Broadway’s favorite villain, Leslie Odom Jr., hit “Late Night with Seth Meyers” last week to discuss his role in the hit musical Hamilton, what lends to its success, and which of his idols is the epitome of “GANGSTA!”
The genius behind “Mr. Burr, sir,” made his first late night appearance Monday night on the NBC talk show. There has been chatter that the Carnegie Mellon graduate is a shoo-in for a Tony nomination for his fascinating portrayal of an “80-year-old white guy.”
One of the audience’s favorite numbers is Odom’s show-stopping, banjo-fueled, vaudeville-styled “The Room Where It Happens.” When Meyers asked if this solo number was his favorite moment of the night, Odom simply replied, “God, no.”
“What’s your favorite moment,” Meyers countered. “The end,” Odom responded casually. “It’s such a formidable task ahead of us each night doing this show. Lin really laid down the gauntlet with this show. One of the things that’s so exciting about it is that it asks everything of you every single night and so that number… I never know if I’m gonna survive, if I’m gonna make it through. So when we reach the end, it’s a miracle.”
The musical about America’s Founding Fathers portrayed predominantly by a cast of color to the tune of hip hop and r&b is successfully breaking records across the board, leaving fans and critics wondering, why does it work?
“I think it’s because there’s a part of the audience that the whole time they’re kind of marveling at the fact that it works too,” Odom said with a chuckle. “It’s something that shouldn’t work. The genius is in the incongruence.”
The sold out for YEARS Hamilton has already garnered dozens of celebrity visitors including Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and President Obama. (The night I was there I walked by Barbara Streisand *SQUEAL*). A couple of Odom’s favorites? Broadway royalty Joel Grey and Liza Minelli.
“Liza shows up in a cloud of medicinal marijuana smoke, which only makes her cooler in my book,” Odom quipped with a smirk. “And I thanked her and Joel and she asks me ‘Well, have you ever seen me live?’ and I said ‘No’ and she said ‘Well then, you still have something to look forward to.’ …. GANGSTA! Liza is straight GANGSTA!”
I saw the show last week and to say that Odom’s performance was brilliant is an understatement. His approach is ingeniously subtle, and his skill is mesmerizing. You may have to sell your first born, but get tickets to see his amazing performance in Hamilton as soon as you can!
