June 20, 2024 - Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr.

Summertime, and the living is easy. Or,  if you’re Audra McDonald, you make it look and sound easy. The award winning singer and actor earned her fifth – of a record-breaking six– Tony awards for her portrayal of Bess in the Broadway hit “The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess,”  which was mounted right here at The American Repertory Theater. The Culture Show  caught up with McDonald when she was in Boston for a one-night only performance.Then it’s another  star of the stage  Leslie Odom, Jr. His portrayal of Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” gave us a new way to think about America’s historyAnd if history doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. In his latest return to Broadway, Odom starred in a play that skewers racism in America. He joined The Culture Show ahead of a one-man show in Boston  to talk about how music remains at his core.