On the Red Carpet: James Monroe Iglehart Is Living His Dreams in A Wonderful World

You may associate James Monroe Iglehart with being an accomplished performer and a Tony winner. But there's a dream he's always had that he hasn't been able to fulfill, until now. "When I was in college, I was like, 'I want to direct on Broadway,' and it's here. This is crazy!" he exclaims to Playbill on the opening night of A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical.

Iglehart is one of the show's co-directors, and he also stars in the show as the famed jazz musician. And yes, Iglehart also plays the trumpet as well. He credits the show's team, including his fellow directors Christopher Renshaw and Christina Sajous, for enabling him to live his dreams on Broadway: "We were able to build a Broadway show. And that has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. And the fact that I not only get to build one, but to actually get to star, it is pretty damn cool."

Read the reviews for Wonderful World here.

The show, featuring Armstrong's hit songs with a book by Aurin Squire, is a look at how Armstrong went from poverty in New Orleans to one of the most influential jazz musicians. According to Dionne Figgins, who's been involved with the musical since its world premiere in Miami in 2020, Wonderful World also deepens the audience's understanding of Armstrong. "I don't know that people realize just how deep and complicated Louis Armstrong is. I think people listen to the music and they see the videos, and they see him smiling, and it's all very nice, but he was an activist, you know?" she says. Figgins plays Armstrong's first wife, Daisy Parker, adding: "Some people consider 'Black & Blue' to be one of the first protest songs. So I think that that's something that people don't know about Louis. I think it's very relevant for the time that we live in now. It's a time for us to feel that fire in our bellies and to stand up and do something about what we think needs to happen in the world—be the change that we want to see in the world." Indeed, Armstrong spoke up against segregation, in a time when it was dangerous to do so. The show addresses all that and much more.

Below, see Iglehart explain how he achieves Armstrong's signature raspy voice.

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Besides being a beloved and wildly influential musician, Armstrong was also complicated. Wonderful World promises to showcase those grey areas. For instance, Armstrong had four wives, and their relationship with him serves as the structure on which the musical is built.

Says Kim Exum, who plays Armstrong's third wife Alpha Smith: "Chris, one of our directors, said that the wives are what unlocked the story for him. And so it feels really, really nice to be depicting a woman, a wife, who unlocked the story for someone in the present day. A lot of times, women are overlooked and overshadowed. So it feels really good to step into a character, a full character, trying to flesh her out as much as I can, to add to the legacy of this great man."

In addition to gushing over Armstrong, the cast of the show also took the time to express their love for each other. Jimmy Smagula—who plays Joe Glaser, Armstrong's manager—credits Iglehart with giving him this gig, saying, "I wouldn't be here without James Monroe Iglehart. He turned to me after we got our notice at Spamalot, and said, 'There's a role for you in my show.'" He also shouted out the ensemble, enthusing: "They are the hardest working ensemble I've ever worked with, and I was in Billy Elliot...The ensemble is the engine of this show, James is the heart. They're my heroes. They really are."

Though it was a celebratory evening, the events of the previous week's election results were hanging in the minds of some of the cast members. Jennie Harney-Fleming, who plays Armstrong's second wife Lil Hardin, says she hopes that audience members take the show's title to heart: "I want people to take away the thought that the world is wonderful. Even as flawed as it is right now, it's still a wonderful world, and it is what we make it. It's a product of our choices. And if we want the world to change, we have to change our choices."

Below, see photos from the red carpet of Wonderful World, including attendees Wendell Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, and Melba Moore.