James Monroe Iglehart to Direct GUYS AND DOLLS at STAGES St. Louis

On Friday at the STAGES St. Louis Applause Gala, Tony Award winner and guest performer James Monroe Iglehart made a big announcement. Midway through his set, Iglehart shared with the several hundred supporters in attendance that he will be directing next summer’s production of Guys & Dolls at STAGES St. Louis.

Iglehart told Broadway World that he’s very familiar with the Frank Loesser musical. His most recent experience with it was when he starred as Nathan Detroit opposite Jessie Mueller as Miss Adelaide in the 2023 Lincoln Center production. The Tony winners were joined by Stephen Pasquale and Philippa Soo as Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown in an all-star version of Guys and Dolls.

Playing lead roles in Guys & Dolls runs in the Iglehart family. His father was cast in a high school production as Sky Masterson. He shared that at the time his father did the role the high school had two different casts performing the show, one all black and one all white. “It was the 1960s. Once they cast my dad as Sky, the school decided they couldn’t have a black Sky and a white Sarah, so they had two separate casts,” he shared.

Iglehart credits his parents with inspiring his love of musical theater. “When I was a kid we would listen to all different types of music, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, opera, and musical theater cast recordings. I loved Singing in the Rain, Holiday Inn, and The Wiz.” He recalled how often he would rent movie musicals from the video store to take home and watch.

Iglehart sang “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” as one of the two songs he used for high school solo competitions. “I would sing that and Home from The Wiz as my two performance pieces.” He continued, “I was never awarded a superior rating and that was disappointing.” Iglehart said that he later realized he didn’t have enough life experience to really sell that number.

He went to college as a music major but found his way to performing in a summer production of Oklahoma. That’s when he switched his major at Cal State Hayward. He earned degrees in theatrical acting and directing.

When asked about the role that was career defining, he quickly mentioned his Tony Award winning performance in Aladdin. “Playing the Genie put my name on the map,” he laughed, “after Aladdin everyone could pronounce my last name correctly.”

Iglehart’s biggest challenge came when he played Louis Armstrong and co-directed the Broadway production of A Wonderful World. “I had to be someone real. I’ve never studied more for a role in my entire life. I read both of his biographies, studied his facial expressions, how he smiled, his mannerism, and how he played the trumpet,” Iglehart said. He shared the role of Louis Armstrong with alternate James T. Lane because of the physical demands on his voice. Iglehart played the role six times each week and Lane was on stage twice each week.

All his work perfecting his portrayal of Louis Armstrong paid off. Iglehart received his second Tony nomination for the role. “It’s ironic, the most notable role was the one I won the Tony, and the most challenging role earned me a Tony nomination,” he said.

 Iglehart is looking forward to directing Guys and Dolls at STAGES St. Louis next summer. “I cannot wait to present it to the audience next year and I hope they are surprised with how we’re doing it. I’m not going to say too much because I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but I’m going to be doing something really interesting with it.” He hopes the audience will like the different style of the show, be entertained, have a great time, and enjoy the production.

The James Monroe Iglehart directed production of Guys and Dolls will play the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center as part of STAGES St. Louis 2026 Season. Performances of Guys and Dolls begin July 24th and run through August 23, 2026.

In addition to the classic musical Guys and Dolls, STAGES season will open with the hilarious 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (May 29th – June 28th) and the emotionally uplifting Come From Away (September 18th – October 18th.)

St. Louis Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

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10.4% of votes

2. THE PROM (Gateway Center for Performing Arts)

7.3% of votes

3. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL (Alton Little Theater)

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