Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald’s previously announced return to Broadway in “Ohio State Murders” now has an opening date confirmed: previews for the limited engagement will begin November 11, with the official opening set for December 8. Penned by playwright Adrienne Kennedy, it will be the first production to be held at the newly re-named and renovated James Earl Jones Theatre (formerly the Cort Theatre).
According to Playbill, McDonald will portray Suzanne Alexander, a writer who “returns to her alma mater as a guest speaker to explore the violence in her works, and a dark mystery unravels.” The source adds, “the suspense play also offers a look at the destructiveness of racism in our society.”
Kennedy, best known for her Obie award winning plays “Funnyhouse of a Negro” and “June and Jean in Concert,” is — at 91 — making her Broadway playwriting debut with the production.
Said McDonald, “I’m honored and humbled to be part of Adrienne Kennedy’s long-overdue Broadway debut in the newly dedicated James Earl Jones Theatre with [director] Kenny Leon. This timeless play has a powerful resonance and relevance today, and we can’t wait to share it with the world.”
McDonald and Leon previously worked together on a digital reading of the play, aired as part of Broadway’s Best Shows’ Spotlight on Plays series in 2021.
McDonald’s last Broadway appearance was a 2019 revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” In recent years she has also played series regular roles on TV’s “The Good Fight” and “The Gilded Age.”
