Adam Pascal

Neglectful? Maybe. With good reason? Sure!

Wed, 11 Jun 2003 15:23:49 GMT

Ah, yeah, I know I haven't checked in, in quite a while... But I have been keeping myself occupied with the family life and a few new projects; and it's always better to be busy and frantic, then bored and dull, right?

A couple nights ago, on Monday, I attended Jon Secada's premier performance as the Emcee in Cabaret over at Studio 54. Jon's been a huge contributor to the Latin music scene, both musically and lyrically; he's actually written quite a few songs for other Latin artists like Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, too. It was a very cool spectacle, the red carpet rolled out and everything. There were several celebrities, you could say, in attendance... Among them, Gloria Estefan came with her son, and the newly-crowned Miss Universe 2003, Amelia Vega, came out to support Jon. I always thought Cabaret was an awesome, gritty show... and I first saw it back around '97, so it was cool to sit down and watch it again.

Come September, I'll be appearing in the Actor's Fund concert version of Tim Rice's musical, Chess. This is the show, you might recall, about a chess game and a battle for a woman's affections between an American and a Russian that serves as a representation and symbol of the Cold War and prejudices, and the like. Through a really inspired turn of casting, I'll be playing the American guy, Freddie Trumper. They have more information over at the Actor's Fund website, but it's a cool show, for a cool cause. It'll be fun to do a one-time concert, too, instead of beating the shit out of my voice every night in a steady gig, ha.

Counting down the days in another one of Tim's shows, Aida, for sure, now. My final bow will be on June 15th, and Richard H. Blake will be playing the role of Radames from June 16th to the 29th. Will Chase steps in, officially, on the 30th. Last performances are always shaky for me, because I can't help thinking, "Geez, you know, this is the last time I'll ever get to say/sing these words, do this blocking, interact with these people in this particular show..." But it's also a feeling of freedom, to go on to new ventures and opportunities. So, can't tell if I'm looking forward to that, or not.

I'd like to take a moment to welcome two very beautiful and talented women, both of whom I've had the pleasure of performing with...

maya_days is a wonderful singer and entertainer that I was proud to call my Aida a while back. She's also a member of the large RENT family (A veteran of the Angel Tour), a pop star across the pond, and starred in the recent revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

sherie_rene and I go way back, heh! We first met when she took over for Idina as Maureen at the Nederlander, and we went on to do Aida together. She's a great, talented lady who can do a mean Elton John cover. And I should know, I lent my pipes as back-up on her "Mona Lisas, Mad Hatters" tune for her debut disc. *laughs*

So, definitely add those two girls, if you haven't already... This shameless plugging is a tad late, but you won't be disappointed, I'm sure.

Look at that, I'm still here...

Tue, 20 May 2003 00:51:22 GMT

When RENT finally became something I could use to pad my wallet, right around the time Bloomingdale's had a "mid-90s, starving Bohemian chic" boutique and Newsweek was calling to get Daph and I on the cover, I quit my job as a personal trainer in a gym and got an apartment in Gramercy. It's a studio-type of loft, and was stark white when I first latched onto it. Trying to give the apartment itself a little personality, my wife (Girlfriend, actually, at the time) and I half-heartedly sponge-painted a couple walls, and called on Billy Miller to paint one of his awesome murals on the huge column in the middle of the apartment, like the one he did on the Nederlander ceiling.

Since this studio loft is on the eighth floor, I have to gingerly board this rickety iron elevator to get up there. The building, itself, was built right around the end of World War II, and it's got the same ancient structure smell that grips most of the complexes around Manhattan. Though, really, the musty, chalky, masonry odor gives it character: it reminds you that the building's got a history, and a past.

This is going somewhere, I promise.

When Cybele and I first moved into this place, there was a really happening strip club located right around the block. One of those sleazy dives with a name like, "Lace" or "Vinyl," some fabric you'd associate with fetish wear. There'd always be honking or sirens going off near the strip club at ungodly hours in the morning, whirring and wailing, and traffic past the apartment was a nightmare. We could hardly get any sleep, and, considering I was singing myself to a bleeding throat eight times a week in RENT, it wasn't working out too peachy.

Obviously, this was all pre-Giuliani Manhattan Disneyfication: Back when there was still a pretty good chance you'd encounter a used condom bobbing in a muddy puddle in the gutter on your way to Beauty and the Beast with the kids. Now, you're just as hard-pressed to find any sort of sleaze in Times Square, as you would be to stumble upon someone still utilizing Subway tokens. The strip club near my apartment's closed up, as well; to make way for more family-friendly fare, I guess.

I'm a wind-bag, I know, and there really wasn't a point to all this... Just noticing how much change truly does occur, and just when you think you couldn't get closer to the bottom, something changes. And, of course, wouldn't you get bored without a little change in your pace?

Though, I do sort of miss the Peep Show tokens I used to have to step over on my way to the Nederlander Theater, back in the day.

Howdy. And all that good stuff.

Wed, 22 Jan 2003 05:13:35 GMT

My name's Adam. Yeah, I'm taking the time to introduce myself in my own journal... But, really, if you are going to be subjected to this sort of nonsense, I think you should know who it's all about.

I guess we start at the fairly recent beginning. My whole goal, regarding this fickle fame thing, was to be a rock star super-god: play hard rock and keep it real with my own honest music. When I was on the rebound from a long-time band breakup, a little thing called RENT shimmied into my life. You've probably heard of it. It's a brilliant work of musical theater, and definitely opened up some doors for me. However, it's also the reason I've been stuck in the Broadway rut for a while. Funny how things work out like that.

I did some film shit... SLC Punk!, a really true punk piece of cinema, in which I played Eddie. A few months ago, I wrapped up shooting on a movie musical, Temptation. That'll be due out sometime this year. Got to work with some real A-list performers on that, and got to play a Satan-like character, so it was great fun.

I'm counting down my last few performances in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, and I'm sure Will Chase is, too. After the Disney wrap-up, I'll just be buying my time and shopping around for some new ventures. Probably work on some new music and another album... My first one, Model Prisoner, is available for purchase from Sh-K-Boom records.

Wow, I feel so naked and exposed, now. Not a bad feeling, though. And, hey, if you read all that, add me to your friends' list. It's bound to be a good time. Oh, and that AIM thing that seems to be all the rage? I'm: PlayingPascal

[Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain... He's new. Let's keep this thing active, huh?]