WAKE UP with BWW 7/22/2015 - Taye Diggs as HEDWIG and More!

By: Jessica Showers Jul. 22, 2015

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Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: Taye Diggs steps into HEDWIG's stilettos, AMERICAN IDIOT and SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD open in London, JOHN begins off-Broadway, Valerie Harper returns to the stage, and more!

TODAY'S TOP ITEMS:

- Taye Diggs takes over the title role in Broadway's HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH tonight!
- The UK's Amelia Lily-led AMERICAN IDIOT opens tonight in the West End.
- SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD, starring Cynthia Erivo, begins tonight in London...
- Annie Baker's JOHN begins previews this evening off-Broadway.
- Sally Struthers & Valerie Harper lead 'NICE WORK', starting tonight at Ogunquit Playhouse!
- And be sure to set your DVR! Kristin Chenoweth visits JAMES CORDEN tonight.

James Barry in 'BUDDY' at The Muny!

NEWS YOU MISSED YESTERDAY:

- Marlee Matlin will make her Broadway debut in Deaf West's SPRING AWAKENING!
- TUCK EVERLASTING is slated to open at the Broadhurst Theatre in April...
- John Bolton, Lesli Margherita, Mara Davi and more round out the cast for Broadway's DAMES AT SEA.
- Ashley Brown, Ben Davis & Kerstin Anderson will star in THE SOUND OF MUSIC national tour!
- We got a fresh look (right) at 'BUDDY' at The Muny, plus a peek at this year's Fire Island Dance Festival!
- THE VISIT recording debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Cast Albums Chart.
- Vanessa Hudgens, Misty Copeland & Rita Moreno are among the 2015 Industry Dance honorees...
- And FIDDLER ON THE ROOF & THE SOUND OF MUSIC star Theodore Bikel passed away at 91.

Broadway Weather Forecast: Sunny with a high of 87 degrees and low humidity. Thank you, summer!

Quote of the Day: A word from Broadway's new HEDWIG, Taye Diggs...

"I complained to my mother about wanting to look less like myself and more like my friends. My mother then gave me a lesson in embracing my differences and loving them despite what others said."
-- Taye Diggs (via BrainyQuote)

What we're watching: The new trailer for BIG SKY, starring Aaron Tveit, Bella Thorne and Kyra Sedgwick!

And a Happy Birthday shout-out to Alan Menken, who turns 66 today!

Prolific composer and lyricist Alan Menken's most recent projects are his new musical The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and the stage adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Stephen Schwartz. Among his Broadway credits are Aladdin, Leap of Faith, Newsies (which earned him a 2012 Tony for Best Original Score), Sister Act, The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors, King David and Beauty and the Beast. His scores for Disney's animated films The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Pocahontas have each won him two Oscars, and he has also written music for Hercules, Home on the Range, The Shaggy Dog, Enchanted, Tangled, Mirror Mirror and more. Menken recently worked on the musical comedy TV extravaganza Galavant, and has a Mrs. Doubtfire musical and a bio-musical about Roy Rogers and Dale Evans -- titled Happy Trails -- development.

Alan Menken at the opening night of Broadway's ALADDIN.
Photo by Walter McBride

See you bright and early tomorrow, BroadwayWorld!

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