Audra McDonald portrays power, resilience and despair in Broadway's haunting 'Ohio State Murders'

Editor's note: This segment was rebroadcasted on June 1, 2023. Find that audio here.

Actor Audra McDonald made Broadway history by winning more Tony Awards than any other actor — six in all — in shows including "Carousel," "Ragtime," "A Raisin in the Sun" and The Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." She's also an acclaimed opera singer with two Grammy Awards. And then there are TV roles, most recently in "The Good Wife" and "The Gilded Age."

But it's her latest role, playing Suzanne Alexander in playwright Adrienne Kennedy's "Ohio State Murders," that is generating buzz this season. It's the haunting story of a Black girl in the 1950s who endures racism, classism, misogyny and the murder of her daughters at Ohio State University — poignantly narrated by the character decades later. McDonald talks to host Robin Young about the role and about honoring its now 91-year-old playwright.