Reigning star of stages and screens (large and small) Audra McDonald, who plays at Campbell Hall on November 30, has thrown herself into a multitude of character roles by now and worked her way in and out of fictional wardrobes. She has distinguished herself in such musical theater classics as Carousel, Ragtime, Porgy and Bess, and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (a Grammy winner, with the LA Opera). She has been a much-appreciated repeat visitor to America’s living room in such TV series as Private Practice and the “goods,” The Good Wife and The Good Fight.
McDonald has also braved the fine art of embodying such reality-based icons as Maria Callas (in the play Master Class) and Billie Holiday (in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) — both garnering Tony awards — and as Aretha Franklin in the 2021 biopic Respect.
And yet, despite her gift for character building and inhabiting, one of the most impressive forums for McDonald is when she gets to play Audra McDonald, singer and concertizer.