Taye Diggs to Join Wife Menzel in Wicked Stint

Wicked leading lady Idina Menzel will soon be joined onstage by her husband, Taye Diggs. Diggs has been tapped to step in for the ailing Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, the love interest of both his wife's Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth's Glinda, from December 25 through January 18.

"This is going to be fun for me," Menzel told Broadway.com. "I miss Norbert a lot, but this is a little holiday gift. We'll spend Christmas with Taye's family--because I am Jewish, so I just go where I'm told--and then we'll come here and celebrate Christmas on stage together, which is just incredible for me."

Menzel and Diggs, who were married January 11 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, met and fell in love while they appeared together as part of the original cast of Rent. They also appeared together in The Wild Party at Manhattan Theatre Club. Diggs' performance in that musical earned him an Outer Critics' Circle Award nomination. He was most recently seen on the New York stage as sleazy lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago. Diggs made his film debut in 1998 opposite Angela Bassett in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. His other movies roles have includedChicago, Malibu's Most Wanted, Basic, Brown Sugar, Equilibrium, The Best Man, The Way of the Gun, House on Haunted Hill, The Wood and Go. He is currently completing production on the film Drum in South Africa. Diggs is also known for his recurring role on TV's Ally McBeal.

"Taye has always been a huge fan of the show," Menzel said. "I really didn't think it would work out, but I am excited that it did! He is excited to learn a new role, and he loves what the show stands for--it is perfect."

Butz has been out of Wicked since November 23 with a back injury. He is now on a medical leave-of-absence until January 20. Kristoffer Cusick has been playing Fiyero since Butz's departure and will continue to do so until Diggs joins the cast.

Wicked continues to star Chenoweth, Menzel, Carole Shelley, Joel Grey, Michelle Federer, William Youmans and Christopher Fitzgerald. Despite a mixed critical reception, the show has great word-of-mouth and has been a big box office hit. Last week it was the second highest grosser on Broadway with a take of $1,010,245, the second consecutive week it topped $1million.