Broadway is seeing trees of green and red roses too. The story of American icon Louis Armstrong is being told onstage in A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical. The production is led by Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart.
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. It features beloved songs he recorded and made popular, including “What a Wonderful World” and “When You’re Smiling,” among many other favorites.
Louis Armstrong (1901–1971), widely known by his nicknames "Satchmo," "Satch," and "Pops," was a legendary American trumpeter and singer. A towering figure in the world of jazz, Armstrong's career stretched over five decades, encompassing multiple pivotal periods in jazz history. He earned numerous honors, including a Grammy Award in 1965 for Hello, Dolly! and a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. Armstrong’s influence extended beyond jazz, impacting various musical genres and earning him inductions into prestigious institutions such as the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
The musical's premiere was presented by Miami New Drama in 2021 at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach, Florida. It later played in New Orleans at the Saenger Theatre and in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in 2023.
If you love bio musicals, American history, and jazz music, this is the musical for you.
If there were ever tears behind that famous smile, Iglehart’s Armstrong is too reserved to share. (The actor is also weakest when he feigns playing the trumpet, the instrument that made Armstrong a star.) There’s no time for introspection when there’s another career highlight to hit, another song to cram into a show that boasts nearly 30 tunes in all. A Wonderful World doesn’t offer a very deep understanding of Louis Armstrong and what made him a legend, but it does over Satchmo, mo, mo.
Others may see trees of green and red roses too as the show ends. What I see is that “A Wonderful World” is a story that might have been best served by one single vision.
2020 | Regional (US) |
Colony Theatre World Premiere Regional (US) |
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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