NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� one of the original cast members of the mega-hit Broadway musical is coming back for another shot, a role he says 鈥済ave me life.鈥�
Odom, who played Aaron Burr opposite Alexander Hamilton, will return to his Tony Award-winning role at the on Sept. 9 through Nov. 23.
鈥淚 was born on the stage of the Richard Rodgers in so many ways. It gave me life in a way," he tells The Associated Press. 鈥淚鈥檓 really looking forward to it.鈥�
Odom and Miranda both left the show in July 2016 after the same performance. Odom had been with 鈥淗amilton鈥� since it first began performances in early 2015 off-Broadway.
鈥淚 look back on it fondly, I do,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was the start of so much for me. It was the start of a career that I always dreamed of. It鈥檚 just the beginning. It鈥檚 the genesis.鈥�
He estimates he played Burr some 500 times, but it never got boring: 鈥淚t still had revelation for me, and it still gave me reason to look a little deeper and focus a little harder.鈥�
When he returns, he'll be with a new company of actors and will bring to the audience his willingness to discover in the moment, something he says he learned doing 鈥淗amilton.鈥�
鈥淚 want them to see something exciting and alive. And the best way for me to do that is to be open and present in that moment,鈥� he adds.
Odom earned another Tony nomination last year for the comedy 鈥淧urlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch鈥� by Ossie Davis.
After 鈥淗补尘颈濒迟辞苍,鈥� he was on the big screen in and and portrayed Sam Cooke in 鈥淥ne Night in Miami.鈥�
He lent his voice to the animated series 鈥淐entral Park鈥� and starred opposite Kate Hudson in 鈥� His TV credits include 鈥淎bbott Elementary鈥� and 鈥淏lue's Clues & You.鈥�
Odom, who studied at Carnegie Mellon University, became the youngest cast member in the Broadway company of 鈥淩ent.鈥� Before 鈥淗补尘颈濒迟辞苍,鈥� he appeared on TV in the series 鈥淪mash鈥� and 鈥淐SI: Miami,鈥� in the film 鈥淩ed Tails鈥� and on
During the pandemic, Disney+ broadcast a filmed version of the original Broadway cast of 鈥淗补尘颈濒迟辞苍,鈥� who Miranda has called
The Broadway show won 11 Tony Awards, including best new musical, best book and best score. The cast album has been a blockbuster, and the show has toured to packed houses.
The musical charts the rise and fall of statesman Hamilton and stresses his orphan, immigrant roots 鈥� 鈥淚mmigrants. We get the job done!鈥� is one line that gets huge applause 鈥� as well as his almost Greek tragedy of a fall, fed by ambition.
Based on a biography by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow and developed during the presidency of the first Black president, the show was optimistic and ambitious, tweaking Broadway traditions but respecting them, too. Odom says he's rereading Chernow's biography to get ready.
Many in the cast alongside Odom were relatively unknown to the wider world when they hit the stage: Ren茅e Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Okieriete Onaodowan, and Phillipa Soo. Even Miranda wasn鈥檛 yet a brand name.
Odom, who shoots Hamilton dead, sang on many of the musical's best songs, including 鈥砏ait for It鈥� 鈥矰ear Theodosia鈥� 鈥砊he Room Where It Happens鈥� and 鈥砓our Obedient Servant.鈥�
He says he often sings the songs during concerts but will have to relearn the score. 鈥淥ne of the most important gifts that it gave me was this association with some recognizable tunes that people like to hear,鈥� he says.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
