Interview: James Monroe Iglehart Gives Us His Takes on Boy Bands, Karaoke, and Codpieces

James Monroe Iglehart has longed to be in a boy band for decades, so it’s only fitting that the Tony winner finally saw that dream become a reality—twice this year.

Following a guest spot as a member of a glee club on HBO’s And Just Like That…, Iglehart took on the Du Bois Band in Broadway’s Tony-nominated & Juliet on August 5. As he steps into the tight pants of Lance Du Bois, a hard-headed father who is reunited with his long-lost love Angélique (Cheryl Porter), Iglehart (Aladdin) reflects on the full-circle experience that brought him to Verona at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Iglehart spoke with TheaterMania about bringing his own lessons from fatherhood to Lance, the boy band he envisions bringing to the stage one day, and his go-to karaoke song.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

This is the second time you’ve played a character named Lance!
That was the first thing fans of Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventures said when they heard. The creator even called me laughing and was like, “Oh, so you’re just stealing the name?” But if you look at Lance’s outfit, with the exception of the codpiece, they are actually very similar. When the news came out about Lance Du Bois, all I heard about was “Lance” and the pants.

If someone were to have told up-and-comer James that he would one day be singing boy band hits, how would he have responded?
“That’s as it should be.” Young man James was trying to be in a five-person group since he saw Motown 25 in 1983 with Michael Jackson and the Temptations. A few weeks later I saw the video for New Edition’s “Candy Girl,” and I was hooked. In junior high, high school, and college I tried to start a group. So now, the fact that I get to at least do it for two minutes in & Juliet is a dream come true.

If you could start your own boy band, who would you ask to join and what would you call it?
I have always thought it would be fun to do a musical about a washed-up, three-hit-wonder boy band. They end up having a reunion as older men in their 40s or 50s. I want it to be called the DOMs, Dirty Old Men. I would want Ephraim Sykes, Dewitt Fleming Jr., Daniel Watts, Nik Walker, Chris Jackson, and James T. Lane. I would probably call Joey Fatone as a consultant. We spoke for a couple of days and laughed [as he was wrapping up his run in & Juliet], and I kept saying, “Were we separated at birth?”

Has Shakespeare ever been a part of your repertoire?
Yes, in college. I never got to actually do any of his shows, but I thoroughly appreciate Shakespeare. I’ve always had an appreciation for Romeo and Juliet because it’s fun to think about the fact that when you’re a young person in love, old people tell you that you don’t know what you’re talking about. The love you feel at that age is real love.

Lance is an entirely new character in the Romeo and Juliet universe, so you’re able to make him entirely your own. How are you doing that?
The fun part is that I am a dad who loves boy bands, who loves performing, and who loves bigger-than-life moments. Lance is all of that. I love the other side of Lance who just wants to protect his son. He has never asked his son what he wants or what type of person he wants to be with. He just says, “There are girls here. Find one. Date her.” One thing I have tried to do in my household is break the chains of generational trauma so things that have been taught to me that I didn’t like, I deliberately do not do that to my kids. It’s fun to play a character who is actually realizing that in real time.

Lance’s costume is quite memorable, between the tight pants and large codpiece. What is it like to wear those?
The first time I saw them at a performance in London I howled. I said, “Lord, why?” Immediately the photos came out and my friend texted me, “Yo man, I’m coming to see you just to see you in those pants.” It’s a great costume. And any time I get to wear a cape, I’m happy.

Which of the songs in & Juliet would be your go-to karaoke song?
Probably “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” which I get to sing in the boy band. I like “It’s My Life,” by Bon Jovi. I got to work with David Bryan [in Memphis] years ago, and I have always been a Bon Jovi fan, so there’s something about being able to scream that.

This is actually the second time this year that you were in a boy band.
That’s right! I was in Chris Jackson’s college boy band in And Just Like That…. It was fun. Chris Jackson and I have known each other for years, he is family. I love that man to my soul. If he calls, I say yes.

What was it like to celebrate 10 years of Hamilton with Chris?
It was wonderful and extremely nostalgic. It was a different feeling to have everyone back in the building. There were so many casts there. I was on Broadway with it for three years, but this is a 10-year period. So many people have come through, and to see everybody so excited to be a part of this was really fun.

You co-directed A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, for which you were also nominated for a Tony for your performance as the iconic singer. How do you envision yourself directing again?
I have a new show called The Funkentine Rapture. I am really concentrating on being behind the table. I love creating. Once I started working on Louis Armstrong, that was it for me. Will I stop performing? No, my ego is way too big for that.