Leslie Odom, Jr.  to be UVA President’s Speaker for the Arts!!

WHEN: Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 3pm (doors at 2pm)

WHERE: John Paul Jones Arena (Clear Bag Policy in effect)

TICKETS: General admission tickets are FREE and are available now – through Friday, January 18^th at the following locations:

• UVA Arts Box Office (in person, weekdays from noon to 5 pm)
• Newcomb Information Desk (in person, every day from 9 am to 9 pm)
• Newcomb Programs and Councils Front Desk (in person, weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm)
• John Paul Jones Arena Box Office (in person, weekdays from 10 am to 2 pm, day of opens a 12pm)
• ONLINE: ticketmaster.com (search: John Paul Jones Arena; note that Ticketmaster fees will apply).

JPJ Box Office will open at 12pm on Saturday, January 19^th for tickets and will call. 

*There is a limit of one ticket per student and two for Community, Staff, & Faculty at the Box Offices and up to four may be acquired online.

BOOK SIGNING: Leslie Odom, Jr.’s Failing Up will be available for purchase at the event. The first 50 patrons to buy a book after the doors open (2pm) at John Paul Jones Arena will receive a special book signing opportunity with Odom, Jr. following the conversation. Pre-signed books will also be available for purchase. Odom, Jr. will not sign any merchandise or posters. Photos can be taken of Odom, Jr. from the book signing line, but staged photos will not be allowed.

QUESTIONS: Email [email protected]

SPONSORS & PARTNERS: The President’s Speaker Series for the Arts is supported by the offices of the President and the Executive Vice President and Provost, the Vice Provost for the Arts, UVA Arts, the Office for Diversity and Equity, the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, and The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation. Media Sponsors are WTJU 91.1 FM, Charlottesville Radio Group (CRG) and C-VILLE Weekly.

IN THE NEWS:

• Cavalier Daily: Race, reconciliation and a community rising with support from one of Broadway’s biggest stars
• UVA Today: Q&A: Leslie Odom Jr. Offers Advice And New Year’S Resolutions
• C-Ville Weekly: Just you wait: Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr. on not throwing away his shot at success
• Daily Progress: Leslie Odom Jr. on art’s catharsis, connections and ‘walking toward the thing that lit me up’
• Richmond Times Dispatch: Actor Leslie Odom Jr., the original Aaron Burr in ‘Hamilton,’ to speak at University of Virginia
• NBC 29: Leslie Odom Jr. Visits Charlottesville as UVA President’s Speaker for the Arts
• CBS 19: Leslie Odom, Jr. visits UVA as President’s Speaker for the Arts
• UVA Today: Leslie Odom Jr. Brings UVA to Its Feet – Again

John Paul Jones Arena Information   Clear Bag Policy 

PRESS RELEASE:

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA TO WELCOME BROADWAY, FILM, TELEVISION AND MUSIC STAR LESLIE ODOM, JR. AS UVA PRESIDENT’S 2019 SPEAKER FOR THE ARTS

JANUARY 19 AT 3PM AT JOHN PAUL JONES ARENA

Tony Award-Winning Hamilton Star Returns to UVA Following Unforgettable  Appearance In 2017 Bicentennial Launch Celebration 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – January 3, 2019 – Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom, Jr., who originated the role of Aaron Burr in the Broadway megahit Hamilton, is coming to John Paul Jones Arena at 3PM on January 19 as the 2019 UVA President’s Speaker for the Arts. The multi-talented entertainer will discuss his life and career, the impact of the arts on education, and on the world in which we live during a brief address followed by a moderated conversation with University of Virginia President Jim Ryan.

Presented in conjunction with the University of Virginia’s 2019 Community MLK Celebration, the event is free and open to the public. Details regarding the distribution of general admission tickets will be released within the next two weeks. The event will not conflict with the UVA Men’s Basketball game at Duke, which has now been scheduled for 6PM.

The appearance marks a return to Grounds for Odom, Jr., following his memorable performance on the UVA Lawn as part of the Bicentennial Launch Celebration in October of 2017. The Bicentennial Launch Celebration, which drew more than 20,000 to the UVA Lawn, was held just months after the tragic events of August 11 and 12 in Charlottesville.

Odom, Jr. included reflections about his experiences in Charlottesville in his recently-released book, FAILING UP: HOW TO TAKE RISKS, AIM HIGHER, AND NEVER STOP LEARNING. In the book, he shares stories from his meteoric rise through the entertainment ranks in 2015 as well as inspirational stories of the hard work as a singer and actor that came before. In the process, readers are asked the kinds of questions that will help them unlock their true potential and learning lessons on what it truly takes to chase, and achieve, their dreams while living each day to the fullest.

In the book’s final chapter, Odom recalls a Q and A session with Drama students where he was asked why, in the wake of rally-related cancellations by other high-profile African American acts, he decided to keep his commitment to come to Charlottesville. Odom, Jr. answered that he wanted to see the situation for himself, and do whatever he could to help. What he saw and experienced here, he wrote, had a lasting impact:

“I’ve truly never seen a community work so hard at meticulously and deliberately defining themselves, for themselves, as I did at the two hundredth anniversary celebration for the University of Virginia.

 With a unified voice, they took great care to say to the perpetrators of hatred, “You do not get to define us. That is not who we are.

 And you know what, I believed ‘em.

Failing Up will be available for purchase at the event. The first 50 patrons to buy a book at JPJ before the event will receive a special book signing opportunity with Odom, Jr. following the conversation. Pre-signed books will also be available for purchase. Odom, Jr. will not sign any merchandise or posters. Photos can be taken of Odom, Jr. from the book signing line, but staged photos will not be allowed.

“Leslie Odom, Jr. is a remarkably talented performer and an equally impressive person,” said UVA president Jim Ryan.  “Two months after the events of August 11 and 12, 2017, Mr. Odom came down to Charlottesville to perform as part of our Bicentennial celebration, but also to stand with this community and see how he could help.  I am honored that he has agreed to come back, and I hope as many people as possible will join our conversation.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Leslie Odom, Jr. back to the University of Virginia, and to Charlottesville, for this special event,” said Jody Kielbasa, Vice Provost for the Arts at UVA. “He is in the midst of a truly extraordinary career that includes being at the center of a worldwide cultural phenomenon in Hamilton as well as high profile successes in the worlds of movies and music, and now publishing. I cannot think of a better candidate to continue this series, and his heartfelt sentiments about his time in Charlottesville in 2017 only make his return here even more significant. We are honored to host him in this unique forum.”

Leslie Odom, Jr. follows in a growing line of distinguished artists in the UVA President’s Speakers for the Arts series, including last year’s special guest, Bryan Cranston, and UVA alumna Tina Fey.

Leslie Odom, Jr.’s performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton earned him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, as well as a Grammy Award as a principal soloist on the original cast recording, He made his Broadway debut in Rent, and starred in the stage adaptation of Leap of Faith. His film credits include starring alongside Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Judi Dench in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express for Twentieth Century Fox. His previous film work includes the 2012 historical drama Red Tails, executive produced by George Lucas. Odom, Jr. is currently in production on Harriet, the story of heroic abolitionist Harriet Tubman, which is being filmed in Virginia.

Odom, Jr.’s television work includes a starring role in the cult-classic musical drama series, Smash, created by Theresa Rebeck, He has had recurring roles on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and CBS’s Persons of Interest and CSI: Miami.

In 2016, Odom’s self-titled debut album was re-released with additional tracks included, and charted #1 on the Billboard Jazz Chart. He followed that effort up with a re-release of his Simply Christmas album, which rose to #1 on both the iTunes and Billboard charts.

Leslie Odom, Jr.’s appearance as the UVA President’s Speaker for the Arts is presented in partnership with UVA’s 2019 Community MLK Celebration and sponsored by the offices of the President and Provost, the Vice Provost for the Arts, the offices for Diversity & Equity and Equal Opportunity & Civil Rights, and The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation. Media Sponsors are WTJU 91.1 FM, Charlottesville Radio Group (CRG) and C-Ville Weekly.

Please see uvart.vbtk.co/odom for updates on timing, ticketing, and details on the Clear Bag Policy in effect at John Paul Jones Arena johnpauljonesarena.com/events/2019/loj.

CONTACT: John Kelly,  John Kelly PR, 434-987-6513