When writer Suzanne Alexander (Audra McDonald) returns to her alma mater as a guest speaker, in which she explores the violence in her works, a dark mystery unravels. Adrienne Kennedy's Ohio State Murders is an intriguing and unusual suspense play, as well as a social pertinent look at the destructiveness of racism in our society.
McDonald is an actress who radiates optimism and smiles often. And that positivity makes her agonized characters, such as Suzanne, absolutely fascinating to behold. From start to finish, there is an engrossing battle raging within the academic. Suzanne is desperate not to show her cards, at first, because that means the oppressive world will have won. Even after a terrible event befalls her, she refuses to leave Columbus. She’s full of stoic determination. McDonald smartly finds contrarian moments for her careful professorial facade to crack and each and every one is affecting. When her gleaming face suddenly turns hurt, cold, angry or lifeless, it has a big, wordless punch. The lion’s share of the show is hers, but Pinkham, who’s best known for his roles in musicals, has a striking scene. During another lecture late in the play, as Suzanne looks on with a polar opposite facial expression this time, his eyes are so red and strained it looks like he hasn’t slept in days. It’s simple but scary.
Kenny Leon’s production focuses a bit too much on memory and not enough on the imagined present, to my mind. The tension that Kennedy built into the piece would be more palpable if, for a second, we believe that Hampshire will be good for Suzanne, but the conclusions here always appear foregone. If Pinkham softened his character some in the early stages of the piece, that would help bring about the twisting agony of disappointed expectations. But McDonald, clearly laboring of love here, is just wonderful in this part. On Beowulf Borit’s fractured, dislocated set, she shares her final bow with an image of Kennedy, a prescient writer, perhaps born too soon in America but still having flourished, notwithstanding all that her now regretful university put in her way.
2007 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Audra McDonald |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play | Allen Lee Hughes |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Ohio State Murders |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play | Beowulf Boritt |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design of a Play | Justin Ellington |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Ohio State Murders |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Audra McDonald |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Ohio State Murders |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play | Audra McDonald |
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