Cast of 'Toxic Avenger' rings opening bell at NYSE

Diana joined the cast of The Toxic Avenger this morning to participate in the ceremonial ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to commence the beginning of the day's trading session at 9:30 a.m. ET. Watch the video below courtesy of Toxiefans.com:

Diana tweeted about the experience, saying:

we are now in the BOND room @ the NYSE sitting @ the biggest table i have ever seen in my life!! about 8 hours ago from mobile web

the NYSE was AWESOME!!! and they are all such nice people!!! about 5 hours ago from mobile web

Diana also posted a photo of herself on the ride back from the event.

Playbill's "Diva Talk" interviews Diana

Diana took time out of her busy schedule with The Toxic Avenger to chat with Andrew Gans, author of Playbill's "Diva Talk" feature that highlights "the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage."

In the lengthy Q&A, which was published yesterday on Playbill.com, Diana touches on many topics including how she has been adjusting to starring in an Off-Broadway show and what she thinks of the experience thus far. Diana said the following about her debut in Toxic Avenger:

Question: How did your first performance go?

DeGarmo: Great! It was so wonderful. The put-in [rehearsal] was earlier that [same] day, and I thought my head was going to explode, to be honest, because of the rehearsal process. [Laughs.] . . . It was just mainly Nicholas Rodriguez and I, and Keith [Coughlin], our assistant choreographer, and Kelly [Hance], our [production] stage manager. They're trying to play seven different people, and run around, and you can't really get the full feel of everything. And in the first put-in, it was [the addition of] hair, make-up, costume, sound, people! In my head, I literally thought, "Oh my gosh. I'm not going to make it." But I went home, took a nap, didn't stress about it, and just trusted myself, and went back to the theatre a couple hours later, and had a wonderful show. It was a great weekend, and I'm excited to restart this next week, all fresh faced and bushy-tailed! [Laughs.]

Diana also compared her life now to what it was back when she was 17 years-old, and addressed the question of whether she still keeps in touch with her American Idol peers from Season 3, to which she said:

Not really [from] my season anymore. It's just like doing a show. You bond with these people, you become connected, but after a while you just slowly float apart. It stinks, and people change numbers, but life goes on. But thanks to the show, all of us from other seasons automatically have something very unique in common, we've all bonded in different ways. Like Anthony Fedorov and I became buddies. Kimberley Locke and I are really close, from season three. Ironically, I live in Nashville most of the time, and it's become my home base now, and [also living there are] Melinda Doolittle, and Bo Bice, Bucky Covington, Carrie Underwood and Kellie Pickler. It's just a whole long list of Idols that live there, and we keep running into one another. It's fun, and it's a good common thread for us.

She also said Idol will "not be the same" without Paula Abdul as a judge and she spoke of her disappointment over the cancellation of the Broadway revival of Godspell last year.

Diana to host first round of "Next Broadway Sensation"

It was announced on Tuesday that Diana host the first round of the New York Music Theater Festival's "Next Broadway Sensation" competition on Sun., Sept. 13, at New World Stages, which is where Diana is currently starring in the Off-Broadway production of The Toxic Avenger. Per an article published on Playbill.com:

Diana DeGarmo, the "American Idol" contestant and current star of Toxic Avenger, will host the first round of performances on Sept. 13. Guest judges for the competition include Groff (Spring Awakening), Sheik and Case, as well as Orfeh (Legally Blonde), composer Paul Scott Goodman (Bright Lights, Big City, Rooms), Bailey Hanks (Legally Blonde) and Noah Cornman of Sh-K-Boom Records.

Auditions for the contest will be held tomorrow at the Roy Arias Theatre Center and is open to performers 18 years-old and over, and callbacks will take place on Sun., Aug. 30. Rounds two and three will be held on Sun., Sept. 20 and Sun., Oct. 4, respectively.

Diana promotes 'Toxic Avenger' on 'Good Day NY'

In her first week of starring in the Off-Broadway show The Toxic Avenger, Diana stopped by Good Day New York, the local FOX affiliate's morning program, to briefly discuss the show. Diana appeared on Thurs., Aug. 20, and the chat can be viewed below:

In the interview, Diana spoke with the GDNY's co-hosts about the basic plot of Toxic Avenger and also quickly got in a word about how much she will miss Paula Abdul on American Idol.

Diana opens in 'The Toxic Avenger'

Diana made her Off-Broadway debut Friday night with her role as Sarah, the blind librarian, in the production of The Toxic Avenger in New York City. The role is much different than anything Diana has taken on to date, as she recently told TheaterMania:

It's funny because the more I get into this show, the more I think Sarah is a lot like Penny -- minus the blind part, which is completely new and a little terrifying. But she is different! One reason I wanted to do this show is because it's the first female lead role I've had where I'm not playing a young girl or someone super-duper sweet, which is what everybody expects from me. I call Sarah the lady on the street but a freak in the bedroom -- she's that kind of girl and I like it.

A photo of Diana taken during the finale courtesy of BackseatCuddler is up on the right. Diana will star in Toxic until February 2010.

Diana talks "Toxic" with TheaterMania

Ahead of her debut Friday in the Off-Broadway production of The Toxic Avenger, Diana spoke with TheaterMania.com about the role and how it compares with musicals she has starred in in the past. The interview, which was conducted by Brian Scott Lipton, touched on topics such as how she landed the role of Sarah the blind librarian and whether or not she considered dyeing her hair blonde for the role.

When it came to her take on the different responses different audiences have had depending on where a musical was held, Diana compared the audiences of New York, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City:

In L.A, I think the audiences weren't always as responsive as we expected, but we got great reviews and great feedback, especially from Mr. Bacharach and Mr. David, who came to see the show. Oklahoma was great because people were so appreciative. They just loved every second of us being there. And New York's always cool, because people come to the theater all the time and it's a part of life here.

To close out the interview, Diana was asked whether she would rather win a Tony or Grammy award. After first stating it would be like asking "which kid you like best," she said:

But when you are out on stage, there's no auto-tune; there's no let's do it one more time, there's no second chance - it's what you see is what you get. Only God knows how many times a recording might have been tweaked. But just give me one nomination -- for either award -- and I would be like "yes!"

Diana's three-month engagement in The Toxic Avenger begins Fri., Aug. 14 at 8 p.m. at the New World Stages, and special discounted tickets are available for those who become a fan of the show by visiting its web site.