I don't know if you're up on your traditional Hump Day lore, but it turns out that the phrase originally came not from the fact that once you're past Wednesday, you're over the hump in the week, but from an ancient tradition to see at least one image every week that you want to hump silly. And on Wednesday, for me, that is the first photo of Taye Diggs from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, in the full makeup he'll be wearing to take over the titular role on Broadway.
After enjoying a successful, two-year run Off-Broadway in 1998, the show was revived for the Broadway stage last year with Diggs' fellow extremely gorgeous celebrity Neil Patrick Harris in 2014, who won the 2014 Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for his performance. Harris was replaced by Andrew Rannells, of Girls and Book of Mormon fame, then by Dexter star Michael C. Hall, the show's co-writer John Cameron Mitchell, and Glee 's Darren Chris, whose run ended when Diggs took over on Jul. 22. And now for some numbers to make you feel smart. Diggs is the sixth actor in the role, will star in the production for 12 weeks, and hasn't been on Broadway in over 10 years — his last appearance was filling in for Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero in Wicked in 2004, opposite his then-wife Idina Menzel as Elphaba. (RIP cutest Broadway marriage ever.)
So obviously times, they have a-changed since then, and I personally couldn't be more excited to see Diggs take on the role of the East German, genderqueer musician Hedwig, victim of a not-quite-complete sex change operation. And as it happens, Diggs feels pretty much the same way. "Hedwig is the role of a lifetime. I'm looking forward to being challenged performance-wise on many levels, as well as being humbled by the musical's social implications. I also like wearing nail polish."
And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for, here's the first photo of Diggs as Hedwig. Or Heddiggs, as I'll now be exclusively referring to him.
Seriously, gotta go now and buy 10,000 tickets to this show, talk to you later, byeeeeee.
