Flat direction threatens to kill Adrienne Kennedy’s masterful “Ohio State Murders”
7 / 10
Kennedy’s script extends beyond institutional racism and delves into the depths of systemic savagery. It exposes the insidious nature of supremacy on Black and white people — neither race spared from madness. But these gargantuan concepts exhaust audiences because of Leon’s unheightened direction. To be fair, “Ohio” is more a play of reactions than action — a challenge to stage effectively. The other characters that populate Suzanne’s memory of the Midwest — roommate Iris Ann (Abigail Stephenson), eventual husband David Alexander (Mister Fitzgerald), landlord Mrs. Tyler (Lizan Mitchell) — only enter to cry, play violin or gaze into the wings. But Leon hardly has McDonald touch her silent scene mates, limiting the potential for onstage intimacy between characters. Instead, his rigid blocking of these extra characters is tiresome. In fact, McDonald’s greatest emotional connection is with two pink scarves meant to symbolize Suzanne’s twin girls.
