Exclusive: Private Practice Diggs a Visit from Idina Menzel

Taye Diggs is bringing his home to work with him.

The Private Practice star's real-life wife, Tony winner Idina Menzel, will guest-star on the ABC series later this season, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.

In multiple episodes, Menzel will play the mother of a patient tended to by Pete (Tim Daly). To hear one source tell it, Pete's special brand of "bedside manner" might bring about an attraction between him and Menzel's character. At this early stage, it's unclear if Menzel and her main man will share many scenes.

Menzel met Diggs in 1995, when they were both cast in the New York Theatre Workshop production of Rent. They went on to costar in two other stage productions, including Broadway's Wicked (for which Menzel won a Tony, playing "bad witch" Elphaba).

Menzel's most recent TV gig was a pair of episodes of 2005's Kevin Hill, which starred — wait for it — Taye Diggs.