Michael Riedel and Christine Nagy speak with original Rent cast member Adam Pascal about his life-changing role.
He talks about hearing "Seasons of Love" for the first time, "I remember very vividly. It was the first song that all 15 of us learned on the first day of rehearsal. First of all, I thought lyrically it was very strange, I gotta be honest with you... but the 15 of us started singing us and you really could tell immediately that there was something really special about all 15 of us singing. There was a blend of our voices that created something magical. We could all feel it in the room." How beautiful!
Later, Pascal discusses how he handled sudden fame and coming back to Broadway in Pretty Woman. Listen to the full episode of Inside Broadway below:
Photo: Getty
Adam Pascal, a Tony-nominee and Obie and Theatre World Award winning star, has created some of the most memorable roles in recent Broadway history. He shot to stardom for originating the role of Roger in the Broadway blockbuster Rent, as well as the London production, and starred in the film version. He also originated the role of Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice’sAida, and was featured as the Emcee in the critically acclaimed revival of Cabaret directed by Sam Mendes. He has recently starred on Broadway in Memphis,Chicago and the original cast ofDisaster! (co-written by Seth Rudetsky!) Other of his recent performances include the role of Freddie in Chess the Royal Albert Hall in London, alongside both Idina Menzel and Josh Groban. This performance was recorded for PBS’ Great Performances series and has been released on DVD. He also reprised his starring role in the 2009 Broadway Tour ofRent. His film work, in addition to the screen version ofRent, includesSLC Punk!,School of Rock and the movie musicalTemptation. He has also released two solo rock albums, “Model Prisoner” and “Civilian” for Sh-K-Boom Records.South Florida and Broward Center fans saw Adam most recently as William Shakespeare in the 2017 National Tour of the Tony Award-winning musical comedySomething Rotten! Adam recently starred as Edward in the new musicalPretty Woman on Broadway.