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Original "Rent" stars bring their show to Milwaukee
Mary Martin played Peter Pan in her 40s. Dame Judith Anderson toured the U.S. as Hamlet in her 70s.
So don't tell Adam Pascal that at 39 he is too old to play the HIV-positive musician-songwriter Roger in the current national tour of "Rent." But he does acknowledge during a phone interview, "I think that after 40, I don't want to be doing it."
The Bronx native is safe. The tour, which stops at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts during Thanksgiving week, ends in February, eight months shy of the actor hitting the Big 4-0.
Pascal created the role of Roger off-Broadway in early 1996, received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of the character after the musical moved to Broadway, and went on to star in the show in London. He reprised Roger in the film version of "Rent."
Anthony Rapp, who portrayed Roger's roommate Mark on and off-Broadway and in the movie, is also in the cast that will perform in Uihlein Hall.
"Rent" is the late Jonathan Larson's contemporary take on the 19th-century "La Boheme" novel and play about young starving artists. The plot spawned the popular Puccini opera, and Larson gave the story a rock score and moved it to the lower East Side of Manhattan in the '90s for his musical.
Although the characters are in their 20s or barely 30, Pascal said the kindness of Mother Nature and the magic of theater have kept Rapp and him looking appropriately youthful. "Nobody would question our age by looking at us onstage," he declared.
Pascal was more rocker than actor when he auditioned for the off-Broadway workshop of "Rent" in the mid-'90s, and he believes he is a better musical theater performer now than when he was riding the first wave of fame.
"The show became so huge so fast. There were so many surrounding issues that penetrated every aspect of that show. Our voices were trashed. We sounded like crap half the time. We were in an atmosphere that was very distracting," said Pascal, whose abrupt stardom was reflected in an appearance on Newsweek's cover.
Among those issues was creator Larson's sudden death from an aortic aneurysm the night before the off-Broadway opening of "Rent."
"Don't get me wrong, the experience of being in 'Rent' was amazing," Pascal continued, "but any kind of hysteria around a performer is distracting."
Pascal followed "Rent" on Broadway with a brief stint in a revival of "Cabaret," and then he spent three and a half years in the Elton John musical "Aida." That long run turned him into a seasoned musical theater professional. Pascal was able to settle into a sturdy hit that was not fraught with hysteria.
"I learned how to maintain myself," he said. That included such details as taking care of his voice and keeping a sharp focus on the demands of eight performances a week.
The seeds for Pascal and Rapp appearing in the current national tour of "Rent" were planted in 2007 when they returned to the Broadway production for 10 weeks and enjoyed the experience. The prospect of touring together in "Rent" appealed to them.
Pascal said he has not altered his approach to the show or character, but that doesn't mean his performance has not changed.
"Nothing is consciously different. I am not intentionally doing anything differently, but people tell me my performance has changed," he said. The actor went on to note that he is now married, has children and has much more life experience than he did when he originated the role of Roger.
Most actors learn to tolerate touring, at best. Pascal prefers it to doing a long run at home. "The road is easier for me," he explained. "Out here on the road, I have only one responsibility, the show." The chores and logistics of family life don't intrude.
"Rent" opens Nov. 24 and runs through Nov. 29 at the Marcus Center.
