(upbeat music)
♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪
♪ Wait for it, wait for it ♪
- Broadway.com, welcome back.
It's Leslie Odom Jr.
This is the second week of the
behind-the-scenes of the behind-the-scenes.
We're taking a look back
at the vlog I made for Broadway.com four years ago,
as we gear up for the release of the "Hamilton" film
on July the third.
Let's talk about that trailer a little bit.
Who is excited about this movie after seeing this trailer?
I have to tell you, Tommy sent me that trailer.
Tommy Kail sent me the trailer,
a little bit before it was released
and I was speechless.
He wanted to know what I thought
and I didn't have much for him.
It knocked me out.
The beauty, you know, just everybody just looked so good
and the songs were remixed.
I think on some level I was expecting to see the B-roll,
you know, like, I was in the show
and so I experienced B-roll a few times.
I'm like, you know, I was, I was expecting,
"I'm not throwing away my shot," you know,
and I know what it looks like
but it didn't look like anything
I'd seen of the show before.
It was new.
These images were new
and he made us all look so gorgeous.
So I was really moved by it
and it made me very excited to see the movie.
What about you?
What'd you think?
Let me know, send me questions at #AskOdomJr
and I will answer in the episodes to come.
We are going to skip Episode 2 of the vlog.
I was learning on the job, you see
and so, you know, Episode 2 is quite bloated.
I think it's 23 minutes.
If you have the time and the interest, it's a great episode,
you know, go back, take a look
but we're gonna skip.
I don't know if I'm going to do every episode on here
but we'll skip to Episode 3 and see what was up.
I'm starting the show now.
(dramatic music)
Broadway.com.
Thanks for coming back to another week.
You're watching Aaron Burr, Sir,
backstage with Leslie Odom Jr.
I'm Leslie Odom Jr.
This week, not quite as bloated as last week,
but still a lot of fun stuff.
We went to Facebook Live.
We had a Q & A with the staff of Facebook.
They treated us real well.
It was a lot of fun.
This week, oh, this week was "The Tonight Show
with Jimmy Fallon," crazy experience, matter of fact,
let's go backstage to "The Tonight Show" right now,
backstage, "The Tonight Show," let's go.
The late night couches was not something at all that I was
expecting, doing a Broadway show.
That was not, that's not really something that,
that is something for TV stars and movie stars
but because of the fact that they were keeping the show so
private, you know, we weren't doing television performances
really, you know, you can count on one hand,
the amount of television press moments
we had, performance-wise.
Of course we had like the long form interviews and stuff
but we weren't doing the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
We weren't doing "The Today Show" and stuff.
And so because of that, there was enough interest
in the show that, you know, we were getting invited
to sit on couches instead.
It did an amazing thing, you know, for our careers,
as far as like general awareness of who we were, you know,
it actually helped us out a lot, all of us.
- Hello? How are you?
- She, I love you, she (beep) worships you.
- Get over here.
- Nicolette's family, they,
"Father of the Bride" and "Father of the Bride Part 2,"
I learned this early when we were dating.
That is like, those are huge movies in that family.
You know, you have like rainy day movies in your house,
movies that like on a rainy day,
you'd watch over and over again.
Those are two of theirs from their house.
So she loves Marty Short,
as do we all.
(marker squeaking)
Survived.
Now we go do a "Hamilton" musical.
(people chattering)
So on two-show days Saint Javier Muñoz makes the company
cafecito in his room, which is a Cuban coffee.
He's gonna explain to you his process.
It is a second show saving drug.
Let's find out how he does it. "Newsies" on.
David Guzman.
Say hello to Broadway.com.
- What's up.
Got some dishes for cafecito in Javier's room.
(laughing)
- Ah!
- [Leslie] Ephraim Sykes! - What up yo, who's that?
- [Leslie] "Newsies," everywhere.
You know I really think that
when somebody looks back at this cast list,
when they do the eventual, inevitable,
where are they now?
You know, I think this might be one of the, you know,
one of the most talented groups of people ever assembled,
it's just astonishing from, from the ensemble on up to Lin.
You know, Lin obviously has exploded like a meteor,
you know, like, do meteors explode?
I don't know
but he's exploded like something that explodes
and is beautiful when it explodes.
But then we also have, you know, Anthony and Daveed
and Phillipa and Oak and Ephraim and Ariana.
I mean, it's a really-
and we knew it then, you know, I mean, I knew what it was.
I knew that I was lucky to have a spot
on this all-star team, even then
but people are even exceeding what I, you know,
what I thought we might be able to achieve.
It's extraordinary, it's a really special group of folks.
(laughing)
(chattering)
So I think we're going to do group little round robin,
we're going to ask questions of everybody.
- Javier's gonna answer this question.
- [Leslie] Okay Javier's gonna start.
Her handle is PhillipaSoo_
(laughing)
(chattering)
It's Pippa warning us to say her.
(laughing)
Pippa says, "Who's the funniest person in the cast
and who's the most serious person in the cast?"
- As I stand here, with Anthony
holding a pillow on my shoulder,
ah, I'd say the funniest person in the cast
is Anthony.
- No, it's Oak, man, it's Oak.
(laughing)
- Anthony and Oak shared a dressing room
so, Anthony would know.
- He is damn funny.
Ephraim's a dummy too.
- Everybody's got a quirk that's hilarious.
- Who's the most serious? Leslie?
- Leslie.
(laughing)
- Do we wanna do a round robin on that?
(laughing)
Listen, I had quite a bit of the heavy lifting
to do each night for this show
and it was so important to me
and so while on other shows,
I probably would play around
and stuff backstage more.
I mean, this show I really didn't have,
I didn't have the time or the energy to do that.
So I was a little serious
but I could laugh at myself,
I could laugh at my seriousness.
As I promised, I told you I was going to introduce
and interview one of my favorite people in the theater,
here he is.
(laughing)
- How ya doin'?
For the world to see, this is Jimmy.
Jimmy! This is Jimmy our door guy.
Jimmy, how long you been here? - 37 years.
- 37 years at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
What's your favorite show that's been here?
- I loved "In the Heights."
- "In the Heights."
- And of course now I love this
because of this guy right here.
- Imagine all the history, Jimmy's seen,
the people that have come in and out of those doors, man.
- But you don't have to say names,
but who's the biggest jerk.
Tell me a story about like, sorta,
has there ever been any tantrums or sorta like, you know.
I want the dirt!
The biggest (beep).
- I have to say a name like, (beep).
He used to go out and then not sign autographs,
there's three kids out there-
- It has been so long,
I don't remember the name that Jimmy said.
I really don't.
Broadway.com, you've got the raw footage somewhere.
Please pour the tea.
I don't, I don't remember who we said.
Oh God. Oh, you've been here all that time
but before that you were a vet.
- Yes.
I served on near Tripoli.
That's the dock down there on 46th.
- How long, how long did you serve?
- From like August, I was 17 years old-
- 17!
- to like my 21st birthday.
- Do you have that picture?
- I used to be young one time. - Yeah.
- Okay, do you know who that is?
That picture?
You guys should go back and like, circle it.
That's Karen Olivo,
Jimmy's girlfriend inside his head.
Or maybe it's not inside his head.
You know, it wouldn't surprise me, that two, very special,
beautiful people found their way to one another.
They had a special bond while Karen was there
doing "In The Heights"
and so Jimmy keeps her picture in his wallet.
- I'll just sing what Patti LaBelle sang.
♪ Oh give my regards to old Broadway. ♪
♪ And tell them ♪
(laughing)
You make me laugh.
- I should have let him sing more.
He really does have a nice voice, it's beautiful.
He plays around
but I think like the beauty in his tone,
the beauty of his voice, shows like how pure his heart is.
Special, special guy, Jimmy.
We are at Facebook,
we're gonna do a Facebook Live from my page,
about music, it's gonna be super awesome.
Then we're gonna do a talk back thing with the whole cast.
My buddy, Mike, would-
He was really responsible for making the connection
with with the company and Facebook.
- I just answered my own question.
You got so many Facebook pages it's ridiculous.
(laughing)
- It's a family affair day at Facebook, pretty dope.
- Oh my, it's you.
- [Leslie] Broadway.com.
- Hey, you're back, hey old friend.
- [Leslie] Broadway.com
- Hi!
- This is Jenn, Jenn is Lin's dresser,
dresser to the stars. I can't believe we dragged her
out of the theater, to Facebook.
- This is so much fun!
- Broadway.com
She's here again.
Sorry, I'm eating pretzels.
- And I'm loving.
- Julie James! - Yes!
- Facebook Live.
- Hi I'm Rory O'Malley and I play the King.
- [Audience] Wahoo!
- RoRo, Rory O'Malley, my guy, my Carnegie Mellon buddy.
The fact that we were in the same class at Carnegie,
the fact that we found our way
to the same Broadway company
at the same time, still blows my mind.
How long has the room been named,
The Room Where It Happens?
- [Man] About eight months.
- [Leslie] Eight months.
- Leslie, feel it in braille.
(laughing)
- [Man] Even if you're blind, you're gonna know-
- [Rory] Even in braille it looks cool.
- And now it's a book, now it's the title of a book
that none of us are gonna read.
Maybe some of us will read, I ain't reading it.
Now we go do a "Hamilton" musical.
(test pattern beeping)
- We've got control of your camera, Leslie!
- We're taking over.
- [Sasha] We're taking over.
- Sorry, we stole the camera.
- You'll never see your precious camera again.
- You'll never get it.
- You'll never get your precious camera again.
- No.
- Okay, let's do an #AskOdomJr, in real time.
#AskOdomJr in 2020.
You can send me your questions
with the hashtag #AskOdomJr
on Twitter or on Facebook or Instagram.
Really, I'll figure out a way to search it on Instagram,
if you'd like to send it that way
and I'll answer the questions in real time.
This was always one of my favorite parts of the show.
So Melissa Sims, thank you for sending your question.
Melissa Sims your handle is @emodramadork, me too.
She asks, "What are you most excited for
with the "Hamilton" film release."
I'm most excited about the access.
When I grew up, I didn't grow up going to see Broadway shows
and any tiny bit of exposure that I had to the world
was through cast albums.
But then once I got to college, once I got to university,
it was in the library watching VHS tapes.
And so I got to share, with Lin, how meaningful it was to me
that this exists, about a week and a half ago
because I just feel like I've taken so much,
the theater's given me so much, you know.
I've taken so much from that proverbial well,
that's there for us all.
It was in college that I watched the VHS
of "Pippin" for the first time.
And I watched "Sunday in the Park with George"
for the first time
and so to get the opportunity, to put a little living water,
to put a little water back into that well
that we all draw from so much, is just deeply meaningful
and satisfying to me, in my life.
Long after I'm gone,
long after the show eventually closes on Broadway,
this record will exist.
And so I'm most excited about that, the access.
Thank you for your question.
@Lynnblm, Black Lives Do Matter, Lynn,
Lynn Marie GM is her handle.
She says, "Leslie Odom Jr, what was the process
of filming 'Ham' on Broadway like?"
The process was, you know, fairly simple.
They brought in cameras, they brought in a bunch of cameras,
I think a couple of handfuls of cameras
at two separate performances.
And we just did the show, like we always do the show,
you know, nothin' fancy, nothing fancier than normal.
You know, I kinda, we learned early that you
kind of had to perform "Hamilton," the musical,
like it was the Grammy's every single night
because there was always somebody out there
that you cared about.
So we, you know, we did the show,
like we'd always been doing the show
and then they, we did a day and a half of pickups
where they brought the cameras on stage
and got in close and tight, for some moments.
We didn't do the whole show when they came on stage
but they picked a few moments
that they wanted to get in there
and then they cut it altogether.
So it was a fairly easy process.
I love Lin's line.
Lin saying that, you know, we are the most,
maybe the most well-rehearsed cast in film history
because this is after after 500 performances
or so of the show, did we film it.
Thank you for your question.
Claire @starkidCFA,
CFK, forgive me.
She says @leslieodomjr, "Will you and Nicolette
show Lucille the film.
Does she know and or care about it?"
- Tell me all about Oak?
- You got it.
How does the song go?
♪ Alexander Hamilton. ♪
- Yeah.
(polystyrene rubbing)
That's my little girl.
Keeps sending me your questions at a #AskOdomJr.
We'll get into more of what I thought of the film,
you know, at a later date
but send me your questions.
I wanna see 'em as we get ready for this July 3rd premiere
but now let's keep going with the show.
Ms. Tonya Pinkins, Ms. Veanne Cox.
- [Audience] Wahoo!
- Hi! - Hi!
- Wow, they came on the same night.
- I'm a "Hamilton" groupie, I had to get my book signed.
This is my eighth time here.
- Okay, so- - And this is my first time.
- I want to talk about-
(laughing) - Eight times, I've been here.
- Eight times. Eight times, first time.
I would love to talk about the difference.
- I notice now when you guys are playing with each other,
you know, I know the difference between
what the choreography is
and when y'all are having
a the little moment with each other.
(laughing)
So, you know, it's like this whole
very personal thing for me
and the whole show has made me interested in history
for the first time in my life.
- I'm so happy to have you here, finally.
- Thank you, Leslie.
- It means a lot
because that's what we do as performers.
You know, when something is working,
when we see something working
because it's a miracle,
it's a miracle when a show works, man.
There are so many things that can go wrong, you know.
You imagine if,
Paul had gotten the calculations wrong on the costumes
or if David Korins' set wasn't the perfect set
or Howell Binkley's lighting was a little weird, you know,
any one of those things could have tanked the whole,
you know, experiment.
So that's what we do as performers.
We go, when we see it working, right.
You know, when you see "The Band's Visit"
or "Caroline, or Change" or "Rent"
or, you know, when you see it really working, you're like,
I gotta go back.
"August: Osage County".
You got to go back and go back
and analyze it, pick it apart.
- History, personal history and cultural history.
- I love Veanne and Tonya too, I love 'em both so much.
- And it has just opened up my heart
because it's been closed for a while.
- It's an inspiring show.
- It's an inspiring show,
I'm so thankful I was here tonight.
- They're both like my favorite kind of actor.
The people that really add,
they both add things to scripts,
you know, things that are not on the page.
They honor what's on the page
but because of their own idiosyncrasies
and their own uniqueness, you know,
they both add things to their characters that
you don't just find in the words,
they're both so extraordinary, both of them.
Check in with but yeah,
the experience that I had watching you guys do that,
it was just watching you do something wholly original
and specific.
- This show is, you know, filled with change.
- Filled with, filled with-
- Yeah, how about that score
that Jeanine Tesori, Tony Kushner score
and libretto for "Caroline," please get out of here,
get out of here.
- To fit into it and how nice or not it's supposed to be.
- I'm going to leave these women alone.
I'm going to offer them a drink in case they want one.
♪ Mama I'm sorry ♪
♪ I called you a maid ♪
(laughing)
Great show, I'll see you again, see you again.
Come back, come back next week.
Send me your questions.
♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪