Hamilton with Leslie Odom Jr — The Room Where it Happens…

Since Hamilton debuted Off Broadway back in early 2015, it has grown into an international phenomenon, garnered a cult following of devoted fans and become a culturally defining act. Written by Lin Manuel Miranda (also starring as Alexander Hamilton) the original cast held an astonishing amount of talent including ensemble members who have gone on to win Academy Awards! After a 5 year run on Broadway during the COVID-19 pandemic, the show was released on Disney+, introducing millions more to the show and heightening its celebrity status even more as well as the adoration for the cast. Therefore, when the show celebrated its 10 year anniversary in 2025, fans were amazed to see the revelation that original actor of Aaron Burr – one of the most prominent and compelling characters in the show – Leslie Odom Jr was returning to reprise his role at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway for a limited time. Since his award winning stint in Hamilton last appearing in 2016, Odom Jr has gone on to release solo albums, be nominated for countless awards including Oscars for acting and songwriting and starred in numerous TV shows and movies. In spite of all this however, his time as Aaron Burr is still his defining role to most, making his return so highly anticipated. Fans outside of the US were left pining at the idea of such an iconic act being performed halfway across the world and being denied the opportunity to see Leslie Odom Jr perform live. However, much to their surprise, after the unprecedented success of his Broadway stint, it was announced that for a mere 2 months, he would be joining the West End cast at the Victoria Palace Theatre. Over 10 years in the making, would it be worth all the waiting… (pardon the pun!)

The role of Aaron Burr has a number of solo songs which are some of the greatest highlights of the show in a usual performance, let alone with Leslie Odom Jr at the helm. Before a note had been sung, as Odom Jr entered the stage to open the show, rapturous applause and audience frenzy ensued, prompting Odom Jr to pause and state the opening lines again to be audible over the noise! It was evident from the very beginning that there was a buzz of electric, palpable energy in the room.

‘Wait For It’ is the first of his solos midway through the first half, one of the most identifiable songs on the extensive track list and definitely one of the most poignant. There seemed to be a collective intake of breath from the crowd, sworn to silence in anticipation of what they were about to experience as stewards flooded out around the sides, clearly anticipating that this may be the moment people attempt to break the ‘No Recording’ rule… Odom Jr commanded the stage with great presence safe in the knowledge he had the audience in the palm of his hand, portraying the intensity of the song greatly but also with a reserved nature about him. Vocally of course was effortlessly astonishing with his gorgeous tone both when belting out iconic lines such as ‘I am inimitable, I am an original’ as well as beautifully navigating the vulnerable understated passages.

The next of his starring passages is the tender ‘Dear Theodosia’, where the supposedly oppositional characters of Burr and Hamilton are both singing to their newborn children – when initially in the role, Odom Jr says that he would bow his head whilst Lin Manuel Miranda was singing and say a prayer for his own daughter who had not yet been born, however now 10 years older he is married with two children. Another intake of breath occurred aside from a few sobs of people moved to tears before he had even begun. Being one of the defining songs for his character and one that has followed him for years, there was no doubt that it was going the be near in perfect and that it was. The vulnerability and genuine nature he performed the song with alongside again his brilliantly gentle vocals made it one of the highlights of the show.

Before a note had been sung, as Odom Jr entered the stage to open the show, rapturous applause and audience frenzy ensued, prompting Odom Jr to pause and state the opening lines again to be audible over the noise!

Another of the most crucial points of the show belongs to Burr with ‘The Room Where It Happens’, the point at which the fractious nature of his relationship with Hamilton comes to a head, coming as an exhortation of resentment and anguish from Burr. The song is truly a rollercoaster going from fairly steady to growing in energy, snappily breaking down into a very quiet passage before growing into probably the most dynamic moment of the show with a greatly memorable ending on the foreshadowing line ‘Click Boom!’ The energy in the room matched Odom Jr’s performance to a tee, following him through the exhausting catalogue of emotions which he portrayed, ranging from amused to confusion to brimming with frustration and rage by the end. A lengthy round of applause ended the song again delaying the restart of the show.

Burr also spearheads the end of the show from the song ‘Your Obedient Servant’ onwards to ‘The World Was Wide Enough’, songs which once again put his soulful vocal tone at the forefront. At this point in the show, Burr becomes consumed by his demons and anger towards Hamilton leading to their duel which was shown beautifully from Odom Jr’s facial expressions and contrasting choices to previously in the show where he had been optimistic and often joyful. Accompanying the emotional climax of the show with his beautiful voice left the audience in absolute pieces and completely spellbound by his performance.

Aside from his standout moments, it was evident to all that Leslie Odom Jr was having the time of his life reprising this role from the reception he received at the end of every one of his songs and at the end of the show to the hordes of fans who waited long into the night to see him at stage door after the performances. Within the show though, he was making many different choices with the lyrics and vocals both for comedic value and just general enjoyment – having played a single role for such a long time and with a fanbase who knows every vocal riff and movement you typically make on stage, it is important to keep the show fresh by embellishing different parts of the script which he did to a tee. This made his performance even more infectious as the audience could tell he was having great fun but also tied into the character very well because when by the end of the show Burr turns and becomes overwhelmed by his anguish, that is an even more stark difference and all the more tragic.

It would be remiss of course not to acknowledge the extraordinary talents of the rest of the cast who all had their standout moments – even though Leslie Odom Jr’s stint has come to a close, the rest of the performers are stellar and well worth buying a ticket! It never felt like the audience were waiting for the rest of the cast to finish brilliant numbers such as ‘My Shot’, ‘Satisfied’, ‘Burn’, ‘Guns and Ships’ and many more merely so that they could see Odom Jr perform again. Stephenson Ardern-Sodje’s performance as Alexander Hamilton brilliantly captured the essence of the characters conflicting nature, Georgina Onuorah’s Angelica was vocally exceptional in some of the most challenging numbers of the show and Daniel Boys’ King George was classically hilarious to name a few standouts. Another bit of special recognition has to go to standby actor Manaia Glassey-Ohlson – as standby he takes over an array of the most important roles in the show but was called into emergency action to take over the role of George Washington in the second act, faced with the emotionally drain and vocal acrobatics of the tune ‘One Last Time’ which he absolutely nailed to a cacophonous reception.

All in all, Leslie Odom Jr’s return to the role of Aaron Burr and his first performances in the UK were as emotional, energetic, entrancing and endearing as it possibly could have been – a triumphant return for a Broadway icon. Whilst the opportunity to see Leslie Odom Jr starring has been and gone, at the end of October he is performing a matinee and evening performance of his solo material and other songs he chooses at the London Palladium on October 31st.

★★★★★