Gallery • 10 Photos

Anjali Huynh

Leslie Odom Jr. sang at an outdoor concert on a stage outside of Hancher. Smoke and bright, colorful lights characterized his performance on Oct. 1.

Leslie Odom Jr. returned to Iowa City to perform in a free concert at Hancher on Sunday, Oct. 1.  The concert took place on Hancher’s lawn as a part of their 45th anniversary season.

Following his speech and performance at Hancher in March for the University of Iowa’s Lecture Committee series, Odom returned to Iowa City to give the concert.  Members of West, City, Liberty and Regina choirs opened the concert with “Be the Change.”

Odom, who won a Tony for his performance as Aaron Burr in the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” sang a wide variety of songs, featuring some from “Hamilton,” such as “Dear Theodosia” and “Wait for It.” He also included Broadway classics, like Spring Awakening’s “The Guilty Ones,” as well as others from his self-titled album “Leslie Odom Jr.” like “Joey, Joey, Joey” in his performance.

Odom Jr. kept the crowd entertained not only with  his Tony-award winning voice, but through teasing audience members and speaking of his experiences. He talked about his transition from leaving Hamilton to touring the country, saying that, “It’s not easy walking away from the sure thing.”

A fireworks display at Hancher concluded the event.