Louis Armstrong is the latest music legend to have his life story told in a Broadway biopic.
The Grammy-winning trumpeter and singer — who was known as the King of Jazz during his five decades in the spotlight before his death in 1971 at the age of 69 — is reviving in Beautiful worlda new musical opening Monday, November 11 at Studio 54 in New York.
PEOPLE can exclusively release a trailer for the production, which features Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart stepping into the shoes of the famous star.
The clip opens with Iglehart blowing a trumpet before channeling Armstrong’s signature growl to sing the musical’s title song. Clips are then shown of various moments during the show, including what appears to be a high-energy dance number set to Armstrong’s 1955 hit, “When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You]).
How James Monroe Iglehart Turns into Louis Armstrong for Broadway Beautiful world The Musical (Exclusive)
James Monroe Iglehart as Louis Armstrong in the Broadway musical, ‘Wonderful World’.
Courtesy of A Wonderful World
Glimpses of some of Armstrong’s romances during his life are also shown. The New Orleans native had four wives – Lucille Wilson, Lil Hardin, Alpha Smith and Daisy Parker – portrayed on stage by Darlesia Cearcy (How to dance in Ohio,), Jennie Harney-Fleming (Purple), Kim Exum (The Book of Mormon) and Dionne Figgins (Memphis) respectively.
Other actors among the 26-member cast include Trista Dollison (standby for the roles of Daisy Parker, Lil Hardin, Alpha Smith and Lucille Wilson), DeWitt Fleming Jr. (as Lincoln Perry), Jason Thomas Forbach (as Crooner and others), Gavin Gregory (as King Joe Oliver) and Jimmy Smagula (as Joe Glaser). The ensemble consists of Brandon Louis Armstrong, Wesley J. Barnes, Willie Clyde Beaton II, Ronnie S. Bowman, Jr., Eean S. Cochran, Kate Louissaint, Matt Magnusson, Jodeci Milhouse, Alysha Morgan, Khadijah Rolle, Tally Sessions, Brett Sturgis, Renell Taylor, Meridien Terrell and Dori Waymer.
Award-winning Broadway veteran James T. Lane (Chicago, Kiss me Kate, Refrain) plays Armstrong at certain performances.
Company ‘A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical’ on Broadway.
Jeremy Daniel
Watch James Monroe Iglehart transform into Louis Armstrong Beautiful world The Musical (Exclusive)
A Beautiful World: A Musical by Louis Armstrong features a book by Aurin Squire and a score composed of several songs that made Armstrong famous, including “Hello, Dolly!” — the title song of the 1969 film adaptation of the musical that Armstrong sang on screen, fronted by Barbra Streisand.
Iglehart, who won a Tony Award for portraying a ghost on Broadway Aladdin, looks unrecognizable as Armstrong, turning into a favorite performer. But he doesn’t just star in a musical; he also co-directs it with Christian Sajous. Tony Award nominee Christopher Renshaw is credited as lead director.
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Dionne Figgins, Jennie Harney-Fleming, James Monroe Iglehart, Kim Exum, Darlesia Cearcy and company ‘A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical’ on Broadway.
Jeremy Daniel
George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Robert Downey Jr. and all the stars go to Broadway
Back in October, Iglehart opened up to PEOPLE about stepping into the role of co-director for the Broadway transfer, after helming the show in its pre-Broadway runs in New Orleans and Chicago.
“I wasn’t really thinking about directing, but when we started working on the show, when we were out of town, I had a lot of opinions,” Iglehart recalled. “And they said, ‘Okay, you have a lot of opinions, but your opinions are pretty good. You seem to have a knack for putting things together. What do you think? Would you be interested in joining the creative team?’ ”
“It was a really fun time,” he said of the process. “I love creating new musicals or new shows. There’s something about putting the words on the page, taking it all apart and then putting it all back together and going. ‘Okay, let’s see what we’ve got.’ There’s something really magical about that.”
Tickets for Beautiful world they are on sale now.
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Source: HIS Education