By Claire Dietz

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The Tony-winning singer and actor Leslie Odom Jr, best known for his role as Aaron Burr in the hit Broadway musical Hamilton will be visiting Iowa City in March.

Odom will be speaking as a part of the University of Iowa’s lecture series on March 27 at 7:30 p.m.

While Odom is best known for his role as the principal soloist Aaron Burr in the blockbuster musical Hamilton, Odom has been in a wide variety of productions before joining the cast.

According the University of Iowa Lecture Committee, “Odom, Jr. made his Broadway debut at the age of 17 in Rent, before heading to Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious School of Drama, where he graduated with honors. He is the recipient of a 2002 Princess Grace Award for Acting, which is dedicated to identifying emerging talent in theater, dance and film.”

Odom Jr’s CV also includes Leap of Faith on Broadway. This role allowed him to win the 2012 Astaire Award for Outstanding Male Dancer on Broadway and was nominated for a Drama League Award. He also performed in the 2014 musical Venice, which also played at The Public Theater, where Hamilton was first staged. Odom Jr. met Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda while working in  Encores! Off-Center production of Tick, Tick… Boom! From there Odom was able to originate the role of Aaron Burr in the multiple Tony Award winning musical Hamilton.

Odom Jr. has also had success off the stage, one of which includes a successful Kickstarter to release his self-titled debut album, for which he raised over $40,000. While the album was initially released in 2014 Odom returned to the studio to recreate and rerecord aspects of the album he had not been happy with the first time around. It peaked at number 1 of the US Billboard Jazz Chart and 147 on the US Billboard Top 200.

Odom Jr. left Hamilton on July 9th of last year, but that does not mean that his career is over. In fact, it is only just the beginning.

 

Txgx

Leslie Odom Jr.

When: March 27th at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Hancher Auditorium

Admission: Tickets are free but limited, more information will be released soon.