Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp exploded into the public as the voices of a generation in RENT on Broadway, a musical that publicly spoke about ‘taboo’ topics such as Aids. On March 25th, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp will perform at the Stony Brook Staller Center in the Recital Hall in a show called Acoustically Speaking. The show has been around for years but this is the first time it has come to Stony Brook University. I got the chance to sit down and talk with Adam about his Broadway experience and tonight’s show.
Adam, a rock band veteran, got started in theater when Idina Menzel called him up and suggested he audition for an Off-Broadway show that she was cast in called RENT. When he stepped foot on the stage he knew was the right fit. Adam’s touring partner Anthony Rapp started opposite him as his roommate in RENT and it’s no secret that the two have an unparalleled chemistry. The idea for the show came about in an interesting way. The two of them have been touring separately when the idea came about that they make garner a larger audience if they toured together. They have two different types of shows when is a simple acoustic show while the other one is a full band accompaniment. The show at Stony Brook is, as a title says, acoustic. The show itself consists of three acts as Adam and Anthony both do an individual set and conclude the show by doing a duo. And this particular show it is an acoustic show and Adam will accompany himself on guitar while Anthony has a piano player and a guitar player. Neither of them discussed with each other their individual song sets. Adam generally has more Broadway songs in his acoustic set. And I’m also promised some quintessential RENT songs.
The show is in the Recital Hall rather than the main stage and they felt that this was a better experience for the fans and something that Adam said that he would appreciate himself; being close and personal with the artist as opposed to a large theatre.
Find more information on Acoustically Speaking at the Staller Center here.
Thumbnail courtesy of Patch.