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Leslie Odom Jr. was forced to exit a matinee performance of “Hamilton” in London mid-show Thursday.
Variety understands Odom bowed out after the first act and was replaced by Manaia Glassey-Ohlson. He did not appear
in the evening performance of the show.
A spokesperson for “Hamilton” declined to elaborate on what caused Odom’s exit but confirmed he would be back for the Friday evening performance tonight.
Odom will not perform on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday per a long-scheduled break. Currently those are the only dates during his run with tickets still available. When selecting tickets for those dates, buyers are warned Odom will not be performing.
Odom is in the middle of a limited summer run reprising his Tony-winning role as Aaron Burr in the musical in the West End. He originated the performance off-Broadway in 2014 before transferring with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s production the following year. Odom left the show in 2016 after winning the Tony for best actor and did not return until last fall, when he reprised the role on Broadway for a limited run.
Earlier this year it was confirmed Odom would step into Burr’s shoes again in London, at the Victoria Palace Theatre, from July 3 through Sept. 5. He performs alongside Stephenson Ardern-Sodje as Alexander Hamilton, Akmed Junior Khemalai as George Washington and Daniel Boys as King George III.
Despite the cost of tickets, which start from £128 ($170) and go up to £500, fans who hoped to see the actor have been sympathetic albeit understandably disappointed.
“So gutted I didn’t get to see him tonight – whole reason we came 6 hour travel and £200 later – so devastating [sic]” one wrote on the production’s Instagram page. Another replied: “I flew I from Germany and planned a whole trip around this ticket, but I hope he is ok!”
