One of many world’s most acclaimed and influential jazz vocalists and trumpeters, New Orleans native Louis Armstrong (1901-71) had a Grammy Award-winning profession that spanned 5 many years of worldwide fame and left an everlasting legacy in music, whereas overcoming the poverty of his childhood and the racism he confronted as a Black man. Thedistinctly gifted and charismatic icon is now the topic of A Fantastic World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, co-conceived by Christopher Renshaw and Andrew Delaplaine, with a e book by Aurin Squire, and music made well-known by the legendary star, making its Broadway debut at Studio 54.
James Monroe Iglehart and firm. Photograph by Jeremy Daniel.
The colourful two-act bio-musical is offered as scenes from the narrative of his life, a lot of it spent on the highway touring (and philandering), starting with a prologue within the Seventies, then tracing his journey, and his 4 marriages, by means of 4 chapters, from his modest beginnings in New Orleans within the 1910s, to his rise to fame in Chicago within the Twenties, success in Hollywood within the ‘30s, after which reaching the heights of everlasting stardom, and marital stability, in New York from the ‘40s to his loss of life in 1971.
After all, it wouldn’t be “The Louis Armstrong Musical” with out sensational performances of 30 of his traditional hits (together with such requirements as “Up a Lazy River,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” “A Kiss To Build a Dream On,” “Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In,” “When You’re Smiling,” “Cheek to Cheek,” “Hello, Dolly!,” and the titular “What a Wonderful World”), that includes blockbuster vocals, powerhouse trumpet solos, high-energy dance, and a terrific nine-piece orchestra (with Darryl G. Ivey serving as music director and conductor) capturing the jazz stylings of Satchmo and his period (preparations and orchestrations by Branford Marsalis).
James Monroe Iglehart and firm. Photograph by Jeremy Daniel.
James Monroe Iglehart, who additionally co-directs with Christopher Renshaw and Christina Sajous, turns in an outstanding, award-worthy, spot-on portrayal of Armstrong, flawlessly embodying his unmistakable gravelly voice, expert cornet and trumpet taking part in, improvised scatting, dance strikes, and signature mannerisms, and bringing an understanding of his character and the feelings he felt when he was confronted with discrimination and threats from the mob, making momentous choices in his profession and his private life, being appointed a global cultural ambassador for the US State Division throughout a time of rampant racism in our nation (he performs an explosive rewording of the “Star Spangled Banner” to let loose his anger), and expressing his paramount love of music and the significance of smiling.
Together with reenactments of the important thing episodes that outlined him are segments of him breaking the fourth wall, instantly addressing the viewers, making feedback and observations, and welcoming us to affix in on a few of his most beloved songs. (The enthusiastic participation on the evening I attended speaks to the common love and consciousness of his work; everybody within the full home knew all of the lyrics and melodies to sing alongside).
Dionne Figgins, Jennie Harney Fleming, James Monroe Iglehart, Kim Exum, and Darlesia Cearcy. Photograph by Jeremy Daniel.
A top-notch featured solid contributes immeasurably to the story and songs, with commanding vocals and characterizations of Armstrong’s 4 consecutive wives by the excellent Dionne Figgins as Daisy Parker, Jennie Harney-Fleming as Lil Hardin, Kim Exum as Alpha Smith, and Darlesia Cearcy as Lucille Wilson, every with a distinct background, character, and state of affairs, particular person affect on his meteoric rise, and response to his infidelity in confrontations with him and the others, and all with passionate musical solos, duets, and group numbers that blow the roof off.
Different knockout performances are turned in by Gavin Gregory as King Joe Oliver, a masterful trumpeter and band chief who performs with Armstrong, advises him in regards to the “two Ws” (white males, and girls), then later suffers a dramatic change of circumstances, and DeWitt Fleming Jr. as Lincoln Perry (identified by the stage title Stepin Fetchit, the primary Black actor to earn $1 million and to obtain featured display credit score in a movie), whose conversations with Armstrong about his Vaudevillian stereotype are revealing and whose self-choreographed tap-dance routines are jaw-dropping – as are the performing, singing, taking part in, and dancing of your entire stellar firm (with choreography and musical staging by Rickey Tripp that replicate the genuine types of the time).
James Monroe Iglehart and DeWitt Fleming Jr. Photograph by Jeremy Daniel.
A surprising creative design units the stage for the places and many years, with a altering multi-level set and video projections by Adam Koch and Steven Royal, shifts in lighting by Cory Pattak, clear sound by Kai Harada, and a stunning array of period-style costumes (together with Satchmo’s acquainted white handkerchief) by Toni-Leslie James, hair and wigs by Matthew Armentrout, and make-up by Kali Taylor that transport us to the “wonderful world” of Louis Armstrong. Don’t miss being part of it at Studio 54.
Working Time: Roughly two hours and 35 minutes, together with intermission.
A Fantastic World: The Louis Armstrong Musical performs by means of Sunday, Might 4, 2025, at Studio 54, 254 West 54th Avenue, NYC. For tickets (priced at $69-308, together with charges), go surfing.