‘A Wonderful World’: Jazz icon’s life & music

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: James Monroe Iglehart as Louis Armstrong. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

A WONDERFUL WORLD: THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG MUSICAL
Book by Aurin Squire
Conceived by Andrew Delaplaine & Christopher Renshaw
Directed by Christopher Renshaw
Studio 54
254 West 54^th Street
https://louisarmstrongmusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

Jazz, like musical theater, is one of the few art forms that is truly “all American.”  Its roots are grounded in New Orleans, Louisiana. And its heart and soul stem from the African American experience in the American South. One of the American legends who embodies jazz at its best is the great Louis Armstrong, the jolly, gravel-voiced vocalist and cornet/trumpet player. Armstrong soared to the top of the American music charts with his signature songs, “Hello, Dolly!” (which knocked the Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love” out of the number one slot in the USA on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1964) and “A Wonderful World.” However, many of us know little about the man behind the music until now. A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Story is a joyous, colorful celebration of Mr. Armstrong’s life, music, and his rags-to-riches tale.

New Orleans roots

The story begins with a prologue in the 1970s in a rehearsal room with James Monroe Iglehart (best known for his Tony Award-winning role of Genie in Disney’s Aladdin) singing “Now You Have Jazz.”

Next, the narrative steps back in time to New Orleans in the 1910s. Armstrong’s four wives at different stages of his life help tell the story, mostly through flashbacks. In New Orleans, his first wife Daisy Parker (Dionne Figgins) is a prostitute, and she joins him on duets such as “Kiss of Fire.” Aurin Squire’s book relies heavily on the perspective of the wives, and each woman talks about Armstrong’s many shortcomings: He’s a womanizer, unfaithful, drinks too much, smokes cigarettes and marijuana, but he has a big heart regardless.

Chicago in the 1920s

Armstrong’s move to Chicago in the 1920s highlights the second part of the first act. King Joe Oliver (Gavin Gregory), the man who started King Joe Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, brings Armstrong up from New Orleans. Oliver and Armstrong sing the classic “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?”

At the same time, Armstrong meets the woman who eventually becomes his second wife, Lil Hardin (Jennie Harding-Fleming), a brilliantly gifted jazz pianist with an elegant, no-nonsense presence and a sharp head for the business side of music. Lil and Louis Armstrong sing such classics as “Tiger Rag” and King Joe Oliver joins them on “Got a Bran’ New Suit.”

The Hollywood years

Armstrong’s journey to Hollywood in the 1930s is featured in the second act. He is now breaking into the movies and we meet his third wife, Alpha Smith (Kim Exum). He appears in such films as Ex-Flame, A Rhapsody in Black and Blue, Pennies from Heaven, and others. Alpha is the quintessential Hollywood glamour girl and she joins him on such songs as “Big Butter and Egg Man.”

Sadly, Armstrong soon learns that Hollywood is only interested in casting him in stereotypical Black roles such as singing butlers, “Uncle Toms” and “clowns.” Throughout the show, he is told that he needs a “white man” to help oversee his career, and Armstrong fears he might be considered a “sellout” by other Blacks.

To illustrate how Hollywood Blacks felt in this era, Lincoln Perry (DeWitt Fleming Jr.), a Black comedian and vaudevillian of the time who went the stage name Stepin Fetchit, tells him, “Black people here are very-very-very-VERY understanding. We’re a hustling and bustling people. Everyone’s got their angle. Me, Hattie McDaniels, Bojangles….Black folks have no problem with us.”

New York in the 1940s

As a result of getting tired of Hollywood, Armstrong moves to New York in the 1940s. Next, we meet his fourth wife and the woman with whom he had the longest marriage, Lucille Wilson (Darlesia Cearcy). Lucille is a chorus girl at the renowned Cotton Club in Harlem when she meets Armstrong. When he first asks her out, Lucille is blunt. “You can drop the mask in front of me. I want the real Louis Armstrong. The poor kid from New Orleans,” she says, referring to his many stage personas and nicknames from Satchmo and Big Dipper to Pops.

In general, Lucille helps Armstrong settle down and tames his wild ways with women. When he is offered the chance by the U.S. State Department to tour around the world representing the USA, singing his hits “Hello, Dolly!” and “A Wonderful World,” Lucille insists on accompanying him so he doesn’t mess around with other women. Toward the show’s end, Armstrong sings all his patriotic songs, including “Star Spangled Banner.” Of course—spoiler alert!—the finale features the show’s title song “A Wonderful World,” with Armstrong singing with all his wives, Daisy, Lil, Alpha and Lucille and the rest of the cast.

An epic packed with talent

Ultimately, A Wonderful World is a bona fide epic, at nearly two hours and 45 minutes, chronicling his rise from a poor New Orleans musician to one of America’s most beloved entertainers. Is it a perfect bio-musical? No. It is a long show but, despite a couple unnecessary songs, A Wonderful World is never dull and is consistently entertaining. Book writer Aurin Squire broaches the topic of racial inequality in America, especially in 1930s Hollywood, in a manner that is still relevant today without being heavy-handed.

Besides hearing all the outstanding Louis Armstrong classics—orchestrated and arranged by jazz legend Branford Marsalis—other aspects make A Wonderful World a Broadway gem.

Outstanding performances & choreography

First, the superb choreography and musical staging by Rickey Tripp. Decked out in lavish period costumes by Toni-Leslie James, it is a rare treat getting to see old-school dance numbers (including tap dancing) that remind one of Broadway’s golden age, back in the days when musicals were spectacular instead of sparse. In general, the gifted cast and stellar performances and vocals are the show’s biggest assets. First and foremost, James Monroe Igehart is phenomenal as Louis Armstrong. He has the raspy voice, mellifluous vocals and happy-go-lucky attitude that catapulted Armstrong to superstardom. Director Christopher Renshaw has done a remarkable job helping Mr. Iglehart deliver a nonstop, steadily brilliant portrayal of Louis Armstrong as a flawed but good-natured, multi-talented man. What’s more, Gavin Gregory is magnificent as King Joe Oliver, Armstrong’s teacher and mentor.

In addition, the performances by the actresses playing his wives are equally exceptional. Dionne Figgins as Daisy, Jennie Harney-Fleming as Lil, Kim Exum as Alpha and Darlesia Cearcy as Lucille are all top-notch in their performances, and each has a powerful singing voice. Ms. Cearcy is especially dynamic on the solo ballad “That’s My Home,” and her lush, commanding vibrato brings down the proverbial house.

A must-see

In conclusion, A Wonderful World has all the ingredients for a splendid night of musical theater, making it a must-see on Broadway this fall.

Published November 11, 2024
Reviewed at November 10, 2024 press preview

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: (left to right) Dionne Figgins, Jennie Harney-Fleming, James Monroe Iglehart, Kim Exum & Darlesia Cearcy. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: James Monroe Iglehart & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: James Monroe Iglehart & Gavin Gregory. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: James Monroe Iglehart & (left to right) Jodeci Milhouse, Alysha Morgan & Kate Louissaint. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: DeWitt Fleming Jr. & cast. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

‘A WONDERFUL WORLD’: Darlesia Cearcy & James Monroe Iglehart. Photo: Jeremy Daniel.

YouTube video of A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical