Leslie Odom Jr., the Tony-winning actor for his work as Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” will deliver the first Ubben Lecture of the 2016 school year.
“It just seemed like a great thing for the moment to bring in someone from the arts, someone who has a great backstory, but also somebody who is going to perform,” said Director of Media Relations for DePauw University, Ken Owen.
In addition to winning a Tony for best leading actor, Odom also won a Grammy Award as a principal soloist in the original “Hamilton” album. This summer, Odom left Hamilton to work on other projects, and re-released a self-titled album.
Odom got his start in musical theatre at age 17 in the musical “Rent.” Since then, he has had a recurring role on shows such as CSI: Miami, and Vanished. He also appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Person of Interest, Smash, Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Good Wife.
“Seeing someone who has made it to the top of their chosen profession might give [students] a kind of a road map as to how you succeed,” said Owen.
“It’s great DePauw is bridging the music school with the liberal arts college by bringing a figure that represents both history and music,” said DePauw senior and “Hamilton” fan, Amy Brown.
Odom’s Ubben lecture will be September 20th at 7:30 in Kresge Auditorium, and after his speech Odom will answer questions and give a short performance.