Adam Pascal
So Far
The Green Room 42, NYC, July 18, 2019
Reviewed by Chris Struck for Cabaret Scenes
Adam Pascal, who’s had one of the more exciting Broadway careers of the last couple decades, decided to take an interesting and entertaining spin on a classic cabaret trope. His “career up to now” power-hour session offered fans a unique experience. With a few witty comments and some characteristic diva moments, he gave his fans, and fans of Broadway, an opportunity to ask questions about “anything at all.” In this case, they asked some innocent, but detailed, questions, which led to spectacular answers from Pascal about things from how he joined Rent to why the toughest role that he had to play was the emcee in Cabaret.
One aspect of Pascal’s performance, and one that has been characteristic of his entire career, was his terrific voice along with his deeply connected renditions of songs. From “One Song Glory” (Jonathan Larson) to “Memory” (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Trevor Nunn), Pascal devoted himself to producing clear notes and well-articulated words. He performed a song from each of his Broadway shows, but he didn’t always choose one that was his. For example, from Cabaret, he chose “Maybe This Time” (Kander & Ebb) which is one of his favorites from that show. Its lyric, “Maybe this time I’ll be lucky,” rang true. Pascal told how Elton John had given him “Elaborate Lives” (John/Tim Rice from Aida), which was originally assigned to Heather Headley. Until then, Pascal hadn’t had any good songs in the show until this switch was made, and Headley didn’t talk to him for weeks afterwards.
Pascal also had good things to say about working with Seth Rudetsky and Tim Rice on other shows, as well as his recent time in Pretty Woman. Although he didn’t appear with jets of fire, he did bring an some of his rocker past to Broadway over the years. It is still an inherent component of his sound, and he acknowledged how his roots in rock helped him find a place on stage, as he ultimately developed into a polished and accomplished leading actor.
