Adam Pascal

Adam Pascal (born October 25, 1970) is an American actor, singer, and musician, known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson's musical ''Rent'' on Broadway, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway tour of ''Rent'' in 2009. He is also known for originating the role of Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice's ''Aida'', for playing the Emcee in the 1998 revival of ''Cabaret'', and for playing Huey Calhoun in the Broadway company of ''Memphis''. More recently, he played William Shakespeare in the Tony Award-winning musical ''Something Rotten!''

Early life

Pascal was born in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in Woodbury, Nassau County, New York, with his mother, Wendy (née Frishman), and stepfather, Mel Seamon. He was raised Jewish. He graduated from Syosset High School. He then graduated from New York Institute of Technology. Before his interest in music, he was a personal trainer. Although he began as a rock musician playing in a number of bands (such as Mute) formed with his schoolmates, Pascal became drawn to musical theater.

Career

Stage work

A friend of his from high school (Idina Menzel's boyfriend at the time) mentioned ''Rent'' to him. On a whim, he auditioned and was cast as the HIV-positive rock guitarist Roger Davis. His powerful tenor voice and his performance in ''Rent'' earned him a Tony nomination, a Theater World award, and an Obie Award. He left the show on November 2, 1997, but went on to reprise Roger when ''Rent'' opened in London.

The role helped Pascal gain fame on Broadway, and he was cast in the Elton John and Tim Rice musical ''Aida'' as the Egyptian general Radames with the original and final casts (former ''Rent'' castmate Idina Menzel would co-star as Amneris in 2001), and Kander and Ebb's ''Cabaret'', appearing in the show as the Emcee (closing cast). He also participated in several charity performances, including ''Chess'' in 2003 (playing the American, Freddie Trumper), ''Hair'' in 2004 (singing "I Got Life"), and the ''24 Hour Plays'' in 2005. He returned to ''Aida'' in 2004 to close the run of the show as Radames.

Along with original Broadway ''Rent'' cast member Anthony Rapp (Mark Cohen), Pascal returned to Broadway to star as Roger in ''Rent'' from July 30 to October 7, 2007. In January 2009, he and Rapp reprised their originating (and film) roles as Roger and Mark in ''Rent: The Broadway Tour'', which played in many cities in North America, as well as stops in Japan and South Korea. At the tour's Detroit, Michigan stop in February, Pascal suffered two herniated discs in his neck and was on medical leave for a week. His role was filled in by Cary Shields, who had played "Roger" in the Broadway, Canadian, "Benny" National Tour productions. Pascal made a full recovery and finished up the tour in early 2010. This tour closed on February 7, 2010.

Pascal reprised the role of Frederick Trumper, aka "Freddie, The American" in the London concert version of ''Chess'' at the Royal Albert Hall on May 12–13, 2008. His ''Rent'' and ''Aida'' co-star Idina Menzel played Florence. This performance was recorded; it has been televised, first on American and British television on June 17, 2009, and repeatedly in America on PBS stations as part of that network's "Great Performances" series; and has been released on DVD.

Pascal joined the Broadway cast of ''Memphis'' on October 25, 2011, as Huey Calhoun. He replaced original cast member Chad Kimball in the role. He remained in the ''Memphis'' cast until the show's closure on August 5, 2012.

Beginning April 8, 2013, Pascal starred as Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway revival of ''Chicago''. His last performance as Billy was June 16, 2013.

On November 7, 2016, Pascal joined the Broadway company of ''Something Rotten!'' as William Shakespeare in the show's closing cast. He also played the same role for the entirety of the show's first national tour alongside Rob McClure, Josh Grisetti, and Leah Hofmann, who were also in the closing cast of the show.

In late 2021, Pascal began performances as Edward Lewis in the U.S national tour of '' Pretty Woman: The Musical'', a role which he had played on Broadway from January 15 to 20, 2019.

Music

Pascal believed he was looked upon solely as a Broadway singer, and thus returned to his rock and roll roots with a solo recording contract on Sh-K-Boom Records, which was founded by his ''Aida'' costar, Sherie Rene Scott and her husband Kurt Deutsch. He has released two solo rock albums, ''Model Prisoner'' (2000) and ''Civilian'' (2004), as well as a collaborative rock album ''Blinding Light'' (2008) with pianist Larry Edoff. He also contributed a cover of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" to the CD ''Broadway Cares: Home for the Holidays'' (2001); the end credits song, "Winter Light", from the movie '' Noel'' (2004); and the song "Perfect Place" on the album ''Listen'' which showcases songs written by adolescents who stutter (2009). In ''School of Rock'', he played Theo, lead singer of the band No Vacancy, and sang on two songs on the soundtrack.

On July 4, 2006, Pascal took part in the Macy's Fourth of July Celebration. He sang during the traditional fireworks display. He also performed in both the fifth- and tenth-anniversary celebrations of ''Rent'' on Broadway, in 2000 and 2005, respectively.

Pascal formed the band "Me and Larry (Edoff)" in 2006. The two musicians began composing and performing original material and reworked Broadway songs in small venues throughout the US. Pascal won the 2007–2008 Golden Icon Award for Best Small Venue Concert. The band's first CD, ''Blinding Light'', was released in May 2008 on Pascal's own label. The CD is available at concerts and through Amazon and the band's website (where a direct digital download is available).

Pascal is developing a theatrical stage version of the classic 1988 concept album, '' Operation: Mindcrime'' by the progressive metal band, Queensrÿche. The band is one of Pascal's musical influences, and has fully endorsed his efforts.

Film work

Pascal made his film debut in ''SLC Punk!'' (1999) and also appeared in ''School of Rock'' (2003) and ''Temptation'' (2004). The audio for ''Temptation'', a musical, was recorded live on set during filming.

In late 2005, he, along with five others of the principal cast, reprised their roles in the film version of ''Rent'', directed by Chris Columbus. Pop idol Justin Timberlake was considered for the role of Roger, but Columbus decided to stick with the original cast members. The film released on November 23, 2005.

In the independent movie ''Falling Star'' (formerly titled '' Goyband''), Pascal stars as a former boy-band icon who is booked to play a show at a Kosher hotel but ends up shocking the guests with his sexy show. Fans were invited to participate in the movie as extras for the concert scenes. His co-stars are Amy Davidson, Cris Judd, Tovah Feldshuh, Dean Edwards, Tibor Feldman, and Natasha Lyonne. ''Goyband'' originally premiered at the Jerusalem Films Festival in December 2008. Its North American premiere was July 2009, on Long Island. The movie was bought by distributor MarVista Entertainment, which retitled it ''Falling Star''.

Pascal also filmed another independent movie, ''American Primitive'', about a gay couple who try to hide their relationship from family and neighbors in 1973, a few years following the Stonewall Riots.

Pascal reprised his role from ''SLC Punk!'' in the 2015 sequel, ''Punk's Dead''.

In 2015, Pascal starred in ''Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival'' as The Agent, one of God's top generals in Heaven.

Television

Pascal had a guest role as Dennis Hofferman, a murder victim, on an episode of ''Cold Case'', with Tracie Thoms, his co-star from the film version of ''Rent'', and Laura Bell Bundy, another Broadway star who originated the role of Elle Woods in ''Legally Blonde''. The episode, called "Willkommen", originally aired on April 2, 2006, and revolved around an amateur production of ''Cabaret''.

Pascal provided the narration and sang a song, "I'm Not an Egg Anymore", in the double-length episode " Tale of the Mighty Knights" for the show ''The Backyardigans''.

Personal life

On December 19, 1998, Pascal married Cybele Chivian. Cybele is the daughter of Eric S. Chivian, M.D., Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, and the granddaughter of writer Joseph Jay Deiss. The couple has two sons. Adam and Cybele separated in 202

Discography

* ''Mute'' – ca. 1994
* ''Model Prisoner'' – 2000
* ''Civilian'' – 2004
* ''Blinding Light'' (with Larry Edoff) – 2008
* ''The New Standards'' (with Larry Edoff) – 2015

Stage credits

Filmography

Film and television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Adam Pascal Official YouTube Channel

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascal, Adam
1970 births
American male musical theatre actors
American rock singers
American tenors
Living people
Singers from New York (state)
People from the Bronx
People from Woodbury, Nassau County, New York
People from Syosset, New York
New York Institute of Technology alumni
American rock musicians
Syosset High School alumni
Theatre World Award winners