Leslie Odom Jr, Broadway’s original Aaron Burr, to join London cast of Hamilton

Actor who won a Tony award in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical will reprise the role for West End debut Leslie Odom Jr, who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway, is to return to the hit musical – this time making his West End debut. The actor will join the London cast at the Victoria Palace theatre for nine weeks this summer. Odom won a Tony award in 2016 for his portrayal, which he developed alongside the show’s creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, at its workshop and off-Broadway productions. He appears on the Grammy award-winning cast album and also played the role in the Disney+ film of Hamilton, recorded at the Richard Rodgers theatre in New York. Burr is the chief antagonist in the musical – a lawyer and politician whose rivalry with Alexander Hamilton, the first US secretary of the treasury, results in tragedy. Burr has the first lines in the show in an opening number where he also introduces himself with the words: “And me? I’m the damn fool that shot him.” He leads the songs Wait for It and The Room Where It Happens and shares a poignant duet, Dear Theodosia, with Hamilton. Odom played Burr in the original Broadway production for a year