A Wonderful World
It’s a delight but needs A little fine-tuning
If you lived during the times of the roaring '20s and you mentioned the nicknames "Satchmo," "Satch," and "Pops," people would automatically know you were talking about one of the greatest jazz soloists worldwide, Louis (Louie) Armstrong. Directed by Christopher Renshaw and Andrew Delaplaine, with one of the producers being the renowned actress, singer, producer, and dancer Vanessa Williams, Cadillac Palace Theater brings a New Musical, A Wonderful World, about the life and loves of Louis Armstrong. The show starts with each of Armstrong's wives, Daisy Parker (Khalifa White), Lil Hardin (Jennie Harney-Fleming), Lucille Wilson (Ta'Rea Campbell), and Alpha Smith (Brennyn Lark), appearing under a dim light chronologically transitioning us into their storied lives of being Mrs. Armstrong. Narrated in four chapters from the cities of New Orleans, where Armstrong receives his love for playing and singing, traveling to Chicago, Hollywood, and New York, we meet these ladies who share their trials and tribulations of love and despair of living with Armstrong. Born a New Orleanian, Armstrong's famous raspy voice came from becoming ill due to a prolonged cold he received playing on a steamboat. However, the improvising soloist didn't allow it to stop his love for singing and playing and used it as one of his signature personas, along with his bigger-than-life smile.
Louis' innovative musicianship and incredible charisma as a trumpet player and vocalist captivated all of his wives; however, as they recount tales of their life and love with him, they all experienced his philandering ways with other women and his rise to stardom and the struggles he faced along the way. Known as a phenomenal trumpeter who said, "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, the critics know it. And if I don't practice for three days, the public knows it," I was surprised that this production won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, James Monroe Iglehart, the original Genie of Broadway's production of Aladdin, and Hamilton actor mainly was shown with the trumpet, playing a few simulated notes. Still, Iglehart, also in the new children's series production of Not Quiet Narwhal, performed exceptionally, singing and talking like Armstrong and fraternizing with the audience, but this is the legendary trumpeter. Not having one musical number played is sacrilegious. The narrative needs tweaking and significant consideration to condense unnecessary scenes that only lengthen this nearly three-hour production time and replace those scenes with focusing more on Armstrong with a suggestive of bringing in a trumpet player who plays in flackbacks as the young Armstrong.
Suppose you don't have a preconceived notion or desire to see this nostalgic play through the eyes of Louis Armstrong and appreciate a fabulous Broadway production. In that case, you will enjoy A Wonderful World. Iglehart shows his versatile vocal talents by raspy singing "Hello, Dolly!", "When You're Smiling" and "When the Saints Go Marching In"— and moved the audience when singing Fats Waller's (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" and the main song What A Wonderful World. The duo of Iglehart and Dwitt Fleming, Jr was one of the bright stops of this play. Fleming is an exceptional tap dancer, along with performance of the tap dancing ensemble, which was outstanding. The Armstrong wives were also terrific at singing, and the scenic and projection by Adam Koch & Steven Royal, the Costume Design of Toni-Leslie James, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Michael O. Mitchell & Annastasia Victory with Choreography, and Musical Staging by Rickey Tripp were fantastic. The play has laughter, great singing and dancing, and a respectable storyline coming from the wives of Armstrong. It discusses some of the issues blacks faced as performers while living in segregation, with one band member facing punishment for looking at a white woman, Armstrong and his band being arrested, and photos of slurs made against blacks and how many blacks like Lincoln Perry better known by the stage name Stepin Fetchit, made his fortune but unfortunately viewed by other blacks as being an embarrassing anachronism uneducated man of color. And when the world-renowned jazz legend refused to perform for the president after seeing the plight of his people.
I also had the pleasure of sitting next to Vanessa Williams during the performance.
Audiences will enjoy A Wonder World, but temper your expectations of hearing any instrumental performance Armstrong is known for because this isn't that play.
3 STARS ***
Cadillac Palace
A Wonderful World: A New Musical About The Life and Loves of Louis Armstrong
Book by Aurin Squire
Directed by Christopher Renshaw and Andrew Delaplaine
Playing Now - October 29, 2023
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