[upbeat music] ♪ Wawawa ♪ - [Announcer] Coming up on "American Songbook at NJPAC," an evening with the magic and genius of James Monroe Iglehart.

♪ Well, Ali Baba had them 40 thieves ♪ ♪ Scheherazade had a thousand tales ♪ ♪ But master, you in luck 'cause up your sleeves ♪ ♪ You got a brand of magic never fails ♪ James takes the audience on a memorable ride through his Broadway career.

♪ All I care about is love ♪ ♪ That's what I'm here for ♪ ♪ That's what he's here for ♪ And on a very personal journey as well.

♪ Go out and tell a story to your daughters and your sons ♪ ♪ Make them hear you, make them hear you ♪ - Two, three four!

♪ Open your eyes, I got a surprise ♪ ♪ We'll be rocking and rolling till we see the sun rise ♪ - [Announcer] The "American Songbook series at NJPAC" is presented through the generous support of the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the David S. Steiner and Sylvia Steiner Charitable Trust, the Joan and Allen Bildner Family Fund, and the Smart Family Foundation, David S. Stone, Esquire, Stone & Magnanini.

And now from the Lizzie & Jonathan Tisch Stage at NJPAC's Victoria Theater in Newark, New Jersey, your host, Ted Chapin.

[audience applauding] - He did the impossible.

He took a beloved character from a Disney animated movie and created a Tony Award-winning version for the Broadway stage, the Genie in "Aladdin."

He has become a Broadway regular, traveling from "Memphis" to "Chicago," from "Hamilton" to "Freestyle Love Supreme."

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only James Monroe Iglehart.

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] [mellow R&B music] - Yo, how you guys doing tonight?

All right!

♪ A dream is a wish your heart makes ♪ ♪ When you're fast asleep ♪ ♪ In dreams you will lose your heartaches ♪ ♪ Whatever you wish for, whatever you wish for, you keep ♪ ♪ In dreams, you'll lose your heartache ♪ ♪ Your rainbow will come shining through ♪ ♪ No matter how your heart is grieving ♪ ♪ If you keep on believing ♪ ♪ The dream that you wish ♪ ♪ Will come true ♪ What's goin' on here, NJPAC?

[audience applauding] My name is James Monroe Iglehart, and that song is a little R&B version of the Disney classic from "Cinderella," "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes."

Now, that song means a lot to me because when I was like her age, the young lady out there, I was a big dreamer.

My father called me the daydreamer, and I dreamed of doing all kinds of things, and doing this was one of those things that I dreamed of, so I'm so glad you're here.

And maybe, maybe this might inspire you to dream other things.

Maybe it's just some things you wanna do that you haven't done yet.

You're never too old.

You're never too young.

A dream is a wish your heart makes, come on!

♪ A dream is a wish your heart makes ♪ ♪ When you're fast asleep ♪ ♪ In dreams you will lose your heartache ♪ ♪ Whatever you wish for, whatever you wish for, you keep ♪ ♪ Have faith in your dreams and someday ♪ ♪ Your rainbow will come smiling through ♪ ♪ 'Cause no matter how your heart is grieving ♪ ♪ If you keep on believing ♪ ♪ Your wish that you dream ♪ ♪ Will come true ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] Thank you, wow, thank you.

There's a really cool crowd out there.

I see some new friends, I see some old friends.

That's really, thank you guys for coming out.

So I don't know if you guys know, but like over the past two years, like something crazy happened.

Like, we couldn't go no place.

We couldn't get together.

We couldn't sing.

Everybody got masks on, we all looked like robbers.

It was real crazy.

And in that time, I started like reflecting back what it was like when I was a kid and what I dreamed about doing, because I couldn't do it.

And I started thinking about different stories, and I started making myself laugh.

Like, when I was a kid, I had really big dreams.

Like, I wanted to be a Harlem Globetrotter, but I have no basketball skills, so that was not gonna work.

I wanted to be a magician, but I didn't have the time or the patience to like learn how to do the stuff I really wanted to do, and I really wanted to be a Disney character, but that's impossible.

[audience laughing] I'm a human being.

You can't just be a cartoon.

It just doesn't work.

But my parents took me to go see a Broadway musical.

They took me to go see "The Wiz," and oh my gosh, I saw Ted Ross live.

He was up there in the lion suit, and he was singing, and I just went, "I have to do that!"

And then somebody crazy made a movie and put the man in the movie, and once I saw the movie, that was it, that was done for me.

I would go into my garage, and I would practice being the lion, 'cause the garage was my stage.

'Cause I didn't have a stage, I just had the garage and I had the, this used to be a broom.

It used to stand, I used to have to hold it and sing and stuff, and then lo and behold, my church had a talent show, and they said anybody could be a part of it, and you could sing anything as long as it, you know, wasn't some secular song on the radio.

It was a Black church, wanna make sure you didn't bring the devil into the church.

And so I told my mom what I wanted to do, and you know what?

I didn't even have to tell her.

She already knew what I wanted to do, She even made the lion costume for me, which she still has to this day.

[lively music] ♪ Say what you wanna, 'cause I'm here to stay ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm a mean ole lion ♪ ♪ You can go where you wanna ♪ ♪ But don't get in my way ♪ ♪ I'm a mean ole lion ♪ ♪ You'll be standing in a draft ♪ ♪ If you don't hear me laugh, ha ha ♪ ♪ And if I happen to come around ♪ ♪ Well, you best not make me frown ♪ ♪ Because I just might knock you down ♪ ♪ [growls] I'm a mean ole lion ♪ When I was in that costume, you couldn't tell me nothin'.

Trust me, I was rad.

[laughs] ♪ You know I'm ready to fight ♪ ♪ And turn your day into night ♪ ♪ 'Cause I'm a mean ole lion ♪ ♪ If you're half bright ♪ ♪ You'll detour to the right ♪ ♪ From a mean ole lion ♪ ♪ And all you strangers better beware ♪ ♪ This is the king of the jungle here ♪ ♪ And if I happen to let you slide ♪ ♪ Don't stand there, run and hide ♪ ♪ You just caught my better side ♪ ♪ [growls] I'm a mean ole lion ♪ ♪ Look, you better beware ♪ ♪ This is the king of the jungle here ♪ ♪ And if I happen to let you slide ♪ ♪ Don't stand there, run and hide ♪ ♪ You just, you just, you just caught my better side ♪ ♪ I'm a mean ole lion ♪ ♪ Mean ole lion ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] Ah, thank you.

Needless to say, the church loved me.

I mean, it was a complete triumph all the way around, and I just knew it was time.

It was time to take the show on the road, ladies and gentlemen.

You know, church is good, but I had to get out into the real world where the real people were, but something happened.

You know, when you're a church kid, you start listening to other music besides church music, and I started listening to other music besides Broadway music, so I started listening to pop music, and two things happened.

I heard Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and I heard Prince, "Purple Rain."

And my mom was crazy enough to take me and my brother to go see "Purple Rain."

- [Audience Member] Woo-hoo!

- Thank you, for people who've seen "Purple Rain," you know that we were probably too young to be in "Purple Rain."

- Whoo!

[audience laughing] And it was a drive-in movie, so my mama was sitting in the driver's seat, my brother was in the middle, and I was over here.

So when stuff that I shouldn't see came up, my mama went to grab us, but she grabbed my brother, and I leaned to the side and was like, "Yes, whatever that is, I want all of it, I want all that."

[audience laughing] And then I said, "Okay, cool.

I get it, I get the equation.

Black man plus singing equals ladies."

Yes, it's a great equation.

Also, Black man plus singing equals ladies with a variable of people thinking you're cool, and I wanted to be cool, plus it was performing!

So lo and behold, another talent show came up.

It was the talent show for my elementary school, and I went to my mother, and I said, "Mom, I wanna sing something from either 'Thriller' or 'Purple Rain.'"

And my mama remembered taking me to "Purple Rain," and she said, "You are not mature enough to sing anything from that movie!"

And so my mama let me sing in the talent show, but she chose this song for me to sing instead.

[calm music] Y'all remember Lionel Richie's album?

[audience laughs] I went to the school talent show and sang this song.

♪ I've been alone with you inside my mind ♪ ♪ And in my dreams I've kissed your lips ♪ ♪ A thousand times ♪ ♪ I sometimes see you pass outside my door ♪ ♪ Hello ♪ ♪ Is it me you're looking for ♪ ♪ I can see it in your eyes ♪ ♪ I can see it in your smile ♪ ♪ You're all I've ever wanted ♪ ♪ And my arms are open wide ♪ ♪ 'Cause you know just what to say ♪ ♪ And you know just what to do ♪ ♪ And I want to tell you so much ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ Man, now, I found out something real cool that day then.

I was losing my audience really fast, kinda like I probably lost some of y'all back there.

And I also learned a very important lesson that day.

Church audiences are so much nicer than secular audiences.

When you sing in church, they say things like, "Oh, you are so precious.

You sound just like your mama.

Let the Lord use ya!"

But when you sing at school, them little kids are mean.

They're like, "Boo, you suck!"

All the Black kids were doing the whole 1980s Apollo show, "Get off stage, get off the stage!"

And you adults, the teachers were even worse.

They were looking at their watches, "When is this boy gonna stop singing this slow song?"

But I used to watch all of those variety shows, and they used to say, "The show must go on," so I powered on through!

♪ 'Cause I know just what to say ♪ ♪ And you know just what to do ♪ ♪ Are you somewhere feeling lonely ♪ ♪ Is someone loving you ♪ ♪ Tell me how to win your heart ♪ ♪ 'Cause I haven't got a clue ♪ ♪ But I want to tell you so much ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] Now, those people who know actors, you know that we, well, this is PBS, I hope I don't get killed for this.

Actors bitch and moan all the time.

We're never happy.

We're like, "Oh, I want a job.

Why won't they gave me a job?"

And so that happened to me.

I was like, "Baby, they won't gimme a job."

And then somebody gave me a job, and I was shocked.

I was like, "Oh, snap, I got a job!

Whoa, hey!"

And it was a brand-new show, a show, like, well, it was brand new.

I came in as a replacement.

I got on my first Broadway show was "The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee."

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] And there's a beautiful young lady out there named Elsa, who I ended up doing that show with.

We had a wonderful time.

We killed it.

We laughed.

We just got away with murder.

We don't know how we didn't get fired.

It's still shocking to this day.

[audience laughs] And after that show, I didn't know what I was gonna do when this other show came up, this new show with new producers, new writers, and no stars, and New York said, "Y'all have no chance."

[audience laughs] And all this crazy thing about, you know, when you doubt people, because our show with new producers, new writers, no stars, and no chance ended up winning the 2010 Tony.

It's called "Memphis."

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] And those guys, Joe DiPietro and David Bryan wrote an original song for me.

And like, that was my dream!

I mean, you know, like Ted Ross, to like do an original tune, and I got to play Bobby, and this is that song.

And I have to take off my jacket so I don't kill myself because I'm all sweaty already.

So I hope you enjoy, it's called "Big Love."

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] [calm music] Hold up a second.

My wife is laughing 'cause the coat is not folded.

[audience laughing] [audience applauding] I put the coat on the stool, and I heard her go, "Oh Lord Jesus, that's on TV.

You could do that at home, but don't do it on the stage."

Okay, now we can do it.

♪ Some people say I'm just a fool ♪ ♪ A man with nothin' to show ♪ ♪ They say I got the charm of a mule ♪ ♪ But there's something them people don't know ♪ ♪ If they could only see deep inside ♪ ♪ They'd see that my heart can sing, huh ♪ ♪ I got my soul and I got my pride ♪ ♪ And I got me one other thing ♪ Two, three, four!

♪ Open your eyes, I got a surprise ♪ ♪ We'll be rocking and rolling till we see the sun rise ♪ ♪ Like Romeo, I'll take you places you never go ♪ ♪ Call me Big Daddy, 'cause Big Daddy got big love ♪ ♪ All the pretty boys wanna get their kicks ♪ ♪ But I'm the city boy who gets all the chicks ♪ ♪ I think you'll dig the part of me that's big, whoo ♪ ♪ Call me Big Daddy, 'cause Big Daddy got big love ♪ ♪ Watch it, mama ♪ [lively music] [audience cheering] ♪ Call me Big Daddy ♪ ♪ You'll flip your wig for Big Daddy ♪ ♪ Take a swig of Big Daddy ♪ ♪ 'Cause Big Daddy got big love ♪ Whoo, whoo, whoo, yeah!

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] I used to watch the Tonys all the time, and I was really hoping for one one day, but I just figured, you know, not gonna happen.

But then two dreams happened at the same time.

Disney was crazy enough to let me actually be a Disney character.

[audience applauding] And I was like, "Really?"

And you know, it was like a dream come true.

I'm the Genie, it's awesome.

I got to do it for six years, I was glittered up forever.

It took forever to get the glitter out of our house.

The glitter was on the cat, it was on the food.

I felt so bad for the family.

It was just one of those, they loved me.

They were like, "We love you, don't touch me, thank you."

[audience laughs] You know, and then I'm going to do the song that I think I'm most famous for, and it's called "Friend Like Me," but before we do, before you get screaming and hollering, lemme tell you something.

There ain't no glitter.

There ain't no fireworks.

There ain't no trap doors.

Ain't no dancers coming out.

It's just me and this amazing band, here we go.

[audience applauding] [lively music] ♪ Wawawa, oh, my ♪ ♪ Wawawa, oh no ♪ ♪ Wawawa, ha ha ha ♪ ♪ Well, Ali Baba had them 40 thieves ♪ ♪ Scheherazade had a thousand tales ♪ ♪ But master, you in luck 'cause up your sleeves ♪ ♪ You got a brand of magic never fails ♪ ♪ You got the power in your corner now ♪ ♪ Some heavy ammunition in your camp ♪ ♪ You got some punch, pizzazz, yahoo and how ♪ ♪ See, all you gotta do is rub that lamp ♪ ♪ And I'll say, oh, Mr. Aladdin, sir ♪ ♪ What will your pleasure be ♪ ♪ Let me take your order, jot it down ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend like me, no, no, no ♪ ♪ Life is your restaurant, and I'm your maitre d ♪ ♪ C'mon whisper what it is you want ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend like me, yes, sir ♪ ♪ We pride ourselves on service ♪ ♪ You the boss, the king, the shah ♪ ♪ Say what you wish, it's yours, true dish ♪ ♪ How about a little more baklava ♪ ♪ Have some of column A ♪ ♪ Try all of column B ♪ ♪ I'm in the mood to help you, dude ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend like me, c'mon, together ♪ ♪ Wawawa, oh, my ♪ ♪ Wawawa, oh, no ♪ ♪ Wawawa, ha ha ha ♪ ♪ So don't just sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed ♪ ♪ I'm here to answer all your midday prayers ♪ ♪ You got me bona fide and certified ♪ ♪ You got a genie for your chargé d'affaires ♪ ♪ I got a powerful urge to help you out ♪ ♪ So what's your wish, I really wanna know ♪ ♪ You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt ♪ ♪ Well, all you gotta do is rub like so ♪ Gimme a doggy bag, I'm takin' it home!

♪ Wawawa, wawawa ♪ ♪ Mr. Aladdin, sir ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wawawa ♪ ♪ Have a wish or two or three ♪ ♪ I'm on the job, you big nabob ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend ♪ ♪ Never had a ♪ ♪ Friend like ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wah ♪ ♪ Me ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wah ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wah ♪ ♪ Never had a friend like me, ha ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] - Yes, you won the Tony Award for "Aladdin," congratulations.

- Thank you.

- I hope you have it in a prominent place at home.

- I do!

[Ted laughs] - But I wanna ask a little bit about how that came about, because I know that we who go to the theater will go to, as I did to "Aladdin" and thought, "Hey, that guy's great.

What a great performance."

And I checked the box when I voted for you.

- Thank you.

- But did you get a call about it, or did you have to audition?

- I had to audition.

It's a fun story that I've told a couple different times.

I heard, I was at home chilling with my wife, we were kicking it, and I went on to broadway.com, and it said "Aladdin" was coming to the Fifth Avenue in Seattle, and I had just done "Memphis" in Seattle.

So I immediately called the folks.

I'm like, "Yo, how do I audition?"

They were like, "Well, it's Disney doing it.

It's not us, they're just coming here.

I don't know how to get in."

So I called my agent and said, "Please, get me an audition."

They wouldn't see me.

They wouldn't see me.

They saw tons and tons of brothers for the part, and they wouldn't see me.

And I was just distraught, walking down the street, you know, like I told, that's why I was talking about how actors are always, you know, moaning and crying about "How come no picked me?"

That was me, we were walking down the street, me and my wife, and my wife was like, "Hey."

She said the one thing I always hate.

She's like, "If it's meant to be, it'll be."

And I was like, "Oh, I hate that."

'Cause it's true, you know.

And so what ended up happening was that Casey Nicholaw, the director of "Aladdin," was directing "Book of Mormon," and he asked a couple of his actors, John Eric Parker and Jared Gertner and Asmeret, "Do you know anybody that could do the Genie?"

And all three of them said, "Have you heard of James Monroe Iglehart?"

And he said "No," and then he went and saw "Memphis," saw me in it, next thing I know, my agent got a call.

And I had some friends who were playing the audition, and I said, "Is anybody improv-ing?

Is anybody doing anything that's not on the script?"

They were like, "Amazingly, no.

Everybody's staying right with the page."

And I looked at Dawn and I said, "I'm about to do something really crazy and stupid."

I said, "They're either gonna love me or hate me."

And I started writing out my own jokes to the script, and I started doing improv.

When I got in there and auditioned, the poor person reading with me had no idea where I was, what I was doing, and Casey loved that.

He was like, "If this dude is crazy enough to just write his own stuff, this is the crazy person we want."

And then I auditioned for Disney, and they loved it.

And the rest is history, here I am.

- So you took a risk.

- Definitely.

- Sometimes a very important thing to do.

- Yes.

- And the other thing before we leave that is I know, having been in the business, that there was a slightly troubled out of town- - Oh gosh, yes, oh my, yes, yeah.

- Tell us a little bit about "Aladdin" before it got to Broadway.

- We went to Seattle, and Seattle's where we did, they call it the pilot production, and the pilot production is basically when you spend no money on it.

You just put it up there and you go, "Let's see if the story works.

If the story works, then we'll put money into it."

The story worked, they said, "Great, so we'll put little money into it."

Then they took it to Seattle, and then they took it to Toronto.

So we were in Toronto, Canada, and things were just going horribly.

So we had a flying carpet that wouldn't fly.

We had a building that wouldn't turn.

We were falling into it.

We had fireworks that were raining down on people.

It was just all kinds of things were going wrong.

And you know New York, or you know, New York.

New York's very sophisticated.

New York was like, "Oh, I heard y'all's show is terrible."

[audience laughing] - Heard that.

- "Heard that it is so not gonna work."

"You know, James, I'm glad you went, but okay."

And I got mad, and I went back to my cast.

I was like, "You know what New Yorkers said about us?

We are going to make work!"

And sure enough, Casey, our director, he and his team, Alan and those guys, they heard the same thing, Chris, they all heard the same thing.

And so they got on the grind, and from Toronto to New York, which was only 2 1/2 weeks, they rewrote the first act and rewrote part of the second act, and then they went and they got the right people to fix our set.

So when we got to New York, people came in already thinking we were going to fail.

And that first night, we had an invited dress.

We performed, and after "Friend Like Me," we had a standing ovation.

[audience applauding] - You knew good work had been done.

- Oh yeah, and also then we had a chip on our shoulder.

We had a chip on our shoulder, because, you know, I'm a firm believer in defending the Disney company.

And I know that they're not perfect, so I'm not gonna sit here and look at you and say they're perfect 'cause I'm waiting for the old, "Oh, Disney doesn't," I get it, I understand.

I also understand the history, too.

I'm a Black man, I get the history.

I know it, I'm a Disney fan.

But Disney Theatrical, they really, really do care about a show, and they want it to be good.

And so I told the kids, I said, "Look, you know, this is like a title now, this is like a boxing title.

We have to defend our title every time we step on that stage.

We have to be the best every time we step on stage."

And I told them, I said, "If I'm gonna, if I want you to do it, I'm gonna do it."

And so every time we stepped on that stage, we decided to kill it no matter what.

Whether we were sick, whether we were tired, we were sleepy, we were gonna do the best show possible.

And that is why "Aladdin" has continued to do what it's done.

- And were you slightly intimidated by taking what Robin Williams did in that animated thing and putting it on the stage?

- Oh, wait, more than slightly.

I am a huge standup comedy fan.

I mean, and Robin is in my Mount Rushmore of comics.

And the one thing that saved me, the one thing that saved me was Jonathan Freeman, the wonderful man, he's the original voice of Jafar.

If you ever heard it in English, it's always him.

He walked up to me, and he said, "Listen, you need to know something.

The Genie was meant to be an African American man."

And I was like, "What?"

He was like, "Howard Ashman and Alan Menken wrote it, if you listen to the music, Genie's music is big band music.

It was written after Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, that's the style they wanted.

But then as things went along, they got Robin."

And he was like, "Also, if you look at the film that it's based on, "Thief of Baghdad," that Genie is also an African American man."

And so once I heard that, I was like, "Okay, I will be Genie-esque and put my comedy on it and hope the audience likes it."

Because when you do something, all you can do is what you can bring to it.

I can't be Robin.

And also in, just like in hip hop and in comedy, you can't bite or steal people's moves.

So I had to create my own, and I just hoped the audience liked it.

And lo and behold, they did.

- It worked out, and you gave quite a commitment to that show.

- Thank you, yes, I did.

- That was great.

[audience applauding] - So where do you go with your dreams after you've, you know, fulfilled them?

Well, you go to, you know, you go to the history books.

Somebody crazy actually put hip hop on Broadway, ha!

[audience laughs] I had talked all that crap about hip hop not being on Broadway, and my boy Lin said, "I know exactly what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna put hip hop on Broadway.

But not just that, I'm gonna take a bunch of white presidents and make them rap, but let Black people do it and Latin people do it and watch what the world does."

[audience laughs] They gave that show every award known to man.

They even made up a few just to give it to 'em.

And they called me and they said, "Hey, you wanna be in Hamilton?"

And I was like, "Oh my god, sure, that'd be cool."

And they were like, "Okay, listen, we want you to play Thomas Jefferson."

I was like, "Listen, man, I understand that.

But you know, I just won a Tony and everything.

So I'd like to play Burr."

And Thomas Kail, who directed, said "No."

And I said, I went to Alex Lacamoire, who's the music director, I said, "Alex, man, look, man, I wanna play Burr."

And he was like, "No."

And then I went to Andy Blankenbuehler, who was the choreographer, and I said, "Yo, man, I wanna play Burr," and he was like, "No."

So I went to Lin, I said, "Lin."

Lin said, "What did Andy, Tommy and Lac say?"

I said, "They said no."

He said, "Would you play Thomas Jefferson?"

I said, "Yes," 'cause I'm not stupid.

[audience laughs] I took the job that was there.

And I had a great time, I had a great time.

I was three years on Broadway with "Hamilton."

We killed it every night.

It was just the most, one of the most amazing experiences of Broadway in my life, but this is not "Hamilton."

This is the JMI show, so I can sing whatever I want.

[audience laughing] [audience applauding] And I would stand on that stage, and I would watch all the Burrs sing this song, and I was like, "One day I'm gonna sing that song."

Today is that day.

[audience laughs] [audience cheering] [audience applauding] - One, two, three.

[bright music] ♪ Theodosia writes me a letter every day ♪ ♪ I'm keeping the bed warm while her husband is away ♪ ♪ He's on the British side in Georgia ♪ ♪ He's trying to keep the colonies in line ♪ ♪ Well, he can keep all of Georgia ♪ ♪ Theodosia, she's mine ♪ ♪ Love doesn't discriminate ♪ ♪ Between the sinners and the saints ♪ ♪ It takes and it takes and it takes ♪ ♪ And we keep loving anyway ♪ ♪ We laugh and we cry and we break ♪ ♪ And we make our mistakes ♪ ♪ And if there's a reason I'm by her side ♪ ♪ When everyone has tried ♪ ♪ Then I'm willing to wait for it ♪ ♪ I'm willing to wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait ♪ ♪ My grandfather was a fire and brimstone preacher ♪ ♪ Preacher, preacher, preacher ♪ ♪ But there are things ♪ ♪ That the homilies and hymns won't teach ya ♪ ♪ Teach ya, teach ya, teach ya ♪ ♪ My mother was a genius ♪ ♪ Genius ♪ ♪ My father commanded respect ♪ ♪ Respect, respect ♪ ♪ When they died they left no instructions ♪ ♪ Just a legacy to protect ♪ ♪ Death doesn't discriminate ♪ ♪ Between the sinners and the saints ♪ ♪ It takes and it takes and it takes ♪ ♪ And we keep living anyway ♪ ♪ We rise and we fall and we break ♪ ♪ And we make our mistakes ♪ ♪ And if there's a reason I'm still alive ♪ ♪ When everyone who loves me has died ♪ ♪ Then I'm willing to wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ I'm willing to wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪ ♪ I am the one thing in life I can control ♪ ♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪ ♪ I am inimitable ♪ ♪ I am an original ♪ ♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪ ♪ I am not falling behind or running late ♪ ♪ Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it ♪ ♪ I am not standing still ♪ ♪ I am lying in wait ♪ ♪ Wait, wait, wait ♪ ♪ Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb ♪ ♪ Climb, climb, climb ♪ ♪ He has something to prove ♪ ♪ He has nothing to lose ♪ ♪ Lose, lose, lose, lose ♪ ♪ Hamilton's pace is relentless ♪ ♪ He wastes no time ♪ ♪ Time, time, time ♪ ♪ What is it like in his shoes ♪ ♪ Hamilton doesn't hesitate ♪ ♪ He exhibits no restraint ♪ ♪ He takes and he takes and he takes ♪ ♪ And he keeps winning anyway ♪ ♪ He changes the game ♪ ♪ He plays and he raises the stakes ♪ ♪ And if there's a reason he seems to thrive ♪ ♪ When very few survive, then goddammit ♪ ♪ I'm willing to wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ I'm willing to wait for it ♪ ♪ Life doesn't discriminate ♪ ♪ Between the sinners and the saints ♪ ♪ It takes and it takes and it takes ♪ ♪ And we keep living anyway ♪ ♪ And we rise ♪ ♪ We rise, we fall, we break ♪ ♪ And we fall ♪ ♪ We make our mistakes ♪ ♪ And if there's a reason I'm still alive ♪ ♪ When so many have died ♪ ♪ Then I'm willing to ♪ [bright music] ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ ♪ Wait for it ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] So over the pandemic, a couple of crazy things happened.

One, we lost our jobs, everything went crazy.

People thought that, people learned to love each other.

People learned to hate each other.

This went, but then so many, so many things happened.

But then all in the middle of all that, I found out that I was a diabetic, and oh my god, it scared the crap outta me.

And it wasn't the fact that I was a diabetic.

It was the fact that all the things I wanted to eat, I couldn't eat anymore.

I walked in the house, and the kids had taken everything sweet out of the house.

It was nothing but just bland bread.

I was like, [stuttering] "Why?

What have I done so wrong?"

But in the fact that I got myself together, somehow I slimmed down, and I lost about 50 pounds.

So if you see pictures of "Aladdin," and you go, "Is that the same dude?"

Yeah, it's the same dude.

He's just smaller now.

And the crazy thing is when I got smaller, it was amazing how many people called.

[laughs] "Chicago" called, and they were like, and my agent said, "'Chicago' wants to see you."

And I was like, "What, for Amos?"

They were like, "No, for Billy Flynn."

And I was like, "Billy Flynn?

You have to be sexy for Billy Flynn."

"But they want you."

I said, "Oh, I guess I'm sexy now."

[audience laughs] - One, two, three.

[whimsical music] ♪ I don't care about expensive things ♪ ♪ Cashmere coats, diamond rings ♪ ♪ Don't mean a thing ♪ ♪ All I care about is love ♪ ♪ That's what I'm here for ♪ ♪ That's what he's here for ♪ ♪ I don't care for wearing silk cravats ♪ ♪ Ruby studs, satin spats ♪ ♪ Don't mean a thing ♪ ♪ All I care about is love ♪ ♪ All he cares about is love ♪ ♪ Give two eyes of blue ♪ ♪ Softly saying ♪ ♪ I need you ♪ ♪ Let me see her standing there ♪ ♪ And honest, mister, I'm a millionaire ♪ ♪ I don't care for any fine attire ♪ ♪ Vanderbilt might admire ♪ ♪ No, no, not me ♪ ♪ All I care about is love ♪ ♪ All he cares about is love ♪ Maybe you think I'm talking about physical love.

Well, I'm not, not just physical love.

There were other kinds of love, like love of justice, love of legal procedure, love of lending a hand to someone who really needs it, love of your fellow man.

That's the kinda love I'm talking about!

And physical love ain't so bad, either.

[audience laughs] [Nadia whistling] In the show, they wanted me to whistle, and I can't whistle.

Thank the Lord for Nadia and the girls in the back, seriously.

♪ It may sound odd, but all I care about is love ♪ ♪ That's what I'm here for ♪ ♪ That's what he's here for ♪ ♪ Ba ba ba ba ba ba boo boo boo ♪ ♪ Ba ba ba boo boo boo ♪ ♪ Honest to God ♪ ♪ All I care about is love ♪ ♪ All he cares about is love ♪ ♪ Show me long, raven hair ♪ ♪ Flowing down about to there ♪ ♪ When I see her running free ♪ ♪ Keep your money, that's enough for me ♪ ♪ I don't care for driving Packard cars ♪ ♪ Or smoking long buck cigars ♪ ♪ No, no, not me ♪ ♪ All I care about is ♪ ♪ Doin' the guy in ♪ ♪ That's picking on you ♪ ♪ Twisting the wrist ♪ ♪ That's turning the screw ♪ ♪ All I care about ♪ ♪ All he cares about ♪ ♪ Is love ♪ ♪ Is love ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] - When, you did Billy Flynn.

- Yes.

Who's a little different than the Genie.

- Yes, very much so.

- Was it fun to sort of put on a different set of clothes?

- Definitely, the fun part about Billy Flynn was that there is a side of me that most people don't know.

Most people know the jovial, joking, always hip hop, blah, blah, side.

But there is a side that's a little like, you know, Billy, and I get that from my dad.

I based my Billy Flynn off of my father.

My father talked like Billy, at least the Billy I played.

He was very theatrical, but he was very deep, always in your face and always serious, and always, you know, he's very, my father was very methodical with the words that he said and how he did it.

And I was like, oh, so when they gave me the script, I was like, "I'm gonna base this on Dad and see what they say."

And they were like, "We love what you're doing."

I was like, "Oh good."

So I called up Dad, I was like, "Hey, all that BS you told me when I was a kid seems to be working for this character, this is great."

So that's [laughs] what I based it on.

- When you did "Memphis."

- Yes.

- An original show, as you pointed out.

When you work with living composers and lyricists, do they ask for your input?

- Yeah, yeah, they do, 'cause what's funny is they write a song, and they have it in their head of how they hear it, or they have a line in their head how they hear it.

And then you say it, and if you say it differently or sing it differently, they either go, "No, I'd rather you stick to the page, but do something over here," or they'll go, "Wow, I didn't even see it like that, do that again."

And with Bobby, they were so focused on Montego and Chad, their characters, you know, with Huey and Felicia that they kinda left J. Bernard, Derrick Baskin, and myself to kind of create our own characters, and then if they liked it, they liked it, and if they didn't, they didn't.

So we really got to, what people don't understand is we were with "Memphis" since 2004.

"Memphis" didn't open on Broadway until 2009, so we got to marinate with those characters for a long time.

So I would walk up to Joe and say, "Hey, can I say it like this, can I say this?"

Or I walk up to David and go, "Can I sing this?"

And David, you know, David Bryan, he's keyboards for Bon Jovi, he loves everything.

He's like, "Yeah, sing anything.

I'm wanna hear it, I don't care."

- Right.

- So we would sing.

He was like, "Yeah, sing higher."

We're like, "No, I don't want it higher, I just want it different."

- Right.

- So they were very open to what was going on.

- It does sound like you are the right person at the right time in the right business.

I have to say.

[James laughing] It's like there isn't a thing that's going on in the business today that you haven't somehow gotten yourself into, or about to, as I certainly feel.

- I think what's great about that wonderful statement is that statement is an Instagram statement.

What I mean by that is when you're on Instagram, you only see the good things that people go through.

You don't see the dips, the downs, the things that, the nos, the closed doors.

So what's great about my career is that I have been blessed enough to be prepared enough for the right thing to happen and me be ready for.

But there have been many things that I've tried, and there are many places I've gone, and the doors have been closed, there's been nos, and there have been many a tear and many are having to pick me up with my wife and them going, "It'll be okay, babe, something will call."

And I'm like, "No one's gonna ever hire me again."

And then something happens, and you go, and all you see is like, "Oh shoot.

Is he in that, too?

Wow!"

So I say that just so that the folks out there who do what we do know, it's not just a "It always happens."

- [Ted] Right.

- You know, it's a real life, it's a real career, but I've been blessed to have a very good one, thank God.

[laughs] [audience applauding] So another thing that happened, I realized that I had finally done everything.

I had done some, I was a cartoon character.

I've been to Broadway, I got a Tony, I was sexy now.

[audience laughs] Everything that happened that I thought was supposed to happen.

I had done all of the dreams that I wanted to do.

And you wanna know something, NJPAC?

I wasn't happy.

It was a really scary reality.

Everything that I had wanted that I thought was gonna make me happy with the exception of my cat and my wife and my kids, 'cause that makes me happy, but all that stuff that I thought was supposed to make me happy didn't make me happy, and I didn't get it.

I didn't understand.

I was like, "This is it.

I was a kid, I dreamed, I made the dream.

I went through the haters, I got to the top.

I'm working with the best people in the world.

What, what happened?"

And I realized something.

I went looking for my dream, but I didn't go looking for me and what do, what does James Iglehart wanna do?

What does he wanna do?

I'm a performer.

What is my job?

It's not making millions of dollars.

It's not being on every television show.

It's not being on every movie.

It's, I have a gift, and that's not being conceited.

I have a gift, and my gift is to make people smile in the times when they don't wanna smile.

My gift is to when people who are actually doing the real work out there, those frontline workers, when they're out there doing the things that they need to do, and they need to get away for a second, and they wanna go watch a TV show or go to Broadway and they see it.

We, we take them away for just a little bit, for two, three hours, 90 minutes, take them away from that craziness so they can find the energy to get back up and do what they do.

But also we, since we're in front of people, have a platform to let people know who those people are and what they do and why they're important and why those people who are on the outside are important.

So this song here is what I can do.

I can sing and tell you this story, and maybe y'all will look at somebody that you don't know a little bit different.

Maybe you guys will see people that you're not used to seeing and see them a little bit different.

Maybe you'll know that somebody who believes doesn't always believe everything that the believers believe because they realize that people are people and a book is a book.

Yeah, I said it, I'm gonna get in trouble for that one.

[audience laughs] Also, my mother loves this song, so I had to sing it.

[audience laughs] [calm music] ♪ Go out and tell our story ♪ ♪ Let it echo far and wide ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ How justice was our battle ♪ ♪ And how justice was denied ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ And say to those who blame us ♪ ♪ For the way we chose to fight ♪ ♪ That sometimes there are battles ♪ ♪ That are more than black or white ♪ ♪ And I could not put down my sword ♪ ♪ When justice was my right ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Go out and tell our story ♪ ♪ To your daughters and your sons ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ And tell them in our story ♪ ♪ We were not the only ones ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ Your sword can be a sermon ♪ ♪ Or the power of the pen ♪ ♪ Teach every child to raise his voice ♪ ♪ And then, my people, then ♪ ♪ Will justice be demanded ♪ ♪ By 10 million righteous men ♪ ♪ Make them hear you ♪ ♪ When they hear you ♪ ♪ I'll be near you ♪ ♪ Again ♪ [powerful music] [audience applauding] [audience cheering] So this next song is one of the reasons why I wanted to do this show.

I was in London, and I saw, I'm a big '80s fan, and I saw "Back to the Future: The Musical."

Yep, "Back to the Future" is a musical, and not only is a musical, but it won the Olivier of 2022 just two weeks ago.

It's a great musical.

Once the DeLorean comes on stage, boy, you forget your life.

[audience laughs] I was like, "Oh, DeLorean, I'm done."

This is the greatest musical ever," went crazy.

But Doc Brown, my friend Roger Bart, sings this song, and it's written by Glenn Ballard and Alan Silvestri, and it's called "For the Dreamers."

And when I heard it, I ran after the show backstage, and he goes, "Hi, James."

I went, "Give me the song!"

He was like, "Hello."

I'm like, "Give me the song!

Oh right, hey Roger, how you doing?

Give me the song!"

[laughs] He was there, the wonderful writers of "Back to the Future" were nice enough to allow me to sing this song, so I hope I do it justice.

It's called "For the Dreamers."

And this is the song that kind of, has kind of been my mantra for the last couple of months.

I just, oh, this is kind of what I, and maybe you, need, you never know.

[gentle music] ♪ So this one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Whoever tried to make it ♪ ♪ Though very few ever break through ♪ ♪ We celebrate them when they do ♪ ♪ Lionize them, call them great ♪ ♪ Ticker-tape parade them ♪ ♪ But this one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Who strive to be a winner ♪ ♪ Go as far as they can take it ♪ ♪ Even if they don't quite make it ♪ ♪ This one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Let's hear it for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Who never stop believing ♪ ♪ One grain of sand becomes a pearl ♪ ♪ A great idea can change the world ♪ ♪ They can see what others won't ♪ ♪ They try things others don't ♪ ♪ So this one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Who live on inspiration ♪ ♪ Go as far as they can take it ♪ ♪ Even if they don't quite make it ♪ ♪ This one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ And I know what it's like to be misunderstood ♪ ♪ And I know how it feels to be told you're no good ♪ ♪ But I couldn't give up ♪ ♪ No, I never could ♪ ♪ But other people take advantage of me ♪ ♪ And my distractions just consumed me ♪ ♪ But for everyone that gets it right ♪ ♪ There are a thousand more that keep up the fight ♪ ♪ They burn the fire into the night ♪ ♪ Until they lose the light ♪ ♪ And some of them we don't even remember ♪ ♪ Or we hear of them again ♪ ♪ So this one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Who got the guts to risk it ♪ ♪ To take a chance on what they think ♪ ♪ Can't stare them down 'cause they won't blink ♪ ♪ Ridicule them, call them out ♪ ♪ No one sees what they're about ♪ ♪ Yes, this one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Whose names we don't remember ♪ ♪ They were close but no cigar ♪ ♪ And we don't know who they are ♪ ♪ This one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ This one's for the dreamers ♪ ♪ Like me ♪ [audience applauding] [audience cheering] Beautiful.

- You sang a song from a musical that has yet to open on Broadway, the "Back to the Future" musical.

- Yes.

- So is that a little preview of something that you might wanna be involved in?

- You know what, honestly, no, no, I would not, and not in a bad way.

I love the show, I think it's great, but there's times I think in an actor's life where an actor goes, "I wanna do everything.

I wanna do this, I wanna do that."

And there's a moment where when you get to a certain maturity of an actor where you go, "You know what, I know what my strengths are, and that's for someone else.

That's a door for someone else to go in and be great in those roles."

I just wanted to bring that song to my public 'cause it's in London right now, and I want people, I love that song, and I want to sing it 'cause it meant something to me.

But I think the show is so much fun.

And it's, the music is fun, the set's fun, the actors.

Roger Bart is just ridiculous as Doc Brown.

He's also a good friend of mine.

So I just love the show, but what I wanna, I'm gonna go see it, if it comes.

All I ask is I go to opening night, that's all I ask.

I just want an opening night ticket, that's all I want, but yeah.

- And of course dreams are there.

- The dreams are there, you know?

- So what's the next big thing for James Monroe Iglehart?

- I have big dreams, I always have, and the next dream is to, I've been on stage a long time, and I enjoy it.

I would like to produce and direct.

I would like to, you know, we always talk about representation, and I think it's time for some brothers who actually know what they're doing to put the spotlight on someone else but also to guide those folks in that spotlight.

And I would love to be one of those guys who is behind the table and directs a musical, directs a play and says, you know, "Let's make some new stars."

- Well, an instinct, from what I've seen of you, I think you're ready for it, and I would encourage you.

- [laughs] Thank you, that's the plan.

[audience applauding] - You also clearly have the patience to put up with how long it takes to get things done in this business.

- Listen, I think you just have to have patience, and that has been a hard lesson for me to learn.

I still struggle with it.

I think anybody who has a dream to do anything struggles with patience, 'cause you want it to happen now.

You want it to happen right now.

And you don't realize that you do have to, this conversation I had with my wife just literally a couple days ago.

You have to crawl before you walk.

You have to walk before you run.

And so that's the patient part.

- And you get to see "Purple Rain" way before you should.

- Oh gosh, yes, and it's so great.

- And you use it later on.

- Whoa, when my mama sees this, oh, she's gonna laugh her face off.

She's, to this day, [laughs] she's still mad.

She's still mad at me like I did it.

She was like, "You made me take you that movie."

I was like, "I didn't know what the movie was gonna be about."

'Cause what I had told her, I didn't say this in the show, what I told her, I said, "Mama, let's go see this film.

This is like Prince's version of "Thriller."

I didn't know what was gonna be in it, but it's one of the best movies I've seen.

[audience applauding] Well, this is the last song, and I chose this song specifically because if you remember in my story, I was 10 years old, and my mama took me to go see "Purple Rain."

And my mama told me that I was not mature enough to sing the songs from "Purple Rain," well.

[audience laughing] I like the people that saw "Purple Rain" are all scared.

"Oh, no, which ones you gonna do?"

[audience laughs] But I'm 47, I pay taxes, I own a home.

I got kids, and I've been married for 20 years.

I think I'm mature enough to sing a song from "Purple Rain."

- Yes!

[audience applauding] But NJPAC, I'ma need your help on this one.

[lively music] All right, y'all, let me hear it, c'mon!

It's a dance, but it's real easy, and I'm gonna need y'all to do it.

It's called The Bird, watch me, I got you.

Here we go, c'mon y'all, squawk!

[lively music] ♪ America, have you heard ♪ ♪ I got a brand-new dance, it's called The Bird ♪ ♪ You don't need no finesse or no personality ♪ ♪ Just get two arms and an attitude ♪ ♪ And everybody try with me, come on now ♪ ♪ Squawk, hallelujah, whoa ♪ With your hands like this, c'mon, y'all ♪ Squawk, hallelujah, here we go, y'all, whoa ♪ ♪ All right, brothers, don't be cool ♪ ♪ Women like it sometimes when you act a fool ♪ ♪ Ladies, don't be shy ♪ ♪ Let your body get loose, you ain't too shy to fly ♪ ♪ Come on now, squawk, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Whoa, c'mon now, here we go ♪ ♪ Squawk, hallelujah, whoa ♪ Listen, and if they packed you in there too tight, I'm gonna need y'all to manage, get up on your feet.

Let me see what you can do.

Can you stand for me?

C'mon, y'all.

And dance with my band.

Here we go, y'all, all right.

♪ America, have you heard ♪ ♪ I've got a whole new dance, it's called The Bird ♪ ♪ You don't need no finesse, no personality ♪ ♪ Just get two arms and a attitude ♪ ♪ And everybody sing with me, come on now ♪ ♪ Squawk, hallelujah, whoa ♪ There you go, mama, c'mon!

♪ Squawk, hallelujah, there you go, yes, whoa ♪ [James laughing] [lively music] Now, when I was in my garage, boy, I was dancing up a storm.

You couldn't tell me nothing.

You know what?

It's better if I just show you.

Yo, band, help a brother out, here we go.

[lively music] [audience cheering] Let's right slide.

Give a slide to the left.

Here's something, two at once.

[lively music] [audience cheering] For the ladies, y'all.

C'mon, all right, ladies and gentlemen.

I hope you had a good time tonight, 'cause I know I did.

I got to live my dreams.

You got to live your dreams, too.

This goes out to all of you, c'mon, y'all, here we go.

[lively music] Thank you!

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] Thank you, NJPAC.

[audience applauding] [audience cheering] [upbeat jazz music] - [Announcer] The "American Songbook Series at NJPAC" is presented through the generous support of the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the David S. Steiner and Sylvia Steiner Charitable Trust, the Joan and Allen Bildner Family Fund, and the Smart Family Foundation, David S. Stone, Esquire, Stone & Magnanini.

♪ Wawawa, hahaha ♪ ♪ So don't just sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed ♪ ♪ I'm here to answer all your midday prayers ♪ ♪ You got me bona fide and certified ♪ ♪ You got a genie for your charge d'affaires ♪ ♪ I got a powerful urge to help you out ♪ ♪ So what's your wish, I really wanna know ♪ ♪ You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt ♪ ♪ But all you gotta do is rub like so ♪ Gimme a doggy bag, I'm taking it home!

♪ Wawawa ♪ ♪ Mr. Aladdin, sir ♪ ♪ Have a wish or two or three ♪ ♪ I'm on the job, you big nabob ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend ♪ ♪ You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend ♪ ♪ Never had a ♪ ♪ Friend like ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wah ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wah ♪ ♪ Me ♪ ♪ Wawawa, wah ♪ ♪ Never had a friend like me, hah ♪