Louis Armstrong musical 'A Wonderful World' now playing at Cadillac Palace Theatre

CHICAGO (WLS) -- "A Wonderful World" is a musical inspired by the life of legendary artist Louis Armstrong. It just opened at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago.

Actor James Monroe Iglehart spoke to ABC7 about the privilege and challenge of playing Satchmo in the musical.

"Growing up, I knew who Louis Armstrong was, I knew who Satchmo was, but he wasn't like, 'my man,'" Monroe Iglehart said. "Most jazz artists of that time, white men have written about them. Louis was a prolific writer. He wrote two autobiographies, and he wrote letters and letters over the span of his career. Once I got into that, it became so fascinating of how I really felt for the man."

Vanessa Williams is the producer of the show.

"You must come and see this man embody and morph into Louis Armstrong," Williams said.

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Bringing the story to the city of Chicago held a high importance for Monroe Iglehart.

"This is the place where he actually found himself, he always knew he could play the horn," Monroe Iglehart said. "He was one of the baddest horn players in New Orleans, but when he came to Chicago is where he became Louis Armstrong."

"A Wonderful World" is at the Cadillac Palace Theatre through Oct. 29.

"I know this man, and I just want to do him as much honor as I possibly can, because not only am I standing on his shoulders because of what he went through, I don't have to go through it as much, so all I want to do is put respect on the brother's name," Monroe Iglehart said. "It's an honor to bring this man's story to the forefront. We talk about so many entertainers, but he was in his time the most popular entertainer in the world, and we don't give him enough credit. And once you tell his full story, it's a whole different feel you walk out with. The fact that I got to be chosen to play Louis Armstrong is awesome.