Get the latest gossip
How Broadway’s James Monroe Iglehart Got Louis Armstrong’s Signature Gravelly Voice Just Right in ‘A Wonderful World’
James Monroe Iglehart reveals how he nails Louis Armstrong's signature growl eight times a week, plus what he fought for as a co-director.
On the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety ’s theater podcast, Iglehart (“Aladdin”) recalled that as soon as he knew he would be approximating Armstrong’s signature growly voice in “Wonderful World,” he called his friend Alex Brightman — the actor who affected his own husky timbre playing the title character in “Beetlejuice.” “When most people want to talk like this, they’re either sick or they’re trying to be sexy, one of the two!” Add to that Armstrong’s distinctive speech rhythms, and suddenly Iglehart sounds like Satchmo. Also on the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Iglehart revealed the backstory behind how and why he signed on as a co-director of “Wonderful World” in addition to headlining the show — and how his experience in “Hamilton” informed his work on the Armstrong musical.
Or read this on Variety
