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 … [Read more...]
Terry Teachout: Bringing ‘Satchmo’ to life, as playwright and director
Terry Teachout, 60, the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal, is also a biographer and opera librettist. Five years ago, he adapted his biography of jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong into a one-man play, Satchmo at the Waldorf. In May, he makes his professional directorial debut with the play at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach (it runs from May 13 to June 12). Hap … [Read more...]