Taye Diggs, Moulin Rouge!'s Next Duke, Isn't Willing to Let Broadway Go

Wait, can this be true? It’s been a full decade since Taye Diggs last appeared on Broadway?! For what it’s worth, he can’t believe it either. “I spent so much time being excited to come back,” he says, “that I forgot just how much work it takes. Doing TV and films in Los Angeles all these years made me soft!”

The veteran star will show off all his hard-earned talents starting July 22 in Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Al Hirschfield Theatre. Diggs is stepping into the role of the Duke of Monroth—and as fans of the 2001 Baz Luhrmann film and the Tony-winning musical already know, he’s the controlling nobleman who finances the titular Parisian nightclub and lusts after Satine. The character also croons an especially sinister version of The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.” (Diggs is staying on until September 28; Wayne Brady, who starts playing club owner Harold Zidler on the same date, will perform through November 9.)

Diggs, of course, originated the role of Benjamin Coffin III in the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent in 1996. Since then, he’s taken the stage in the likes of Chicago (2002), Wicked (2003-04) and—yes, most recently—Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2015). But a week ahead of his opening night, Diggs admits to some newbie-like jitters. “I’ve been telling my friends not to mess with me now because I’m going over all the lines and the songs and the choreography and I can’t release any of it from my brain,” he explains. Following a six-hour rehearsal day, he talked to Broadway.com.

How are rehearsals going? You sound ready!

I’m nervous every day! In TV and film, I don’t have to memorize the lines completely. You can have the general idea, but you can play around with some of the words. With a show like this, you want to respect the writer and get it word-perfect. That can be really tough. Once I open, I will pat myself on the back and have a drink!

Why did you decide to come back to Broadway after such a long hiatus?

I was starting to get scared. It had gotten to the point where I would be visiting [New York] and be in my head about it; I was so much in awe of what people were doing on stage that it made me feel uncomfortable. I'd heard nightmare stories of stage actors that had gone to TV and film and had tried to go back to stage and got so scared that they never did it again. I didn’t want to be one of those actors because I love it too much. So I said, “I gotta get back here.”

And how did you end up in Moulin Rouge!?

This is one of my favorite shows on Broadway. I’ve seen it, like, eight times. I love how they take all of these pop songs and intertwine it in such a way that the story is still so emotional and layered. Then there's a show within the show, and there’s a love story. I'm a hopeless romantic! But I always thought there was no way I could do it because it seemed way too much work. Now that I’m in the middle of the rehearsal process, it’s really been a trip. Broadway is always cool, period. But when you get to sing cool pop songs on Broadway with a funky arrangement, it’s like magic. And to be playing a role that keeps you hopping and bopping is crazy.

How are you putting your own spin on the Duke?

I can see what I want the character to be, but I’ve got to get the lines and the choreography done first. Once those elements are solid, I’m really going to open up. Wayne and I already have a rapport, so we're playing off of each other. That’s going to be interesting and different because of our pre-existing relationship. We both love comedy, so there's going to be a little bit of that in there. And culturally, we're going to do a little something funky. So I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of Duke I'm going to come up with as well.

Is it more challenging when you’re taking over a role or creating it from scratch like in Rent?

When you're taking over. There's more time when you're originating—and if you're originating, you don't have to match anybody else. It's still fun. For me now, it’s like the train has already left the station. I need to jump on it while it’s still moving. When you're originating the role, the train is stationary, and then you start moving slowly and then pick up speed. I'm very proud of that analogy.

Have you watched the original film to prepare?

I will watch it because it's so great. I’m a Baz fan, and I remember tripping out the first time I saw the movie in a theater. There was nothing like it at the time! But I can’t watch it right now because if there’s any space in my head, it's being filled with what I need to learn for the show. The last thing I want to do is learn lyrics wrong when I’m trying so hard. So for my preparation, I’m watching the cast already on stage.

Are you going to be nervous on opening night?

Oh yeah. I’ve been telling all my people to come on opening night, and then to come back and see it again just to see how much it's growing. It’s going to be really, really great when I open, but once I get a couple of shows under my belt, a comfort level will have been gained.

Do you have any longstanding preshow superstitions?

No, no, no, no, no. I just like to go over the show completely in my head. I remember I was doing A Soldier's Play [off-Broadway in 2005], and the one day that I didn't go over the whole show was the one day that I forgot my lines and started repeating the opening monologue. That night remains in my head.

Nothing like stage life, right?

Oh, there's no contest. I love it. And it's just so great to be reminded of the talent here in this city. These kids are just walking the streets! I'm just bowled over. On a Tuesday afternoon, these performers may not even know what they’re going to do that night because they’re covering for three or four roles. And they know all of them!

So as a 30-year Broadway veteran, what does this opportunity mean to you?

I'm just really excited. Very rarely do you get opportunities to play a role that you watch and are inspired by and hope to do. I've been blessed to have done a lot, and it's great to be able to still get up there and do it. It's like after a certain age, you feel like you're not going to have any more dreams come true. This one actually did.