A wonderful World-The Louis Armstrong Musical at Studio 54 on Broadway is the feel-good show of the year. With spectacular music and a splendid cast led by James Monroe Iglehart as the great Satchmo, it is an experience that will leave you practically dancing the jitterbug in the aisles. A wonderful World-The Louis Armstrong Musical is at Studio 54 on Broadway. Visit louisarmstrongmusical.com or Broadway.com for more.
Tony Award-winner Iglehart does an incredible job of transforming himself into the legendary musician. Oft imitated (and most times poorly), Iglehart instead internalizes the emotions and attitudes of the world-renowned singer and trumpet player without mimicking him. He incorporates enough of his signature mannerisms to make his portrayal credible, while still making the characterization uniquely his own. It is a masterful feat of acting craftsmanship.
Iglehart also makes his Broadway directing debut as Co-Director of A Wonderful World with the directing team of Christopher Renshaw and Christina Sajous.
Besides the terrific cast, the musical’s orchestrations and arrangements by the great Branford Marsalis and additional incidental music and vocal arrangements by music director Daryl Waters, place A Wonderful World in a class all its own.
The song selection is brilliant. Although they don’t follow accurately any historical sequence or chronological musical order, the numbers emphasis significant plot points in the story. That said, I doubt that there will be any musical historians in the audience during the show’s run. But, if there are, they’ll probably be patting their feet and singing along under their breath just as I was.
Explosive dance numbers ignite the stage throughout, seamlessly melding the pulsating rhythms of Africa with the jazz era and the ever-changing music and dance styles of the decades-long career of the musical giant they sometimes called simply ‘Pops.’ Tap dancing is elevated to high art by Dewitt Fleming Jr. as Lincoln Perry, otherwise known as Stepin’ Fetchit. The choreography and musical staging by Rickey Tripp set this musical apart because of their exquisite execution.
There’s no effort to sugar coat the life of this monumental figure. We see Louis’ emotional warts through the eyes of his four wives: Daisy Parker (Brennyn Lark), Lil Hardin (an explosive Jennie Harney Fleming, Alpha Smith (Brennyn Lark) and Lucille Wilson (a pensive Ta’rea Campbell). Their musical narratives don’t pull any punches. Each of the women gives depth and expression to their emotional anguish, reflecting the ordeal of nurturing a flawed idol. Their journey becomes a love-hate relationship that is both exquisite and excruciating in the same breath.
No stone is left unturned in the storyline of the superbly crafted storyline. With Book by Aurin Squire as Conceived by Andrew Delaplaine and Christopher Renshaw, we learn some very salient facts about who Louis really is.
First, in spite of his winning smile and gratuitous laugh, which often earned the ire of more militant members of the Black community, Louis was, in fact, a ‘race man,’ who was often enraged by the cruelty of whites in the south toward peaceful Civil Rights demonstrators. In his quiet interludes between performances, he often wrote eloquent letters in their support to the President and other government and world leaders.
There was also the subtext of something that haunted not only Louis, but other black entertainers in the mid twentieth century, the influence of The Mob, which he deftly dodged through artful bookings overseas and by employing a no-nonsense manager who took no prisoners. “Ella only sings. Louie Sings AND pays a horn. So, he should be paid twice as much! * He screams into the phone over a potential booking.
One insight that was brought to light in the musical that most people would not have known, is that Louis’ signature grin was no aberration. It was developed and by design. It was truly a “face to meet the faces,” a clever ruse that created a false persona, masking a myriad of emotions, opinions and attitudes.
A Wonderful World-The Louis Armstrong Musical at Studio 54 on Broadway. Visit louisarmstrongmusical.com or Broadway.com.
Dwight Casimere- The Times Weekly/Chicago Entertainment reporter
