Leslie Odom Jr.’s Orlando concert will be held at Steinmetz Hall
Although his Orlando performance is part of the Dr. Phillips Center’s Jazz Series in Steinmetz Hall, Tony-winning actor Leslie Odom Jr. isn’t one to be defined by labels.
“I don’t really even call it a jazz concert,” he says — pointing out his stage work in “Hamilton” and film work also will be part of the program. “It encompasses all of who I am. That’s one of the things that makes it so satisfying to me.”
Odom has worked in theater, TV and film for decades — his first Broadway role came in the musical “Rent” in 1998 — but the 2012 TV show “Smash,” in which he played a dancer and love interest for the show’s leading man, increased his fan base exponentially.
Then came Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-hit “Hamilton.” Odom was cast as the original Aaron Burr and took home a 2016 Tony Award.
“I was one of the first to hear that music,” he says. “I was a fan.”
He enjoys performing the “Hamilton” tracks in concert for theater lovers who “weren’t able to go to New York and see the original cast,” he says. “It’s really a treat to go around the country and do it for people who became fans after I left.”
Singing Miranda’s music — these years later — never gets old for him.
“I get giddy when I hear those opening melodic lines from the piano player on ‘Wait for It,’ or the opening measures of “The Room Where It Happens,” he says. “It’s a thrill for me still.”
Odom says he has grown into performing in a concert setting rather than playing a role — “putting on a costume and saying the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda as the character.”
“I’ve gotten accustomed to coming on stage and being more vulnerable as myself,” he says. “More than accustomed, actually; I enjoy it, in some ways, prefer it.”
That’s because there’s more freedom in a nonscripted show; Odom says he can’t even say exactly what the audience will hear on Sunday.
“I don’t always sing the same songs in the same order,” he says — and current events can also affect the concert’s vibe.
“That has a great deal to do with what we talk about and how the show goes,” he says.
Expect to hear some Sam Cooke tunes; Odom portrayed the legendary singer-songwriter in the acclaimed 2020 film “One Night in Miami.” And the concert will likely include a nod to the great Nat King Cole.
“Nat King Cole has always been a north star for me,” says Odom. “It broke my heart the day I realized no matter how I tried, I was never going to be Nat King Cole.”
Odom, who has released four albums and written a motivational book titled “Failing Up,” was last seen on film in the mystery “Glass Onion” and has been working on a sequel to “The Exorcist.”
I ask him if it’s difficult to set aside singing when he works on nonmusical projects.
“Thank goodness nobody’s asking me to choose which I want to do for the rest of my life,” he says. “It’s such a blessing and a gift that I can do a little bit of all of it.”
And the variety can rejuvenate him.
“Taking a break from music to make a movie makes me so excited to go back to music,” says Odom, adding he’ll be having as much fun as Sunday’s Orlando audience. “We’re gonna have a ball.”
IF YOU GO
‘An Evening With Leslie Odom Jr.’
Where: Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave. in Orlando When: 7:30 p.m. March 12 Cost: $49.50 and up
Info: drphillipscenter.org