Taye Diggs breaks silence on crippling fear before stage return

Taye Diggs recently got candid and opened up about his fears of returning to Broadway after 10 years.

For the unversed, the 54-year-old American actor and singer is now playing an eloquent Duke of Monroth in Moulin Rouge! The Musical for the first time on a New York City stage in ten years.

He was last seen on stage in summer 2015 when he starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and has done shows such as the first version of Rent, Wicked, and Chicago.

On the Thursday, July 31 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Diggs articulated his thoughts about his return to Broadway, saying, “I was so petrified to get up on this stage this time around. It’s been 10 years."

The Equilibrium star went on to describe how he needed some serious mental readjustment before stepping onto the stage for live performance.

He recalled, "My first day of rehearsal... they used all these covers and understudies. And they know five and six different roles, can dance and sing. Right in the middle of the afternoon they're just kicking and singing and telling me where to go. Just the level of talent out here, it's embarrassing to L.A.!"

“L.A. makes you soft, it really does. Being in front of a television camera, you get take after take after take. You can make up the lines if you want. On stage, you gotta be word perfect. There’s an audience right there. You have all these unbelievably talented people supporting you, so I don’t want to let them down. It’s a lot,” the Make Me Happy crooner admitted.

"I thought it would just be cute and s**** but it's way more work than I thought," he noted before adding, "It's very humbling. They're ridiculously talented. I'm literally star-struck."

It is pertinent to mention that Taye Diggs started performing in Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Tuesday, July 22, and will stay in the show until Sunday, September 28, 2025.