James Monroe Iglehart to play Louis Armstrong in Broadway-aimed bio-musical A WONDERFUL WORLD

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/24/23 at 1:49pm

Book by Aurin Squire; will play in New Orleans in October before moving to Chicago

[BwayLB]

Posted: 1/24/23 at 1:50pm

Lance Strongbow as Lance Armstrong? Get Out Of Town!

[bdn223]

Posted: 1/24/23 at 1:53pm

I guess this confirms that Hercules isn't aiming for a Fall 2023 transfer as some have stated.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 1/24/23 at 2:11pm

I'm sure he can do the voice, but I hope he can do it without wrecking his!

[Robbie2]

Posted: 1/29/23 at 6:22pm

James Monroe Iglehart Will Star in Broadway-Aimed A WONDERFUL WORLD

https://www.louisarmstrongmusical.com/

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 7/12/23 at 10:19am

Full cast announced; Vanessa Williams joins Producing team

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/12/23 at 11:14am

Scarywarhol said: "I'm sure he can do the voice, but I hope he can do it without wrecking his!"

My immediate first thought.

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 8/8/23 at 2:35pm

The first Chicago performance was previously scheduled for Wednesday, October 11 - but that performance has been cancelled. Ticket buyers are being contacted by the Broadway in Chicago administrative offices to move tickets to another performance.

The first Chicago performance will now be a rare Thursday matinee on October 12.

 

 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 11:44am

The Thursday, October 12 matinee has been scrubbed. The production is now aiming for Thursday night October 12 as its first performance in Chicago.

[Voter]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 11:51am

BalconyClub said: "The Thursday, October 12 matinee has been scrubbed. The production is now aiming for Thursday night October 12 as its first performance in Chicago."

Interesting moving opening multiple times like that

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 11:57am

I wonder if they may have underestimated how long it would take to move the set from New Orleans to Chicago. 

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 3:57pm

The final Chicago performance is on October 29 and Spamalot begins previews on October 31. So is Iglehart going to just miss the entire rehearsal process for Spamalot?

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 4:04pm

Aaron Michael Ray, the Armstrong understudy, may have planned shows or weeks.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 4:51pm

I mean if it’s a carbon copy of the show they could just do a plug in rehearsal and let him run through it in a new space and then do the show. But who knows 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 9/13/23 at 12:39pm

Video of Iglehart rehearsing "A Wonderful World"

[Hey, Zelda!]

Posted: 9/19/23 at 3:05pm

In rehearsal: A quartet arrangement of "St. James Infirmary Blues"

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 10:25am

Performances begin in New Orleans tonight!

[NOLAguy]

Posted: 10/1/23 at 11:40am

I will be attending tonight in New Orleans and will post my thoughts either this evening or tomorrow. 

Looks decently sold on the Saenger website for the opening performance being on the same day as a 12:00 home Saints game. Quit a few balcony seats available but orchestra looks pretty well sold. 

Fun fact: The Saenger Theatre is located right on the corner of Basin St. and Canal St. Opening number is Basin Street Blues. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/3/23 at 3:40pm

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/3/23 at 3:42pm

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/3/23 at 3:44pm

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/3/23 at 3:47pm

 

The People Magazine article these images come from includes a tidbit about the show: that the story is told " through the lens of the women in his life".  It also mentions that Broadway dates are expected to be announced following the show's run in Chicago later this month.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 10/9/23 at 12:57am

I caught the matinee.  The Saenger Theatre is gorgeous and worth the price of admission.

As for It's a Wonderful World..I have to say the cast is very talented and works so hard. There's oodles of choreography  and being a former dancer, I tend not to kvetch about to much dancing but I found found myself saying enough already as  some of the choregraphy seemed repetivie even though the chorus sold it and gave it their all. They sell it llke they are in a hit going to Broadway. They are that good!

The problem is Louis Armtrong is such a beloved soulful performer. He is almost a saint.  So do I really need to hear about his four wives who all divorced him because he was cheating on them? And how the last one stayed in their longer than anyone expected.   Is this how a musical about a  beloved star  i to trash  him with four wives and adultry?? True or not...  I don't want  nor I need to know that.

So a pleasant musical which neither honors the memory of Louis Armtrong nor tells us anything we really want or need to know (like his private life) does not make for an entertaining evening of theatre.

Thi is a shame cause there is a wonderul Louis Armtrong story which should be told instead of this tabloid trash.  He was adopted by Jewish parents who encouraged him to play an intrument and he grew up to be the beloved Louis Armstrong Not that's the musical I would want to see.

As Louis Armstrong, James Monroe Iglehart certainly captures the shell of Louis Armstrong; the voice,  some of the mannerisms, the smile but I never found myself believing once that the actor was Louis Armstrong. Is like something was missing:   and I'm not sure what;  a heart a soul ,something.

Or perhaps dragging up Louis Armstrong's secret dirt and having his story dragged through the mud.. perhaps Iglehart was not able to take it out of the dreck that this book and plot of this musical are. You've convinced me. Louis Armstroing may have been an adulterer...   but how does it help anyone to know this? Especiallly  when we have pleasant Louis Armstriong cheerful tune throghout the evening. It's almost if the light hearted dancing is at war with the multi wived adulterer that this musical makes him be? Maybe that's why the dancing seemed repetitive. Maybe it was just at war with the serious toned book.

If you're going to write a musical about Louis Armstrong, I want to hear the good stuff and not to drag this American Treasure though the muck.

The audience of course gave it a standing ovation. If that means anything anymore. Other than that A wonderul world was not so wonderful.

 

 

 

[Fan123]

Posted: 10/9/23 at 6:00am

Thanks for the review. On the flipside, a common criticism of biomusicals is that they sugarcoat the lives of their subjects too much, downplaying their flaws and unsavoury choices. I'll be interested to hear whether others think that this show goes too far in the other direction instead.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 10/9/23 at 1:00pm

I’d rather an honest portrayal than keep some rose colored glasses on, just because you think he’s beloved. The truth ain’t “tabloid trash”