Taye Diggs Gets Early Start as Wicked's Fiyero

Those in the audience of the December 22 performance of Wicked got a special treat--Taye Diggs, who was not scheduled to begin performances in the musical until Christmas, went on for the first time as Fiyero. The actor, husband of leading lady Idina Menzel, will now remain in the show until the end of his scheduled engagement on January 18.

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.

Diggs has stepped in for the ailing Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero, the love interest of both his wife's Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth's Glinda. 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 had been playing Fiyero since Butz's departure.

Wicked continues to star Chenoweth, Menzel, Carole Shelley, Joel Grey, Michelle Federer, William Youmans and Christopher Fitzgerald.