Hamilton Tony Winner Leslie Odom Jr. Will Perform on NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center

Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom, Jr. will be among the performers on NBC's annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center, which will be broadcast November 29 at 8 PM ET.

//assets.playbill.com/editorial/c00731d8078524edcecff0d0cad920b3-img-0829.JPG — Jennifer Nettles Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Today anchors Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker will host the holiday special.

Also set to perform on the hour-long program are Brett Eldridge, Jennifer Nettles (Broadway's Chicago, Mamma Mia! at the Hollywood Bowl), Pentatonix, Gwen Stefani, and The Tenors, with additional acts to be announced.

The 85th annual holiday special will celebrate the lighting of a 75-foot tall, 50-foot wide Norway Spruce from State College, Pennsylvania. It will be adorned with more than 50,000 multi-colored LEDs and will be topped with a Swarovski star made up of 25,000 crystals and one million facets.

The tradition of the Rockefeller Christmas tree dates back to the Great Depression. First erected in 1933, the inaugural tree was decked with 700 lights and placed in front of the then eight-month-old RCA Building (the current GE Building). The Christmas tree gathering was enhanced in 1936 with the opening of the Rockefeller Plaza outdoor ice-skating pond.

NBC televised the tree lighting for the first time in 1951 on The Kate Smith Show and as part of the nationwide Howdy Doody television show from 1953-55.