This past Tuesday night, Adam Pascal visited the Star Theater in Kittery, Maine. I was blessed and honored to be able to attend the show that he put on for both the cast of Rent at the theater, and an ecstatic, paying audience. I went along with my best friend, and we didn’t know what to expect from Adam. We knew what the night would include; The cast of Rent would perform the opening number, then Adam would answer the director’s (Patrick Dorrow) questions. Following, Adam would critique a number done by Roger (Ethan Martin) and Mimi (Zoe Sprankle) called Light My Candle. Next, Adam would sing a couple of songs, and lastly he would answer the audience’s questions before jetting off to his next gig in Canada.
First of all, I was BLOWN AWAY by the humility of this guy. Throughout the two hour night, every minute he would surprise me with his down-to-earth mindset towards the world. I mean come on, this guy has been in everything from Rent, to School of Rock, to Aida. But his demeanor and the way he carried himself was incredible.
Adam let many behind the scenes secrets of Rent, both the movie and the musical, out in the open that night. The first and favorite being, he was high the entire film period. While it got a giggle from the audience, he insisted that it was true and try to keep it in mind the next time viewing the film. The next secret being during Mimi’s death scene, Rosario Dawson would make funny faces at people who were trying to stay in character during their close-ups. He also let us in that many of the other actors got genuinely angry at her for it, until they eventually got a good shot of the scene. Finally, the last story I will share that Adam let the audience in on, is how he became a part of Rent to begin with.
Adam had just left one of his many rock bands he was a part of as a young adult, and he was out of work. His neighbor, Idina Mentzel (he casually drops in the story), called him up to let him know about a part she just scored in a small off-Broadway new performance. She also told him they were having trouble casting a male part with a rock and roll voice, and she figured she would give him a call. His exact wording was; “I only auditioned for Rent because I had nothing better to do that afternoon.” He auditioned with one of his own favorite songs, and the directors asked him to come back the next day with One Song Glory memorized. Jonathan Larson was singing on the tape recording he was given, and he admitted to HATING the song at first. It didn’t make sense to him, but he went back the next day and performed it for more people anyways. They asked him to come back the next day with Your Eyes also prepared. He went back, and they asked him to come back the next day. At this point, Adam actually said no. They had heard him sing three times and he believed if they didn’t want to offer him the part by now, then they never would. Idina had to give Adam a call and ask him to go back, or it would make Idina and her boyfriend at the time (Glen I believe) look really bad. So Adam went back and was eventually given the part. He described Rent at first as a “huge pain in the ass” because since it was an unknown musical, he had to figure out how to keep a normal job with the rehearsal schedule.
The two songs Adam performed were “Memory” from Cats the Musical, and his own rendition of “One Song Glory” from Rent. Both were incredible and absolutely beautiful. His critiquing of the two actors was both praising and educational, tightening up the performance and getting into character development and motivation of each character. One of the more serious parts of the night was when an audience member asked a question regarding drug use in the film and his opinion. As the open book that he is, he shared the story of his sobriety and how he is three years clean of his use of marijuana. While he considered himself a functioning addict, he is doing much better now sober. The fact that he was willing to be so open with a bunch of adoring strangers about a problem that needs more prominent addressing, is simply another reason to love him.
Long story short, Adam was a very wonderful person. He was kind, generous and humble. He made jokes about Elton John being an intimidating presence and how Phil Collins was a joking guy easy to be around. My friends who got to meet him one on one let me know that he was just as nice during the meet and greet, and it really made me wish I had spent the extra money on it. If you ever come across the chance to meet Adam Pascal, I would highly recommend taking it. 20 years after Rent and he is still the talented Roger that we knew and fell in love with. Now let’s just cross our fingers and hope maybe one day a cast of Rent reunion will come again!
