Pascal breaks ‘Rent’ mold

By Jess Decina

Adam Pascal knows how to please a crowd. And he doesn’t even have to mention the word “rent.”

The Broadway star, best known for his role as Roger in the musical-turned-movie Rent, stunned a full crowd at the Bart Luedeke Center Theater on Friday, Oct. 6. Pascal performed songs mostly from his two solo albums, Model Prisoner and Civilian, with only a few Broadway tunes peppered in between.

Pascal walked on stage to the sounds of wild applause, mostly female cheers and the occasional scream of, “We love you, Adam!” He was flattered, but didn’t miss a beat.

“I’d like to thank all of the girls and gay men at Rider University for coming to see me,” he said, and immediately began playing his first song, entitled “Beautiful Song.”

Although he is well-known for his roles on Broadway, Pascal has always considered his work as a solo artist to be his “true passion.”

“This is definitely my favorite aspect of show business,” he said after his performance. “[With] everything else, you’re involved in somebody else’s
material.”

After playing an extensive set of songs, Pascal stepped back on stage for the encore song that everyone expected: “One Song Glory,” his character’s anthem from Rent. After closing with the song “What I Did For Love” from A Chorus Line, Pascal took questions from the audience. He talked mostly about his background as a solo performer, noting his musical inspirations, most of which were not Broadway-inspired, he said.

“Any Broadway influences that I have are minimal,” Pascal said. “I wasn’t a Broadway kid; I was a heavy metal kid. I grew up listening to bands like Iron Maiden [and] Judas Priest. It wasn’t until I got older that I decided to evolve into something a little bit different.”

Performing songs is easily Pascal’s favorite part of his fame. He attributes that to “the energy you get from the audience.”

“It’s an immediate reaction that you don’t get anywhere else,” he said. “It’s such an adrenaline rush, because in the end you’re so exposed.”

Getting energy from the audience wasn’t a problem for Pascal. Just ask his fans. Junior communication major Diana Vigorito “didn’t know what to expect” from Pascal, but was pleasantly surprised nonetheless.

“I really enjoy his voice, so to hear him sing anything, even though it wasn’t [a song] I was familiar with, was pretty amazing,” she said.

Pascal’s performance was also able to re-kindle the flames for fans who knew him beyond Broadway. Sophomore Robin Barletta is already digging out Pascal’s CDs to listen to again.

“My friend introduced me to his CDs over the summer,” she said. “When I heard [him] live, it made me want to go back and listen to him again.”

But fans like sophomore Tamare Merente wanted to see more of Pascal’s Broadway side.
“I thought he was going to do more from Rent,” she said. “Then again, I didn’t know that he has two CDs.”

But those who feel let down can always console themselves by watching Pascal in the movie version of Rent, Vigorito points out.

“I have to respect the fact that he is trying to do his own thing,” she said.