I’m up in New York this week to attend the bat mitzvah of a cousin, Emma. So while I’m here, I’ll see six shows in seven days. I began last night with A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, a biographical show about the trumpet-playing “king of jazz.”
The best thing about it is James Monroe Iglehart, an enormously appealing performer who is probably damaging his voice imitating Armstrong’s gravelly vocals. Well, if he wins a second Tony Award — his first was for playing the Genie in Aladdin — it will be worth it. His chances of a win this time get a boost for his tap dance duet with Dewitt Fleming Jr. as Lincoln Perry, a/k/a Stepin Fetchit.