Louis Armstrong comes to Broadway in new musical 'A Wonderful World'

To understand someone's life, you have to walk a mile in their shoes. Which "A Wonderful World," a new musical about Louis Armstrong, has done — to an unusual degree.

The show, in its current iteration, had two out-of-town tryouts. On Oct. 1, 2023 it opened in New Orleans. On Oct. 12, 2023, it opened in Chicago. Now, it's coming to New York: previewing Oct 16 and opening Nov. 11 at Studio 54.

In other words, it has followed the actual trajectory of Louis Armstrong's life.

"I definitely feel this metaphor of walking in his footsteps, and taking this journey with the show as well," said Wood-Ridge's James Monroe Iglehart, the show's Armstrong.

New Orleans to Chicago to New York — that was was Armstrong's own itinerary.

He first made a name for himself in The Big Easy as the ace trumpeter of Joe "King" Oliver's band, then became nationally famous when he went north in 1922 to become the toast of Prohibition-era Chicago. By the time he moved to New York to appear in the 1929 musical "Hot Chocolates," he was a world phenomenon.

Learning as you go

Following the path that Louis himself trod, as part of this project, has been an education, Iglehart said.

"You're trying to get the feel of what he was part of, the vibe," Iglehart said. "Louisiana has got this cool style of its own. It's laid back, and yet it moves very fast. Chicago is more business-like, it's definitely got a city feel. And New York is all business — you have to be on your game by the time you get here."

Some Armstrong fans, not up on Broadway, might not recognize Iglehart for his Tony-winning, star-making turn as "Aladdin's" genial genie — not to mention his stint as Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in "Hamilton" (he joined the cast in 2017), and King Arthur in the 2023 revival of "Spamalot."

There are, conversely, Broadway-ites who might not be so clued in to jazz history. Louis Armstrong — was he the "Hello, Dolly!" guy? Iglehart enjoys the challenge of reaching out to both groups.

"You get these younger fans who don't know who Louis Armstrong was," he said. "Then there are fans who have never heard of me before who are older and love Louis Armstrong, and they're like: 'Who is this guy?' So it's two different worlds."

The show, which features such Armstrong evergreens as “Dinah,” “Heebie Jeebies,” “You Rascal You,” “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” “Hello, Dolly!” “Tiger Rag,” “Black and Blue,” “Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In," and of course the incandescent title tune, has undergone some revisions.

Keeping the show in focus

The original conceit of the book, by Aurin Squire, and the show's co-conceivers Andrew Delaplaine and Christopher Renshaw, was to tell Armstrong's story from the point of view of his four wives: Lucille Wilson (Darlesia Cearcy), Lil Hardin (Jennie Harney-Fleming), Alpha Smith (Kim Exum) and Daisy Parker (Dionne Figgins).

They're an important part of his story, to be sure. Wife number two, Lil Hardin, herself a powerhouse pianist and arranger, was key to his career. She lit a fire under him.

"If she had been a man at the time, she would have been up there with the greats," Iglehart said. "She was one of the strongest personalities in jazz, and she helped shape Louis into what he was. Louis was totally OK playing with King Joe and kind of chilling. She was like, 'Do you realize how good you truly are? You could be number one.' She could spot talent."

But the show's stress on the wives, and their untold stories, left Louis himself somewhat lost in the sauce. So, at any rate, wrote some out-of-town reviewers. And Louis' history as a serial philanderer — one of the few dubious traits of a generally admirable character — was not endearing. Making the show Broadway-ready has largely been a task of getting the balance right, Iglehart said.

"We've made some changes, so that things are on an equal footing with the ladies and Louis," said Iglehart, who is also co-directing the show. "It's a little more from his point of view. The ladies are definitely strong — he wouldn't be who he was without them. But it's definitely coming from his voice as well as theirs. We wanted to make sure we were honoring him as a personality."

The many achievements of Armstrong

Like most of us, Iglehart was aware of Armstrong in a broad sense — jazz pioneer, master trumpeter, star of movies, radio and television, American cultural ambassador to the world, the outsize personality whose infectious grin and raspy voice were beloved everywhere. But he was much more to him than that.

Many would call him the most important musician in American history: the man who taught America not only how to swing ("If you gotta ask, you'll never know," he famously said), but also how to sing.

"What I didn't realize is how much influence he had on music," Iglehart said. "The way he played, his interpretations of songs. He was America's first real pop star."

Armstrong's vocals aren't always given the attention of his phenomenal trumpet playing, but they're equally revolutionary. They rescued America from the stilted operetta tradition of the day. He taught singers how to relax, be playful. Even to scat: "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba." Iglehart sings on stage, but has most of his horn work rendered by the show's band (Branford Marsalis is the arranger). Even so, he has his work cut out for him.

"I'm not trying to do — no disrespect to Vegas — a Vegas act," he said. "More like an homage to the man."

And Armstrong was a social pioneer as well.

As one of the first African American superstars, he gave a master class in navigating racism with exceptional grace. Those who called him an Uncle Tom were unprepared for the moment in 1957 when he told Arkansas governor Orval Faubus and president Eisenhower to "go to hell." He could be as confrontational as the next guy. He just chose his moments.

"He was definitely savvy to what was going on in the world," Iglehart said. "He wasn't blind. He didn't try to shy away from it."

The whole word smiles with you

Yet Louis' smiling persona, criticized by some, was also real. And in some ways, it was his most radical act.

He refused to be unhappy — even when all of America seemed to conspire to keep him, and people who looked like him, miserable. And when he brought that energy onto the stage with him, he gave the audience a vision of a joyous world. A Wonderful World. A world that could be — if only.

That's the Armstrong Iglehart is trying to embody, in his performance.

"What I love about Louis is that Louis loved life," he said. "He loved music, he loved laughing, he loved eating, he loved drinking, he loved smoking weed. He loved relaxing with his family, and he loved being around good friends and good people. He loved it so much that that's what he wanted to do all the time. That's what he wanted to take onstage. He was doing his best to be happy, at a time when it was hard for a Black man to be happy. He was never going to let anybody steal his joy."

If you go...

"A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical": previews begin Oct 16, opening Nov. 11 at Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St., New York. www.louisarmstrongmusical.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Louis Armstrong Broadway musical is about his life: Review