Broadway is seeing trees of green and red roses too. The story of American icon Louis Armstrong is being told onstage in A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical. The production is led by Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart.
Louis Armstrong’s innovative musicianship and incredible charisma as trumpeter and vocalist would lead him from the early days of jazz in his native New Orleans to five decades of international stardom. A Wonderful World tells the story of Armstrong’s blazing musical career from the perspective of his four wives, who each had a unique impact on his life. It features beloved songs he recorded and made popular, including “What a Wonderful World” and “When You’re Smiling,” among many other favorites.
Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), widely known by his nicknames "Satchmo," "Satch," and "Pops," was a legendary American trumpeter and singer. A towering figure in the world of jazz, Armstrong's career stretched over five decades, encompassing multiple pivotal periods in jazz history. He earned numerous honors, including a Grammy Award in 1965 for Hello, Dolly! and a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. Armstrong’s influence extended beyond jazz, impacting various musical genres and earning him inductions into prestigious institutions such as the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
The musical's premiere was presented by Miami New Drama in 2021 at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, Florida. It later played in New Orleans at the Saenger Theatre and in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in 2023.
If you love bio musicals, American history, and jazz music, this is the musical for you.
But oddly, the wattage of his wives dims the light on Armstrong himself. James Monroe Iglehart has delightful presence and nails Armstrong’s vocal quality, but he’s too often relegated to narrator, stepping out of the action to tell the audience how he felt, instead of showing us in the scene. Iglehart, Christina Sajous and Christopher Renshaw are all credited as directors of the project and, despite so many perspectives, the musical’s focus seems to be anywhere but on its central character.
With a script by Aurin Squire for a show conceived by Christopher Renshaw and Andrew Delaplaine and co-directed by Renshaw, James Monroe Iglehart and Christina Sajous, “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical” is a majestic spectacle, paying homage to a towering figure and his distinctive legacy.
2020 | Regional (US) |
Colony Theatre World Premiere Regional (US) |
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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