On Jan. 20, I braved the cold with over 1,000 other FSU students in a gargantuan line outside Ruby Diamond Concert Hall. Waiting for us inside was none other than Tony, GRAMMY, and Critics’ Choice winner Leslie Odom Jr.
After rocketing to fame with his crackling performance as Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical Hamilton, Odom has since released several albums, written a book, and so much more. Most recently, however, he spoke at FSU’s Golden Torch Lecture Series as part of a campus-wide celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
As a theatre major, I already had the insane privilege of sitting front row at an intimate masterclass earlier that day. Six talented students from the FSU School of Theatre performed and received personalized feedback from the legend himself. That didn’t stop me from being as excited as anyone when Odom entered the stage. The anticipation in the air was palpable as applause shook the house.
The lecture that followed was compelling, and Odom spoke on everything from the responsibility of mentorship to his top four films on Letterboxd (The Godfather made it, in case you were wondering). The event was moderated by theatre professor Jasmine Bracey, who at one point posed a question so good that an audible “wow” was heard from the audience.
Odom focused especially on his growth as an individual throughout his years as an artist, admitting that he often felt something was missing from his artistry early in his career. He revealed that, at times, he felt he lacked the ephemeral electricity that made other performances what he called “magic.”
As an actor myself, I knew exactly what Odom was talking about. Sometimes a performer steps onstage and stops the world, so you can feel every part of their humanity. After watching a performance like that, it’s easy to question your ability to do the same.
It was wild to me that this award-winning Broadway veteran once had the same doubts about his abilities that I do now. The answer to “finding the magic,” Odom revealed, was fully finding yourself off the stage. He elaborated that allowing yourself to be all that you are without judgment will help you realize it’s the missing piece you’re looking for.
Finally, he talked about Hamilton, specifically the incredible experience of opening the show on Broadway with the original cast. He spoke on staying level-headed amidst both the euphoria and the pressure of its success, and returning to the role that made his career ten years after he sang the musical’s opening note.
With admirable vulnerability, Odom admitted that he didn’t cry onstage once during his first run of Hamilton. In fact, he struggled for years to let himself fully experience the more painful range of human emotion. In reprising his role this past year, his goal was to allow himself to feel every part of the difficult contradiction that is the role of Aaron Burr.
If Odom had been slightly reserved at the start of the lecture, those walls had now come crashing down, and his heart was wide open. It was my favorite part of the lecture!
Next, Odom welcomed his guitarist to the stage. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been hoping that he’d grace us with his singing, and I couldn’t have been happier. After a heartbreakingly beautiful acoustic rendition of Odom’s original song “Loved,” it seemed like the night was just about finished.
That was when Odom leaned in and whispered to the guitarist; the guitarist nodded. A few familiar chords began to echo through the space, and the theatre caught fire with whispers. Then, Odom began to sing and, I kid you not, the whole audience gasped at once. “Dear Theodosia” is one of my favorite songs in Hamilton. That night, I got to experience it live.
The familiar music was made new and impossibly tender, and the entire theatre was hit with emotion. I laughed a bit through my own watery eyes at the quiet symphony of audible sniffing. Odom’s voice touched something delicate inside of all of us. The gorgeous humanity of it was a reminder that Odom is more than Hamilton, even though it was “One of the greatest pleasures of [his] life.”
We’re all more than our greatest achievements and our greatest doubts. Unparalleled connection hung thick and bright in the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall as Odom sang the last note and the audience rose to their feet.
I got to be in the room where it happened, and trust me when I say, it was pure magic.
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