Audra McDonald is Broadway bound. The six-time Tony winner is returning to The Great Bright Way with “Ohio State Murders,” a new play by Adrienne Kennedy, per Variety.
An exploration of the “destructiveness and corrosiveness of racism in this country,” “Ohio State Murders” is a “dark mystery” that sees a Black writer (McDonald) returning to Ohio State University to discuss the violence in her writing. The production will mark Kennedy’s Broadway debut. The Obie Award-winning playwright’s other works include “Funnyhouse of a Negro” and “Sleep Deprivation Chamber.”
“‘Ohio State Murders’ premieres at a time when Broadway is making strides to broaden the range of plays it stages beyond revivals of canonical shows from largely white writers,” the source notes. “This season marks a record number of productions from Black writers and playwrights of color, including Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s ‘Pass Over,’ Lynn Nottage’s ‘Clyde’s,’ Keenan Scott II’s ‘Thoughts of a Colored Man,’ and Dominique Morisseau’s ‘Skeleton Crew.'”
McDonald last appeared on Broadway in 2019 in a revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” Also an Emmy and Grammy winner, she can currently be seen on “The Good Fight,” Paramount+’s “Good Wife” spinoff, and Spectrum’s “The Bite,” a sci-fi take on the COVID-19 pandemic.
