Tina Fey Gets Mean, Taye Diggs Fights Crime & More Lessons of the Week

As we prepare to say sayonara to another week on the Great White Way, we're looking back at some of the headlines that really grabbed our attention this week. From Taye Diggs’ home invasion to the surprising music Barry Manilow uses for inspiration, this week was full of WTF moments. Read on below to recount these stories and more.

Barry Manilow Trances Out to Electronica
Barry Manilow made a career out of sappy  pop ballads. His songs “Mandy” “Looks Like We Made It” and “Even Now” are the soundtrack to a generation's love stories. So it came as a huge surprise when Manilow told us, “Some years I’m into electronica, believe it or not. I do like playing around with my computer and the drum loops and stuff like that.” Who would have guessed this guy (here, here, here) listened to this? Lesson learned: never judge Manilow by his puffy sleeves.

Tina Fey Thinks Mariah Could Be a “Cool Mom”
Tina Fey made headlines this week when she confirmed she's developing a Mean Girls musical. (Great idea, Tina.) Fey didn’t give many hints about the project, but she did say she thinks pop diva Mariah Carey, “can play Amy Poehler’s part in the musical.” Sure, we can picture Mimi as the tracksuit-wearing, margarita-serving “cool mom,” but eight shows a week? Hey, Tina! How about a real Broadway star: Look no further than your former 30 Rock co-star (and Tony winner!) Jane Krakowski. Duh!

Think Twice Before Breaking into Taye Diggs’ Digs
Have no fear, Taye Diggs is here! The Broadway vet swooped into action when he found a would-be burglar in his home after returning from the Screen Actors Guild Awards. While most of us would freeze or scream for help, the former Rent star chased down the villain and detained him until cops arrived to make an arrest. Can't you just imagine Taye ripping off his tux to reveal a superhero insignia while Idina coos, “You’re my hero” in the background? No? Just us?

Joel Grey Really Stunk Up the Cabaret Film
Joel Grey may have won a Tony and Oscar for his role as the Emcee in Cabaret, but during rehearsals for the movie, Grey really stunk…literally. The a relayed a story about using an old tailcoat in rehearsal that “had been worn by many, many, many, many Germans, long before anybody knew about roll-on deodorant.” Perhaps that’s the very reason why Alan Cumming’s Emcee looked like this—problem solved.

Zosia Mamet Dreams of Being a Strung-Out Country Star
Really Really star Zosia Mamet may appear on two of the hottest shows on TV, Girls and Mad Men, but it turns out Mamet’s own fave TV shows are Downton Abby and Nashville. On Show People, host Paul Wontorek asked the young star to choose which of her faves she’d prefer to appear on, and she replied, “if I got to play some sort of strung-out country star on Nashville, I’d probably have to go with that.” Leave it to David Mamet’s daughter to choose a down-on-her-luck character over an well-mannered aristocrat.

Matt Bogart Brings Patrick Swayze Realness to Jersey Boys
Hey, Swayze fans! Are you in need of a fix but can’t sit through another viewing of Ghost, Dirty Dancing or Road House? Well, head on down to the August Wilson Theatre where Matt Bogart is bringing Patrick Swayze realness to the role of Nick Massi. The Jersey Boys star told us that he’s always approached at the stage door by fans who tell him he resembles the late film star. Honestly, we never saw it before, but now it’s the only thing we notice. #BroadwayDoppelgangers

Rachelle Rak Passes “Cha-Cha-Puus” to the Next Generation
One-of-a-kind video blogger Rachelle Rak worked with Dance Moms diva Abby Lee Miller to mentor the next generation of Fosse dancers. The Flashdance star headed to Pittsburgh to groom Abby Lee’s girls in the art of “sass,” “bite the apple” and the all-important “cha-cha-puus.” It really opened our eyes to the similarities between Rak and Jedi Master Yoda: they both speak their own language, they have a strong connection to the force, and they’re ageless. Only Yoda didn’t have the legs of a Vegas showgirl. Love ya, Sas!

Newsies Stars Are Ready for Forbidden Broadway
The young stars of Newsies need to update the Special Skills section of their resumes to include impersonations. Four of the stars joined Susan Blackwell for some fun and games, including the hysterical “Broadway Celebrity.” Corey Cott, Kara Lindsay, Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Ben Fankhauser nailed their impressions of Broadway legends Carol Channing, Patti LuPone and Elaine Stritch. Now the big question, which of you does the best Jeremy Jordan?

For Hot Hollywood Scoops, Head to Northwest Connecticut
Forget Perez Hilton, the big Hollywood scoops apparently now come straight from Connecticut. The Litchfield County Times broke (buried deep in a profile of a music arranger) the news that three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep will star as the Witch in Rob Marshall’s Into the Woods film. We are sending in for a subscription right now. Hey Litchfield, we have your next assignment: Miss Saigon movie casting—Go!

Ben Walker Wants You to Ask About His Mom
And while the entertainment world may be buzzing about Meryl, one person who’s a little tired of being asked to talk about La Streep is her wildly talented son-in-law, Benjamin Walker. “It is interesting: People ask about my mother-in-law but they don’t ask about my mom!” the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof star told us. We’re dying to know about Mama Walker, specifically how we can contact her for embarrassing Ben baby photos. Hit us up, Jeannine!