Inspire. Motivate. Empower.
A typical author event takes place in — where else? — a book store.
Even when the writers are celebrity entertainers, they usually can be found at a table surrounded by library-like shelves when it is time to decorate the flyleaf of their latest tome with their “John Hancock” — or “Graham Nash” or “Dolly Parton” or “Garrison Keillor” or “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,” to name a few of the famous folk who have signed books in Memphis in the recent past.
But do we expect business as usual when the author is Leslie Odom Jr., the Tony Award-winning performer who originated the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical, “Hamilton”? An Evening with Leslie Odom, Jr. — Remarks, readings, a question-and-answer session and a 15-minute live musical performance with a band $30 and includes Odom’s book, “Failing Up,” with a signed book plate
When: 7 p.m. Friday Where: The Orpheum, 203 S. Main Tickets:
orpheum -memphis.com, 901-525-3000
More info:
As with all things “Hamilton”-ian, expectations for Odom’s March 30 appearance at the Orpheum are outsized.
In lieu of a standard book-signing, “An Evening with Leslie Odom, Jr.” — hosted by the Laurelwood Shopping Center bookstore, Novel — presents the star and his new book in a semi-theatrical context.
“We’re gonna have a good time,” said Odom, 36, in a phone interview from the set of his latest movie, “Only,” in which he romances Frieda Pinto. “We’re going to read a little from the book, we’re going to do a question-and-answer, we’re going to sing... You gotta sing if you come to Memphis!”
Odom’s new book, a compact 200page hardover, is titled “Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher and Never Stop Learning.”
Marketed for all ages, the book may prove especially useful for teenagers and young adults as they seek their identities and chase their dreams. According to a press release issued by the book’s publisher, Feiwel and Friends/ Macmillan, “Failing Up” is filled with stories that “will inspire you, motivate you, and empower you for the greatness that lies ahead, whether you’re graduating from college, starting a new job, or just looking to live each day to the fullest.”
Continues the news release: “Odom asks the questions that will help you unlock your true potential and achieve your goals even when they seem impossible... How do you surround yourself with people who will care about your dreams as much as you do? How do you know when to play it safe and when to risk it all for something bigger and better?”
“I started writing the book by thinking of it as sort of a commencement address,” said Odom, who grew up in Philadelphia, and is a product of that city’s public school system. “When I grew up, I had instrumental guidance from a handful of teachers and mentors who really opened up and read to me and taught me from the pages of their lives, and this book was a chance for me to pay it forward.”
A graduate of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, Odom said finishing college wasn’t the only type of “graduation” he had in mind in this book-length “commencement.”
“College was one of many graduations for me,” he said. “You graduate into your 30s, you graduate into fatherhood... Leaving ‘Hamilton’ was a graduation into a new phase of my life...
“I tried to write with as much honesty and to be as forthcoming as possible when I was behind my laptop,” he added.
Currently visible in a new series of television commercials for Nationwide Insurance, Odom won’t sign books per se at the Orpheum. Instead, a copy of the book — which retails for $19.99 — and an Odom-signed book plate are included with the $30 ticket price for the event.
Even so, organizers with Novel and the Orpheum expect a crowd.
“Hamilton” — which arrives at the Orpheum in a touring-company production in July of 2019 — is a genuine cultural phenomenon, and the rare original Broadway musical of recent vintage that has become part of the American mainstream, thanks largely to writer LinManuel Miranda’s hip-hop-influenced musical take on U.S. history in general and “Founding Father” Alexander Hamilton in particular.
In addition to setting New York boxoffice records, the play has been an instant sell-out in almost every market in which it has appeared since its 2015 Broadway debut. Its 11 Tony Awards included recognition for Odom as “Best Actor in a Musical,” a category that also included Miranda. (In other words, “Aaron Burr” and “Alexander Hamilton” were again in competition, 212 years after their famous duel; and it once again was Burr who walked away with a win, although Miranda earned a Tony in the “Best Book of a Musical” category.)
Memphis, Odom said, is one of only about “five or six cities” on his book tour, which includes a stop in his hometown of Philadelphia, where he attended a high school for the creative and performing arts before pursuing his love of musical theater and acting — his nonstage credits include “CSI: Miami” and the recent “Murder on the Orient Express” remake — in New York and Los Angeles.
“It still surprises me when people recognize me at the airport or in Starbucks,” he said. “I just wanted to point out that none of whatever success I’ve had, none of the moments that make up what you might call the highlight reel of success, none of this would have existed without some real risks, some failure, and without falling down on my face, picking myself back up, brushing myself off and trying again.”