Leslie Odom Jr Leaving Hamilton — Page 7

Hamilton suffers when Leslie is not in it. Having seen it now twice without him and twice with him, his understudies are nowhere near him. I truly hope they are working someone else, because what they have doesn't cut it.

I saw Sydney and Austin, and while I was disappointed in Austin's performance I found Sydney's to be just as fantastic, moving, genuine, and effective as Leslie's. I understand people's initial reaction saying no one can do Burr other than Leslie. I'm sure people thought that about the Rent OBS too. People will believe what they want until they are shown otherwise. I would be thrilled if Sydney could take over full-time.



I don't think Leslie had any intentions of staying. The Today show interview months ago mentioned him leaving this summer to pursue music. He had his 7/23 concert planned before the Tonys too. Leslie also mentioned being fully satisifed if he left in July. We had all the info we needed to know he wasn't extending. It sounds like Leslie and his agent shot for the moon just to see what they could get, if anything. I don't think Leslie has anything to gain by staying (except a big paycheck if he negotiated it, which others have said the producer's have no incentive to provide, nor do I believe they should be chastised for not doing so).

Leslie has the Tony and the title of being the first Burr that will be idolized forever. Whether he leaves tomorrow or in another year, he retains that title and it's on his resume. I think it's the right choice for everyone that Leslie leaves now. Why should Leslie put off advancing his career for 6 months or more to stay with a show that he's already been part of for over 2 years? It's time to move on.

neonlightsxo said: "ChildofEarth said: "Hamilton suffers when Leslie is not in it. Having seen it now twice without him and twice with him, his understudies are nowhere near him. I truly hope they are working someone else, because what they have doesn't cut it."



Who did you see and not like?



"

I'm not entirely sure as I don't have my playbill handy, but I want to say his name was Austin? He was good in the second act, but it was clear that something wasn't right.



edit: it was Austin!

Updated On: 6/20/16 at 09:48 AM

Thanks, I was just curious. I've only seen Leslie but have heard great things about Sydney Harcourt as Burr, and I believe Nicholas Christopher is also covering Burr in addition to Washington.

ClumsyDude15 said: "MyLife - I'm not sure when you saw Austin, but I saw him twoish weeks ago and was pretty impressed. When I walked in, I won't lie, I really did hope Sydney was going to be on, but Austin definitely impressed me. I've heard nothing but great things about Sydney, and I would love to see him get promoted when Leslie leaves.

Leslie does an incredible job in the role and has definitely put a firm stamp on the role, but I am sure there will be people after him who will put their own stamp and do it wonderfully. "



I saw Austin in April and agree with ChildofEarth. He was better in Act 2 and Room Where it Happens was great but by that point i was so removed from his performance it wasn't enough to grip me like I would have wanted it to.

I liked Lin, but I feel like he and some of the other actors could be replaced by people who are just as good, if not better. As far as Leslie goes, I think he is one of the more difficult castmembers to replace. He was the star of the show IMO. I think Daveed would also be a challenge to replace, purely because of the difficulty of Lafayette's raps.

Sorry, I guess "tragedy" isn't that right word, but I think it would be a real shame and loss of the Broadway community.

^this x10000000000000000000000

oh I completely understand they are making a profit, and should compensate the actors. Totally agree with that. I guess I'm under the assumption that Leslie is holding out from the film because he wants to be compensated even more, which would be a shame for the reason he doesn't participate.

ChiTheaterFan said: "It's not being filmed for posterity. The producers are going to be making money off it. The cast deserves to be compensated just as any actor appearing in any film would be. "



This.

dev101 said: I think Daveed would also be a challenge to replace, purely because of the difficulty of Lafayette's raps.

I've said this before, but Lafayette's rapping is a lot less difficult than it's made out to be. Once you get the hang of the rhythm, it's almost casual. The best representation I have on hand for how low-key it can be when you're not listening to Daveed shouting it in a French accent is the person linked in this tweet. It's going to be hard for whoever takes over for Daveed's roles just because people will try to compare him to Daveed, but not because of the rapping.

I know I am alone in this, but I wish the producers would have asked Leslie to take over the title role.

I think he would make a spectacular Hamilton.