingrained in the rich history and dynamism of Broadway performances. This venerable venue, named after the acclaimed actor James Earl Jones, constantly champions theatre arts at their finest. With its tastefully designed interior that complements its avant-garde architectural style, every performance becomes doubly exhilarating due to the unmatchable ambiance. The theater seats hundreds of spectators, providing a phenomenal view of the stage from all angles. Notably, the James Earl Jones theatre ensures the best acoustics, promising an immersive and unforgettable experience. It hosts a multitude of performances every year, including riveting plays, musicals, and award ceremonies, with each event adding a fresh chapter to its story. Relishing a cultural experience here transcends beyond the artistic gratification, it embodies the ethos of New York's vibrant theater culture.

**Getting to the Venue**: The James Earl Jones Theatre is easily accessible by a variety of transport modes. If you're traveling by subway, take the N, R or W lines and alight at 49th street. Alternatively, the 1, C and E lines stop just a short walk away. There are also a number of bus services that run nearby, as well as ample car parking facilities for those driving.

James Earl Jones Theatre - NY

James Earl Jones Theatre

The James Earl Jones Theatre offers an immersive artistic experience in a historic Broadway venue, easily accessible by multiple transportation modes.

Gypsy on Broadway - NYC [41161]

Gypsy on Broadway

The Majestic Theatre, located on Broadway in New York City, is a truly historical masterpiece. Originally opened on March 28, 1927, it was designed by renowned architect Herbert J. Krapp. The grandeur of the building's architecture and interior decor is evident from the moment you step through the doors. With a seating capacity of 1,681, the Majestic is one of the largest Broadway venues, making it the ideal location for prominent productions.

The theatre has been most notably associated with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s *The Phantom of the Opera*, which played there from 1988 to 2023. Every little detail of the Majestic Theatre adds up to an unforgettable overall experience. From the ornate moldings of the proscenium arch to the majestic mezzanine and balcony, the venue, renovated in 2024, inspires awe in visitors.

__How to get there:__ The Majestic Theatre is located at 245 West 44th Street, Manhattan. It’s easy to get to either by car, subway, or bus. The closest subway station is Times Square - 42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal, serving Lines 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and S. If you're driving, there are numerous parking lots nearby. Be warned that NYC traffic can be tricky, so give yourself extra time to arrive.

Majestic Theatre - NY

Majestic Theatre 

The Majestic Theatre is a historical landmark on Broadway, located in the heart of the Theatre District in New York City.

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The James Earl Jones Theatre, formerly called the Cort Theatre, officially opened on December 20, 1912, with *Peg o' My Heart* starring Laurette Taylor. The venue was originally named after John Cort, founder of the Northwestern Theatrical Association. He commissioned Thomas W. Lamb to design the theatre, which would mirror the Petit Trianon in Versailles. 

The Shubert Organization acquired the theatre in 1927, two years before Cort’s death. It has always been used as a traditional theatre except for the years from 1969 to 1972, when it became a television studio with the broadcast of *The Merv Griffin Show*.

Renovation work began at the Cort Theatre in 2021, and the venue reopened in 2022 under its new name. The building is now named for James Earl Jones, the Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning actor known for voice roles in *The Lion King* and *Star Wars* films and stage performances in shows including *The Great White Hope* and *Fences*, which both earned him Tony Awards. He also earned a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2017.

## How to get to the James Earl Jones Theatre on Broadway

The James Earl Jones Theatre is closest to the 47-50 Sts - Rockefeller Center stop on the B, D, F, and M lines. The closest bus stops are 6th Ave/W 49th St. on the M50 line and 6th Ave/W 47th St. on the M5 and M7 lines.


James Earl Jones Theatre - New York Theatre Guide

The James Earl Jones Theatre, previously the Cort Theatre, opened in 1912. It was renamed after the acclaimed actor following renovations in 2022.

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