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.
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.
Armstrong repeatedly says jazz is about “the choices you make in between the notes.” Book writer Aurin Squire and conceivers Andrew Delaplaine and Christopher Renshaw toggle between conventional bio-musical choices and more challenging ones, keeping A Wonderful World lively and interesting. Shying away from an unblemished portrait of Armstrong and instead acknowledging his womanizing and self-involvement, A Wonderful World makes space for a version of Black artistry that confronts the complexities of artists as humans, and how the world around them may fail them.
2020 | Regional (US) |
Colony Theatre World Premiere Regional (US) |
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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