Review: Leslie Odom Jr. with Minnesota Orchestra

Leslie Odom, Jr., came out on the stage in Minneapolis knowing he had to make it up to the crowd who had tickets to his original booking in fall 2017.

"Minneapolis, we're so glad we could finally make this happen," Odom, Jr., said. March 24 ticket holders (an additional show was performed the previous night) were finally seeing the Tony and Grammy Award-winning performer but a few up in front gave him the head tilt of disapproval for making them wait so long. He told them it was his first experience with online hate from this part of the country when he cancelled to take Katy Perry's place at a Victoria's Secret fashion show, receiving angry messages about how he should've chosen differently. Minnesotans are nothing if not easily offended when national figures dismiss us. By the sounds of the approving Saturday night crowd, it appeared he had appeased them.

Clearly, he was playing to the main reason a large number of the people in attendance bought tickets to attend this show when he opened with "Wait For It" from HAMILTON. He bookended the show with two more of his hits from that show, "Dear Theodosia" and "The Room Where it Happens." Orchestra Hall was indeed the room where it happened as that number was the most animated Odom, Jr., was all evening during the rousing performance that earned him a Best Actor Tony in 2016, as well as a Grammy as a principal vocalist on the cast album. All three songs gave fans of the musical exactly what they wanted to hear.

Apparently there were a few people in the full house who weren't familiar with that work, to which Odom, Jr., said, "What are you doing here? Who dragged you here?" and assumed they came to see the Nationwide guy (he stars in a current commercial campaign for the insurer). Perhaps some of them saw his rendition of "God Bless America" at Super Bowl LII, where his hometown Philadelphia Eagles won the crown in Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium in early February.

Broadway fans in general were treated to his rendition of "The Guilty Ones" from SPRING AWAKENING, which was a jazzed up version of the song that was barely recognizable from its original version and included extended solo riffs by each member of his accompanying jazz quintet, who joined the full Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Sarah Hicks. Odom, Jr., also performed "Without You," from RENT, which was his first Broadway show, booked at the tender age of 16, "Joey, Joey, Joey," from MOST HAPPY FELLA and "Sarah," from Frank Wildhorn's THE CIVIL WAR, which he said was a favorite number and "very fitting" with conductor Hicks behind him.

Much of his set was from his re-released, self-titled jazz album. Originally released in 2014, the debut album was partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign. After the success of HAMILTON, he said he was asked what he'd like to work on next and he said he wanted to make more music of the type Nat King Cole would make today. He re-recorded that album in 2016. Saturday, Odom, Jr., started with the Cole track, "I Know That You Know," and segued into "Mona Lisa," then "Straighten Up and Fly Right," into "Unforgettable." Clearly Cole inspires Odom, Jr. and suits his vocals well, with the medley standing out after his HAMILTON numbers. He concluded the Cole session with Cole's "Autumn Leaves."

Another treat was Act 2's opening, "Stormy Weather," by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, played by the orchestra before Odom, Jr., and quintet took to the stage again. The 1933 torch song complimented the mix of Broadway and Jazz selected by Odom, Jr.

Odom, Jr., talked about his stints on TV programs like NBC's "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," "The Gilmore Girls," but didn't mention one his Broadway fans were probably the most aware of, "Smash." Aside from TV, Broadway and film (he most recently starred in Kenneth Branaugh's Murder on the Orient Express) actor and singer/recording artist, this week, he adds another title, "author," to his extensive resume with a March 26 release of his new book, "Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher and Never Stop Learning." Odom, Jr., ended by giving away three copies to audience members who answered his TV trivia and inviting them backstage after his encore number, "Killing Me Softly."

Odom, Jr., did not disappoint the crowd with this long-awaited performance. The solid vocals were buttery and enjoyable throughout, though there were times the instrumentation overwhelmed them, most often when the quintet's drummer and percussionist both ratcheted up the volume on faster numbers. The plexiglass partition set up between Hicks' orchestra and the quintet (Hicks called it her "fortress of solitude") that usually would dampen the drums from the audience instead seemed to amplify the percussion in Orchestra Hall's excellent acoustic environment. However, the combination with the full orchestra worked well outside of that. The Minnesota Orchestra played to their usual level of excellence, seemlessly blending with the quintet.

If you missed this show live, you're in for a treat. He appeared on stage at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City in December 2017 to stage a solo concert that was recorded and will air on PBS as a part of the series Live from Lincoln Center, which premieres on April 24, 2018.

Photo: Leslie Odom, Jr., Photo Credit Christopher Boudewyns via Leslie Odom, Jr., Facebook Photos

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