James Monroe Iglehart as Louis Armstrong in “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

Nearly every piece of entertainment dropping this month feels like a “before” and “after.” How we view the world, and in particular, the future of our country, changed dramatically on November 5. The atrocities of the past, which, to some, felt like distant memories, are poised to become very real present-day threats. Depending on your lived experience, going down memory lane with Louis Armstrong may feel like a dose of nostalgia peppered with “that was then, this is now” or a call to action to remain optimistic during times of adversity. 

It’s been a decade since James Monroe Iglehart won a Tony Award for his performance as the Genie in the Broadway musical adaption of Aladdin — a high-energy role that kept him light on his feet for eight shows a week. Armstrong is a different beast. Forced to drop out of school after fifth grade to go to work and raised in a New Orleans neighborhood so dangerous it was called “The Battlefield,” one might ask if that wide smile was a naturally happy-go-lucky disposition or, in part, a protective armor.

James Monroe Iglehart as Louis Armstrong.
James Monroe Iglehart in “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

Armstrong was arrested at 11 and sent to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys, where Peter Davis introduced him to the cornet. The relationship between boy and brass would grow into the longest relationship of Armstrong’s life, along with four wives and alleged affairs. Those women frame Armstrong’s narrative, each spectacularly performed by Dionne Figgins, Jennie Harney-Fleming, Kim Exum, and Darlesia Cearcy. 

Despite the irrepressible smile that he was known for, Armstrong faced vicious racism and several life-altering encounters that would inform his career path from New Orleans riverboat frontman to film star. Aurin Squire’s book for A Wonderful World compacts these experiences to fit Armstrong’s extensive catalog, orchestrated and arranged by Grammy winner Branford Marsalis. 

The production’s lushness, including Adam Koch and Steven Royal’s ever-changing scenic and video design and period-perfect costumes by Toni-Leslie James, compartmentalizes Armstrong’s journey in a way that sometimes feels too tidy. This intentional shift from trauma to a celebration of his music and cultural impact makes for an entertaining, though not groundbreaking, night at the theater. 

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Iglehart’s invitingly charismatic performance fills the cavernous Studio 54 theatre. When he’s not center stage, a high-energy ensemble embodies Rickey Tripp’s dynamic choreography, which pays homage to the era while lifting its theatricality into a new dimension. 

James Monroe Iglehart, center, and the cast of "A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical."
James Monroe Iglehart, center, and the cast of “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical.” Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

While A Wonderful World avoids any overt connection between Armstrong’s career and the co-existing advancement of Black queer visibility in jazz music from the likes of Josephine Baker, Ethel Waters, and Billy Strayhorn, the pure joy in hearing Iglehart scat those classic vocals (and the offstage prowess of trumpet player Alphonso Horne, who should receive his own bow) reminds us of the unifying power of music and our potential for “a wonderful world.”♦

A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical plays at Studio 54. Tickets are on sale through May 4, 2024.

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