Another Broadway show is bidding goodbye and turning off its marquees.
According to Deadline, Broadway's "Ohio State Murders," will take its final bow sometime this January 2023, after a few weeks staying open since its opening last December.
The play, starred by Tony legend Audra McDonald will cap off on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023. It made history by being the first Broadway production of the critically-acclaimed playwright Adrienne Kennedy, who is already 91 years old.
McDonald's is an icon in theatre. She has performed in operas, dramas, and musicals like "Dreamgirls," "Ragtime," Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill," and "Marie Christine," among many others.
To date, she is the most awarded actress at the Tony Awards, winning six awards and becoming the first female artist to win all four acting categories.
Per the outlet, the show has struggled with sales. It just grossed around $300,000 for its nine performances during the highly-attended Broadway New Year week, a lucrative period for shows and plays in New York.
Unfortunately, the attendance for the said week did not even reach half of the official theatre capacity. It was just 49% capacity at the James Earl Jones Theatre.
The show began previews last Nov. 11, 2022, but only opened last Dec. 8, 2022. The production marked the first production at the James Earl Jones Theatre, having only been renamed recently.
Supposedly, the "Ohio State Murders" closing date was slated on Feb. 12, 2023. But due to the poor sales on the box-office, the final bow has to happen a month earlier.
Reviews for "Ohio State Murders" were generally favorable.
"Ohio State Murders in a production that's sometimes just much for its own good, portentous when it needn't be, with a here-and-there vibe of being overcooked when pared-down simplicity might be called for," Deadline says.
Variety seemingly echoes the critique on the production: "The set design by Beowulf Boritt, a suspended cascade of bookshelves, sharply lit by Allen Lee Hughes, might be too on the nose were it not so startlingly beautiful."
The Guardian, which rated the show three out of five stars, raved on McDonald's performance.
"McDonald is sublime, occupying the emotional state of Alexander's present and past with no effort. McDonald's body literally vibrates with rage at memories of her bullish classmates or her murdered child," the outlet wrote.
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