From KCRW Santa Monica and KCRW.com, it's The Treatment.

It's The Treatment.

I'm Elvis Mitchell.

I guess if you're having a legacy part of your career, it's probably good to be starring the number one box office hit based on a movie of 50 years ago.

And then to be starring in the box office smash of a play that was staged 62 years ago.

If you were that person, you would happen to be the Emmy winning, Grammy winning, Tony winning, Oscar-nominated star

of Pearly Victorious, a non-conferredit romp through the cotton patch or the Exorcist

Believer. I am, of course, talking to Leslie Odom, Jr., who's kind enough to listen to that

lengthy introduction and sit here for this show. Thank you so much for doing this,

man. Really thank you. My pleasure, sir. Thank you for making time. I appreciate it. And I was

lucky enough to be there for your opening nine to Pearlie. To see that show, actually, something

came to mind for me in the way you approach the character, which is, you know how to succeed

when the phone is ringing.

What about when the phone's not ringing?

Yeah.

That's a line from your book.

It was my father-in-law.

My father-in-law gave me that that was the best piece of advice I'd ever been given in my life at that time.

And it's funny because I thought about the way that character kind of occupies himself.

He's kind of constantly acting as if the phone is about to ring.

I mean, for him, he's generating a kind of momentum in his life.

And then it's funny because having read that book and then seeing you do so many things,

...