The new musical “A Wonderful World” is the story of Louis Armstrong.
When the show opens, Armstrong is in the rehearsal room with a piano player. But that piano man isn’t just another actor…he is the Louis Armstrong’s great-great nephew!
His name is Brandon Louis Armstrong and “A Wonderful World” is his Broadway debut. Along with playing the piano player, Brandon is also a teacher and is the understudy for the starring role of uncle Louis (Armstrong himself)!
Speaking on the opening scene Brandon notes, “that moment always feels like I get to — as Brandon — speak to my great-great uncle from beyond,” he says. “I get to just spend a moment in conversation with him and ask if he’s OK and hear his voice.”
On being in the show, he adds,
“I was cautious about how I’d be able to step into this world and connect with part of my family history and my lineage. I’m so grateful and so thankful and so happy.”
A musical biopic, “A Wonderful World” tells the story beyond the hit songs like “Hello, Dolly”, “Cheek to Cheek”, and “A Wonderful World” to explore Armstrong as he went from poverty to stardom amid four marriages and facing racism through the voice of Armstrong himself.
Brandon Armstrong speaks on the show saying, “the messaging behind it is that jazz is the choices that we make in between the notes. It’s not about making the right choice every time. It’s about making a choice and allowing yourself to be present wherever those choices may lead you.”
A native of Los Angeles, Brandon notes, “I grew up with a lot of jazz playing in the household, a lot of gospel, a lot of R&B, a lot of hip-hop. My mom was also really big into like ‘80s hair metal bands and stuff like that. I’d go from listening to Motown to like listening to Guns n’ Roses and then Kenny Rogers. It just was always a tapestry of music.”
The only member in his immediate family to play music, Brandon joined the show choir in high school, but it was attending a production of “Ragtime” that really intrigued him. Brandon said,“I was so moved by it, I just was like, ‘I don’t care if I’m the person sweeping the floors when it’s over. I just want to be a part of whatever that is’”.
Brandon doesn’t lean on his last name to get a role; Tony Award winning actor James Monroe Iglehart, who plays the leading role of Louis Armstrong, spoke on Brandon saying, “we’re like, ‘How cool.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, I’m related.’” He got the job based on his voice and acting — not his name. We really did it on talent. I always feel like who’s ever the most talented person for the show, that should be who is in it. But then the fact that it was his lineage, we kind of felt that it was like a sign.”
As the understudy for Louis Armstrong, Brandon knows that one day it will be his turn to portray his great-great uncle; “my biggest concern I think when it happens is just trying not to cry all the way through the show,” he says, laughing. “Somehow the universe has paved out this road for me that has landed me here, getting to literally take the stage and carry that baton.”