Previews + Extras
Songs of the Past Preview
S8 E8 - 32s
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. accompanies Broadway stars Leslie Odom, Jr. and Nathan Lane as they meet a cast of inspiring ancestors hidden in the branches of their family trees.
Nathan Lane’s Grandfather Died in a Workhouse
S8 E8 - 51s
Nathan Lane gets the disturbing news that his great-great-grandfather died while living in a workhouse, an arcane system of labor in the UK that was basically a factory that exchanged dorms and food for hard labor. You literally lived at work.
Leslie Odom, Jr.’s Great-Grandfather Comes to America
S8 E8 - 1m 29s
Leslie Odom, Jr. looks over a ship's manifest that could document his great-grandfather's arrival in the U.S. as a ship's crewman from England in 1920.
Leslie Odom, Jr. on How “Hamilton” Changed His Life
S8 E8 - 1m 6s
Leslie Odom, Jr. wanted to be in the room where it happened – and he was! Here, he shares the impact his role as Aaron Burr in “Hamilton: The Musical” had on his life and how groundbreaking the play was in promoting colorblind casting on Broadway.
Leslie Odom, Jr.'s 5th Great-Grandfather Was a Slaveowner
S8 E8 - 1m 14s
Leslie Odom, Jr. wrestles with the realization that his 5th great-grandfather was a white slave owner after reading the will in which he bequeathed some of his belongings to his “illegitimate, colored” children.
Joe Lane Becomes Nathan Lane
S8 E8 - 1m 11s
Nathan Lane, who was born Joseph Lane, explains how the stage name he had to pick to join the Actors’ Equity Union was inspired by the character Nathan Detriot from Guys and Dolls, one of his favorite roles.
Leslie Odom, Jr.: His Ancestors Were People, Not Possessions
S8 E8 - 1m 38s
After hearing the dollar amount that some of his enslaved ancestors were appraised for at an auction, Leslie Odom, Jr. says that "to honor their presence and to honor the fact that they lived and that they weren't things... is deeply meaningful."
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