The next Hedwig is… Taye Diggs!
The actor will make his return to the Broadway stage as the title role in the Tony award winning musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” making him the first African-American to play the role in New York.
According to The New York Times, this casting has been rumored for days, but was finally confirmed by the show’s lead producer, David Binder, on Monday.
“Taye is fantastic — he has theater cred, he has pop culture cred, he can sing, he can act, he can dance, he’s smart and he’s sexy,” Binder said in an official statement, “That’s why we cast him.”
Diggs is no stranger to Broadway. He was a member of the original cast of “Rent.” He also has appeared in “Chicago” and Wicked. This will be the actor’s first performance since his appearance in the 2005 Off Broadway production “A Soldier’s Play,” as noted by Variety.
Diggs has some big shoes to fill. Several talented actors have already played the iconic role of Hedwig since it opened in 2014 including Neil Patrick Harris, John Cameron Mitchell, Andrew Rannells, Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and Glee’s Darren Criss.
Diggs will make his big Hedwig debut on July 22.