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‘Hamilton’ Star Leslie Odom Jr. Records Cover of Hanukkah Song ‘Ma’oz Tzur’
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Leslie Odom Jr. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway actor Leslie Odom Jr. has recorded a cover of the classic Hanukkah song “Ma’oz Tzur” with his wife, Jewish Broadway actress Nicolette Robinson.
The almost four-minute song includes a soft piano interlude and is featured on the “Hamilton” star’s new holiday album, titled “The Christmas Album.”
“Ma’oz Tzur” is the only Hebrew-language track on the album, which is Odom Jr.’s second Christmas album and fourth studio album. The album was released on Nov. 6 and features 11 songs, with two originals written by Odom Jr.
“It’s the high holy time that season time in America, and it’s not just Christmas, it’s Chanukah and Kwanza too,” said Odom about the holiday season. “That last three weeks in December is the only time as Americans that we really as a society allow ourselves to push pause for a second. Everything else is about hustle and grind.”
Odom Jr., who is not Jewish, and Robinson married in 2012. They have a 3-year-old daughter and announced on Tuesday that they have another child on the way, a baby boy.
Robinson, whose mother is the daughter of a rabbi and father was not raised Jewish, told Broadway Direct that when growing up, “We celebrated Christian and Jewish holidays, and I got an understanding of both sides of my background.”
“I feel really grateful for that,” added the Broadway actress, who starred in the leading role of Broadway’s hit show “Waitress.”
Listen to Leslie Odom Jr.’s cover of “Ma’oz Tzur,” featuring Nicolette Robinson, below:
