Pop star Taylor Dayne will conclude her Broadway bow on Sept. 8, when she leaves the cast of the Broadway musical Aida. The one-time FM power ballad queen began her stay as the story's Egyptian queen Amneris on Feb. 27, becoming the first to follow original Amneris, Sherie Rene Scott, into the role.
The slinky, blonde-tressed Dayne dominated the pop charts in the late '80s and early '90s with such power ballads as "Tell It to My Heart," "Don't Rush Me," "Prove Your Love" and "I'll Be Your Shelter." By the mid-'90s, however, she had all but disappeared from view.
Disney has, in the past, cast pop stars in its Broadway musicals, Toni Braxton's tenure in Beauty and the Beast being the most notable example. Both Scott and Pascal have carried on double careers as actors and recording artists.
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Idina Menzel and Adam Pascal weren't a couple in Rent (he was the straight Roger and she the proud bisexual Maureen), but they're going to give romance a shot in Broadway's Aida. Menzel will take over the role of clothes horse queen Amneris on Sept. 11 in the Elton John-Tim Rice piece, slipping into the character's headdress after Dayne departs on Sept. 8. Adam Pascal remains with the show, playing royal hunk and Amneris' love interest, Radames. A day after Dayne's last performance, on Sept. 9, the original Aida herself, Heather Headley, will exit the long-running musical. Maya Days will take her place. The cast changes will leave Pascal as the only one of the three original leads still with the production.
Menzel's and Days' tenure will be relatively short, however. Beginning in January 2002, Simone will step into the role of Aida, and Felicia Finley will become the new Amneris. Simone is currently playing the title role on the road.
Since Rent, Menzel has belted her way through parts in Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party and the Off-Broadway bound Summer of '42, as well as playing assorted gigs at Joe's Pub in lower Manhattan.
Aida opened at the Palace Theatre on March 23, 2000, becoming Disney's third Broadway musical and its first not based on an existing animated movie. Robert Falls directed.
