Leslie Odom Jr. Wins Best Actor Tony for Playing Hamilton's Aaron Burr
(© David Gordon)
Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton's Aaron Burr, has won the 2016 Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. Odom Jr. was nominated in a category that also included Hamilton costar and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, School of Rock's Alex Brightman, Fiddler on the Roof's Danny Burstein, and She Loves Me's Zachary Levi.
Hamilton received 16 Tony nods, breaking the record held by The Producers and Billy Elliot for most nominations ever, 15.
Directed by Thomas Kail and inspired by Ron Chernow's biography Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton explores the life of the American founding father and first Secretary of the Treasury, as well as his experiences as an orphan of the British West Indies who immigrated to the 13 Colonies and helped shape the United States of America. The show, which had its world premiere at the Public Theater, features a hip-hop score by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also stars as the title character (Javier Muñoz takes on the role of Alexander Hamilton once a week).
(© Joan Marcus)
In addition to Odom Jr. and Miranda, the featured cast includes Tony nominees Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton), Daveed Diggs (Marquis De Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson), and Christopher Jackson (George Washington) as well as Anthony Ramos (John Laurens, Phillip Hamilton), Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan, James Madison), and Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Shuyler, Maria Reynolds).
