(piano music)
♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪
♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪
- Welcome back, welcome.
My name is Leslie Odom Jr.
And this is a special look back,
a behind-the-scenes of the behind-the-scenes, if you will,
of a vlog that I made with my good friends
over at Broadway.com coming toward the end of my time
with "Hamilton," an American musical on Broadway.
Thank goodness it wasn't the end of my time
with the show period,
because we just had a very big week this week.
Thank you, all those of you who have taken the time
to watch the show, to reach out to those of us
that were lucky enough to be in that cast.
You've reached out., you've said such lovely
and amazing things, it means so much.
And this week the vlog we're gonna look back on
is actually the Tony Awards vlog.
When I signed on to vlog backstage,
I knew that it would overlap with the Tonys
but I thought it would be really nice
to really capture these moments,
to capture some of these once in a lifetime moments
that we were having together.
Because I also knew that right after the Tonys that,
you know, in three weeks I would be gone from the show.
So, I'm so happy to have these memories.
I'm so happy to relive them all with you.
I'm starting the show right now.
(mellow guitar music)
(wind gusting)
(horn honks) Down to the wire.
We are just two days before the awards.
We have our very first camera blocking rehearsal today.
I'm gonna try not to get hit by a car.
So, the Tony Awards rehearsal,
this is the Saturday before the show.
The show is on Sunday, it's the very next day.
And the Tony Awards are the culmination
of a year-long season.
But really, you know, that award season
is quite hectic and you're doing lots of performances
and lots of parties and promoting your show
and all that stuff.
So it's Tony, Awards is like,
you are bleeding the sigh of relief that you made it.
And we didn't have one this year.
Broadway didn't, we didn't get to celebrate
all that amazing work.
So we're celebrating here together.
It's like, it was like a premonition.
- That's right.
So shadowy. - Real life.
Nina, was in "On Your Feet!", right next door.
We never saw each other.
Tony Awards rehearsal was the first time
we'd seen each other in a year.
We did this for a "Leap of Faith".
- Yeah.
- 23 whole shows.
Where we performed (speaking away from mic).
- [Amber] Come back with me.
- Okay, oh, oh.
- [Amber] Leslie's here.
- Odom.
- I don't know if this stuff is interesting to you,
but as a theater maker, you know,
when I was trying to get into the room,
like this stuff I tried to capture things
that I would have been super interested in,
when I was coming up in college
or in high school and stuff.
So I hope you dig it,
seeing these little shots of rehearsal
and people in their rehearsal garb.
And like, do they go full out?
Do they not go full out?
You know, I was just so interested in all this stuff.
(mellow piano music)
(speaking away from mic)
Sykes.
Ephraim Sykes.
Who saw Ephraim Sykes in The Temptations
in the musical on Broadway?
One of my favorite performances I have ever seen, ever,
he was astonishing.
I'm exhausted, I'm hungry.
How you doing?
- I'm doing great.
- That's the really wonderful thing
about what we do too in New York,
is that as people get promoted,
you know, as people are ready,
the town gives them more to do,
ways to reveal themselves more.
And The Temptations certainly gave us that,
where Ephraim was concerned.
Forgive me, it's a little early.
Today is Tonys day
and it starts very early.
We have a 7:15 a.m. call today.
So this is it, this is the day of the Tonys.
And I was really keen on showing you guys
how long of a day it is.
Gorgeous view.
A friend of mine had told me, I don't remember who it was,
but they told me that what I should do
for that day is to rent a hotel,
to go like, stay in a hotel with Nicolette
and really like, you know, take it easy, pamper myself.
(chuckles) But,
number one, because you don't know
how the night's gonna turn out,
but also just to really fold that in
to the celebration as well.
Eight shows a week ain't easy.
And so if you have a chance to give yourself a little TLC,
you should take it, it was good, good advice.
At the Richard Rodgers.
- I'm Emily.
- I'm Simon.
- [Leslie] Both from New York?
(grunts in agreement)
And you slept on the street today
to see the matinee today?
- Yup. - We did.
- For Tony Sunday.
- [Leslie] We're so happy you're here.
- Yeah, I don't think you could contain your excitement.
- Yeah, I can't (laughing).
- What number are you in line?
So I don't know, yeah,
I don't know how many of you guys know this by now,
but yeah, so on Tonys day,
there's more rehearsal before your matinee.
And then you do a 2:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. show.
You do an afternoon matinee.
And then you have the awards that night.
And then you have the parties after the awards that night.
So, it is an incredibly long day.
It's about stamina.
You're running on fumes and the adrenaline, for sure.
Look at Stephanie.
- I can't believe this day is real.
- I know (laughing). (exclaims)
- I mean, she was so happy, we were so happy.
(exclaims)
- Oh my God.
- Field trip.
Where's the bus?
Is that the bus there?
Good morning, good morning.
- Good morning. - Hi.
- [Leslie] How are you?
Hi, good morning.
- Good luck. - Good luck tonight.
Break a leg. - Thank you.
- Yeah!
(exclaims)
(speaking away from mic)
We're going to Tony rehearsal.
- What time is it, do you know?
- Like, 7:45. - Ariana DeBose,
star of the upcoming "West Side Story" remake,
directed by Steven Spielberg,
star of "The Prom" coming to Netflix.
And we got to have her amongst us for a little while too,
starring as The Bullet in our show, in "Hamilton".
What time it is?
- 8:07, it's 8:07, Leslie's vlog followers (laughing).
- [Leslie] Hey, CJ.
- Hi, guys (laughing).
- Somebody take this camera away from him.
- Never.
Never.
(laughing)
Look at this, yeah, we're checking each other.
Look, there's a young Adrienne Warren, brilliant.
And the next Burr, Brandon Victor Dixon.
(talking over each other)
He didn't know it then, none of us did.
(speaking away from mic)
- Zoom in on Mark, who's still in the dark,
but he's got great footage for his Broadway vlog.
- He's doing the show, then we're gonna go back to LA.
- That's gonna be people's
(speaking away from mic) favorite thing.
- Is this a vlog?
- Yeah. - It's a vlog.
- I love vlogs, are you a vlogger?
- Two-time Tony Award winner, Christian Borle.
- Hi Broadway.com - My ex-boyfriend.
- Oh my God.
- How are we today? - So talented.
Zach.
Drinking some coffee.
Fun Home kids.
- Your pre-revolutionary garb.
- Thank you so much.
(laughing)
What time, does anybody know What time it is?
Can somebody please tell me?
- Yeah, so, it's 10:25. - Time for you to get a watch.
- 10, 10. - 10:25.
(people talking in background)
So you made not know this,
I mean they rehearse the whole show, you know, like a show.
So, they read the nominees' names,
they choose a fake name.
You know, they choose a name at random
off the nominees list.
And then someone actually, a seat filler
or somebody they've hired for the day,
goes up and reads a pretend speech so they can practice.
So the producers of the Tony Awards show can practice,
what they'll do if speeches run long
or how they'll transition to the next moment.
So, it's wild to be there.
(cast singing)
"Shuffle Along."
(cast singing)
♪ You've got those Broadway blues ♪
- Look at this talent.
We were on Broadway at the same time with this talent.
I love this community, I really do.
- [Man In Trench Coat] Yet, changed Broadway forever.
- So blessed to be a part of it.
And when you're doing eight shows a week,
it's very rare that you have the time
to check out the other shows that are happening.
So Tony Awards are amazing for that too.
Corden, such a great host.
- Feel free to join in, gang.
♪ A whole new world ♪
♪ A new fantastic point of view ♪
♪ No one to tell us no, or where to go ♪
♪ Or say we're only dreaming ♪
Sing it, boys.
(laughing)
Tony rehearsal done.
We go back.
1:16.
1:16, we go back and we do a 2:00 p.m. show, two o'clock.
- [Crowd] Tonys, Tonys, Tonys, Tonys.
(whooping)
- But,
you get lifted up by all of this.
The people that buy tickets for the Tonys matinee
are a special kinda people, they're a rare breed.
They wanna be there.
They know the day and they wanna be there on that day.
So the love and support that came
at the stage on that day was not like any other show.
It was a special show.
We will pass.
- The blessings go up.
- The what?
(laughing)
What?
- And the Tony goes to--
- [Audience Member] Come on, come on.
- [Neil] Leslie Odom Jr.
(crowd cheering wildly)
(mellow pop music)
So, let's do another Ask Odom Jr., shall we?
Thank you so much for sending your questions.
We have one more week of this show,
so I hope you'll send your questions to me here.
I will answer a bunch on the Twitter feed
and on Facebook as well,
to get to as many of them as possible.
But let's answer a few right now.
Shall we?
Jon S. says, Ham speaks a lot to legacy.
What comes to mind when you think about your legacy?
Thank you for the question, John.
What comes to mind is, I think that legacy is,
I demystify it by really thinking about it
as it's just a record of the choices that you've made.
So it's not a record of your internal struggle.
It's not a record of the fearful moments
or the things you've thought about or pondered.
It's just not, it's a record of what you did,
what you said, what you made.
And so, I'm thinking about that anyway, right,
'cause we only have one life
and I'm thinking about how I wanna spend my time.
What is worth my time and energy?
What is worth the time away from home?
You know, 'cause this is,
there's a sacrifice involved in doing what we do,
any of us, all of us.
So I, that's what I think about it.
Certainly when I'm creating my own projects,
like these albums, I'm thinking, you know,
what is the album I wanna make,
if I never get to make another album, for whatever reason.
If I never record another album or original music,
this one needs to, this is the record.
If I never want to,
if I never record another Christmas album, silly,
but like I wanna make the work that will speak for me
long after I can no longer speak for myself.
So that's what I think about.
Thank you for your question.
Laragh Mai Carrigan asks,
what are you most excited about Hamilfilm.
I'm excited for Friday evening
when I get back from the gym and to have a sing-a-long.
Thank you so much for your question, Laragh.
This is the first show we've done since the show premiered.
I was most excited about the access.
You know, when I was doing this show,
only 1300 people could see it at a time
and it was 1300 either,
it was 1300 people that had the disposable income
to make that happen.
You know, made the sacrifice to make that ticket happen.
So, I was most excited that like,
if you had a passing interest in the show,
any interest in the show at all,
now the price of admission is $8.
And a lot of us have $8, a lot of people can find $8.
And so that was really exciting to me
because I certainly feel like the ministry of the show
and the power of the show should reach,
can reach beyond those 1300 people
that we're seeing in at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
And I'm just super excited
that the bar to entry is so low now.
That's what I'm most excited about.
Thank you for your question, Laragh.
I'll answer a few more, Philly Cat Mom, @Dee71578 said,
I loved what you said in episode three
of "Watch With Me" about how it all really works.
What do you think we can do to get young kids of color
interested in careers backstage, behind-the-scenes,
in writers' rooms and behind the camera?
Great question.
I think what we can do is expose them to it.
There's just, there's jobs that exist
that you don't know are jobs.
You don't know that there are things you can prepare for.
So, you know, I've thought about that a long time.
Since my first, since the first time I ever walked on a set,
you know, when I was 23-years-old,
out here in Hollywood and I was like,
look at all these people, look at all these jobs.
I just never knew that they existed.
So, I think about a program like that,
about starting some kinda program like that,
where it's just a chance for kids to walk on a set,
maybe twice a year, you know.
You walk on a film set or a television set
or you walk on, you know, you take a tour backstage
of a theater and you just see all the other jobs,
'cause the people on stage are what get the most attention,
but there's a whole lot of people.
If you happen to have a desire to be a part of the arts,
it doesn't always have to be on stage.
You can contribute in lots of other ways.
Good question Philly Cat Mom, thank you for that.
And lastly, Chili, @BigChiliFries says,
I read that you were an usher throughout college.
I'm also an usher in college.
I'm 21 and I recently changed my major to theater.
What was your favorite show
you were connected with through ushering?
Great question.
Maybe my favorite was, you know, when I was a freshman,
the senior class they're they're superstars to you, right.
No matter what school you go to,
but I actually went to school with genuine superstars
and they did "A Little Night Music."
They probably did 15 shows and I ushered 10 of 'em.
So, it's like Cote de Pablo and Emily Tam,
who's Jason Tam's sister and Matt Bomer, of course,
who you all know.
And I just learned so much through their professionalism
and their craft.
I wanted to be just like them.
So I hope I've made them proud, my senior class.
Enjoy the rest of the show.
Send me more questions.
Thank you so much for watching.
Appreciate you guys.
- [Neil] Leslie Odom.
(crowd cheering wildly)
- [Leslie] Lastly, I wanna say,
there were a lot of question marks on this
(speaking away from mic)
in the show for me at the start of it.
And what cleared it away was love,
was that I can hang this entire performance on love.
And Nicolette Robinson teaches me with grace
and kindness, the meaning of the word.
Leslie Odom Sr., Yvette Odom and Elizabeth Odom
taught me well as well.
Thank you so much.
(crowd cheering and clapping)
- [Man Off Screen] Come on, come on, come on.
(mellow piano music)
♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪
♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait ♪
(dramatic piano chord)