In 'A Wonderful World' on Broadway, two Jameses make a Louis
Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart and James T. Lane share the role of music icon Louis Armstrong in the New York-premiere musical about his life and career.
"Louis was literally one of the greatest trumpet players of American music," enthused actor James Monroe Iglehart. "Miles Davis said there's nothing that has been played now that Louis Armstrong hadn't already played."
Sure, Iglehart may be a little biased. The Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran (Aladdin, Spamalot) is one of two actors playing the jazz legend in A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical on Broadway, the other being James T. Lane (Chicago, Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations), who assumes the part at select performances each week. But he's right. There's no denying Armstrong was a pioneer, defying music genres and racial barriers as he achieved global fame.
A Wonderful World tells that story from his four wives' points of view, so it doesn't shy away from his flaws or contradictions, either. More than 50 years after Armstrong's death in 1971, the musician is "old enough to be a good guy, become a villain, and then come back to be a good guy again," Iglehart acknowledged.
Just as each character in the show has a different history with Armstrong, so do Iglehart and Lane. Iglehart fell hard and fast into Armstrong fandom in 2020, and he offered to help produce A Wonderful World before being cast in the lead role. (He also co-directs with Christopher Renshaw and Christina Sajous.) Lane, meanwhile, was inspired by Armstrong from a young age, but he only heard about the musical after his 2023 autobiographical solo show, Triple Threat, caught Renshaw's attention.
What both actors have in common, however, is a desire to embody Armstrong as they believe he'd have wanted — namely, in all his unabashed Blackness. "There's a caricature we thought Louis was," Iglehart said, noting that Armstrong had to tailor his public persona to be palatable to non-Black audiences — a struggle both Jameses can relate to.
Iglehart and Lane dove deep into all things Armstrong with New York Theatre Guide, discussing their approaches to the role and what makes Armstrong and his music — which is plentiful in A Wonderful World — still worth trumpeting about.
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What was each of your first exposure to Louis Armstrong's music?
James T. Lane: The Hello, Dolly! clip with Barbra Streisand. This guy who was smiling — the color of his skin was really important to me. [He was] an African American man, successful. I was like, "Who is that?"
James Monroe Iglehart: "A Wonderful World." When I was a kid, I loved animation, so voices always caught me. His voice was so interesting to me, and I loved his smile, but he didn't really capture my imagination until later on in life.
What was the turning point?
Iglehart: During the pandemic, we were sitting around trying to figure out what to do, and I had always wanted to watch [the TV series] Ken Burns: Jazz. The first few episodes were about Louis Armstrong.
Once I realized how significant he was and how he wasn't just this Hollywood figure, I really wanted to know about him. And I went deep: A few days of watching that wonderful documentary, and then I was buying his books on Amazon.
I looked at my wife, and I said, "Why has no one written a musical about him? This is ridiculous!"
Did you have to learn how to play the trumpet for this role?
Lane: [I started] taking trumpet lessons. And I was like, "Whoa, wait a minute, this is not what I thought it was." I just thought you just blew into the trumpet and it made pretty sounds. I had no idea of the embouchure and the mechanics and the discipline.
There was a new level of respect [and] understanding for [him] at that time, and how talent took him from one place to another throughout his life.
Iglehart: I played the trumpet when I was 10 years old, and I stopped playing after seven months. When this project came up, I contacted a friend of mine [...] who is a wonderful trumpet player in New York, and he's been training me.
But to play like Louis, you need eons of time. So [in the show], I look like I'm playing, but we're going to have a really experienced, trained trumpet player in the back to give Louis the respect for that part of his life that he needs.
What about Armstrong do each of you want to highlight in your performance?
Lane: Because I was in Ain't Too Proud, I wake up with the stuff inside of me that is required for Louis Armstrong. How rare is that in musical theatre for an African American person? I wake up with all of the instincts and the behaviors and the attitudes, and therefore I can really give voice to something I know inside of me innately.
I'm kind of new to the historical Louis. The first thing I read from tip to tail was the script. I am still learning, and I'm still absorbing the ins and outs of who this man is. We get to go with him as he grows up as a man, and that's a really exciting thing to explore.
Iglehart: I didn't want it to be an impression of Louis. I wanted to take little tidbits of what he does that you can see, and then embody the character with who I think he wanted people to see, from reading his books [and] watching interviews.
Louis was one of those guys who just wanted to play his horn and be friends with everybody. But when conflict would arise, he would either run away from it or run right at it. I identify with that. I also understood — you say you're one thing, but the world is trying to tell you you're another thing. There's Louis Armstrong the entertainer, and then there's Louis Armstrong the Black brother from the 1920s all the way to the '70s. That dude is who most people don't know.
Hollywood, especially at that time, was about being perfect and shiny, no dark edges. Black people [were supposed to] be in their place in a certain way. Louis was not that at all. If he was alive today, he'd be hanging with Snoop Dogg and Kendrick [Lamar], not jazz people.
Is there anything else you'd want to tell people about Armstrong or the show?
Iglehart: People like dirty drama, good music, and fun. You will get all that with this show. There's nothing on some reality TV show that Louis did not probably get into and shouldn't have done. He was married four times, so he's got all kinds of drama with the way he handled his relationships!
What is your favorite Louis Armstrong song?
Lane: I love "Heebie Jeebies." It just makes me feel good.
Iglehart: When I started studying him, I found this clip of him playing in Copenhagen, and he sang a song called "Dinah." I fell in love because it was Louis at his young, hot moment where he knew he was bad and nobody could tell him nothing. It embodies all of his virtuosity vocally, and all the trumpet.
Are both those songs in the show?
Iglehart: Yes, they are. On the directing side, I kept pushing "Dinah" for months, and they finally let the song in!
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Interview excerpts have been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
Top image credit: James Monroe Iglehart and James T. Lane. (Photos courtesy of production)
In-article image credit: James Monroe Iglehart in A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)
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