Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. to perform at Iowa State
Home Free belts out their first arrangement of the night “Fishin’ in the Dark” Wednesday night in Stephens Auditorium.
March 28, 2017
Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. will give a lecture titled “Hamilton and the Road to Success: In Words and Music” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Stephens Auditorium. The event is free to Iowa State students and the public.
Odom has been directing, acting and singing for more than a decade, performing in film, television and on Broadway. He was most recently seen on Broadway in the hip-hop musical “Hamilton,” which depicts the life of Alexander Hamilton and the birth of the United States and its democracy.
Odom originated the role of Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s confidant, nemesis and eventual assassin. Odom left the Broadway production on July 9, 2016.
Odom spoke at the University of Iowa and DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in a series of events and will perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and at the Ravinia Jazz Festival in Highland Park, Illinois, this summer.
The lecture will focus on his life and career before, during and after Hamilton, as well as take audience questions and perform songs from the show.
His story and performance will shine a light on a lesser known aspect of Iowa State: the music and theater community.
“It is incredibly exciting to have a performer of such high acclaim come to Iowa State University,” said Kelly Schaefer, costume designer and professor in Iowa State’s music and theatre department. “Our university is very well known and respected throughout the science and technology files, but not many people on campus are aware of the amazing and award-winning work that is happening in the music and theatre department.”
The music and theatre program has been widely recognized, and Schaefer believes that having Odom come is not only an honor, but an opportunity for students to learn firsthand about having a career in performing arts.
Doors for the event will open to Iowa State students at 6 p.m. and at 6:30 p.m. for faculty, staff and the public. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, and students must have a valid Iowa State ID in order to enter the event. Seats may not be saved.
