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 left the show on November 2, 1997, but went on to reprise Roger when Rent opened in London.

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!

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

On July 4, 2006, Pascal took part in the Macy's Fourth of July Celebration.

He sang during the traditional fireworks display.

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.

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.

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.

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 made a full recovery and finished up the tour in early 2010.

This tour closed on February 7, 2010.

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.

Pascal was cast as Ryuk in the English premiere of Death Note: the Musical for its concert run at the London Palladium in August 2023.

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.