On Sept. 5, 2024, the company of the upcoming “A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical” filled Times Square with the music of a New Orleans-style second-line parade. Star and co-director James Monroe Iglehart led a band in a march toward Studio 54, the musical’s Broadway home. The marketing team distributed branded handkerchiefs (like the one Iglehart carried with him) as the group snaked its way toward a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the theater. There, those who bought on opening day could purchase specially priced tickets: $67 orchestra seats commemorating the 1967 release of the song “What a Wonderful World” and $31 mezzanine seats in honor of Armstrong’s 1931 film debut.
Amidst the theater industry’s ongoing adjustment to a post-COVID landscape, flashy events like these have become another way to grab the audience’s attention before opening night and establish a show’s identity.
