Adam Pascal talks about leaving Long Island, and maybe show biz

Since rocketing to stardom nearly 30 years ago as Roger Davis, the dreamy hero of Jonathan Larson’s hit musical “Rent,” Adam Pascal has seemed like a reluctant Broadway star. Even as he notched roles in “Cabaret,” “Aida,” "Spamalot," Pretty Woman" and the 2005 movie adaptation of “Rent,” he often confessed that he dreamt of being a rock singer (having fronted a number of bands while growing up in Woodbury) rather than a board-treader.

Still, when Pascal recently chatted over lunch at The Shed Restaurant in Huntington, not far from where he’s currently staying, he spoke about his career in unusually blunt terms.
 

“I've been very successful and I’m incredibly grateful,” Pascal said. “But I've always hated being in show business.”

Lunch with an actor usually means talking about his latest project — in this case, "Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp: Celebrating 30 Years of Friendship & 'Rent,' " a musical revue with his old “Rent” castmate, which comes to The Suffolk in Riverhead on Aug, 18. And he did talk about that — but Pascal spoke mostly about the turning points in his life that led to his recent decision to start a new chapter after three decades in the theater.

Here are condensed and edited excerpts from our hourlong conversation.

So you live here full time now?
I'm actually moving in October. I'm moving to a town called [New] Fairfield, Connecticut. I was lucky enough to find a short-term lease. I've been separated for four years, but I’m actually not divorced yet [from playwright-turned-food-entrepreneur Cybele Pascal]. My older son just graduated from UC San Diego, and my youngest son is a model and an actor. She and I still have a good relationship, in the sense that we'll always love each other and want the best for each other. I’ve got a girlfriend, and she lives in Astoria. We've been together for three years, and she's great. And we'll probably get married.

All right!
I met her 20 years ago doing “Aida” on Broadway. She was one of the ensemble members. You know, I always had a crush on her. And I was like, “I wonder if she's single?” I hadn’t seen her in so many years — and she was!

Can I ask her name?
Nina Lafarga. She was in the original cast of “On Your Feet!” She was in the original cast of “In the Heights.” She’s done a ton of shows. She’s an amazing dancer.

So you saved yourself the midlife dating experience.
Well, not quite. I went on a dating website-app-thing called Raya, which is like a “celebrity” site. I’m so not that, but there are people like that on there. And you have to get approved. I'll tell you something: It became very addictive, very quickly. I see why people can get addicted to the swiping and liking this person and that person liking you back, all of that stuff.

Our conversation turned to Pascal’s recent starring role in “Death Note: The Musical,” which is based on a popular Japanese manga. It ran last year at the London Palladium, but Pascal expressed frustration over waiting for it to come to America.

That's one of the things about this business that is so difficult. I'm actually at a place in my life where I'm sort of trying to actually transition out of show business.

You are?
I am. Because the job isn't the work — or the work isn't the job, depending on how you want to look at it. You spend so much more time trying to get work, and in the most vulnerable way. Having to audition over and over again. … It was hard enough to do back when I first got into it. But the world has changed so dramatically.

In what way?
Well, I’m 53. And I’ve made my living essentially playing the leading man on Broadway. Well, the leading man's not 53 anymore. So, I've aged out of those roles. That's just the natural progression. And I made a lot of bad decisions in my career because of my ego.

What kind of decisions? Because on paper, it looks like a pretty good career.
Yes! And again, grateful. I’ll give you a perfect example, because it’s one of my biggest regrets. While we were making the movie [“Rent”], the head of Sony and [director] Chris Columbus — all of these major Hollywood people — they were like, “You're going to be a movie star.” I was like, “Great!” And I was offered the role in “Wicked” of the love interest, Fiyero. I turned it down because I thought it was beneath me. And I ended up having to sell my house and move to California to become a movie star. Which clearly didn’t happen! …

You know, I grew up being the singer in a rock band. That was always my dream. And then, all of a sudden, I become successful in this world. And that's why I was always looking for a way out. So, I think I finally found it.

Do you want to say what it is?
I don't know how much I want you to print, because it's literally in the initial stages. But I'm trying to buy the Manhasset movie theater and turn it into a high-end event space. And I think it would actually lend itself to my directing skills, throwing big parties. The other thing is the access that I have to all of the Broadway talent. They're all my friends. One of my goals is to create this place so that I can hire my friends to come and sing at a party.

So wait, does this mean that the Suffolk show is the last we'll see of you?

No, Anthony and I have a lot of stuff. The most rewarding thing really, at this point, is my live gigs, whether I do them solo or with Anthony. It’s great, in that I always wanted to be this rock star and in many ways I'm living that life. I'm not a rock star and I don't make rock star money. But I'm doing what I envisioned that would look like.

So you’ve gone to New York City and you’ve gone to Hollywood — and you’re coming back to Long Island.
Yeah! I look at people who get up, and they go to work, and they come home at night and sit by their fireplace with a glass of wine. You mean you get five weeks of paid vacation? And a pension? And health insurance? And a steady check? And you don’t have to apply for your job over and over? I want that consistency and security.

This is not what I expected.
I know. I feel like I’ve done a lot of good stuff. People can look back on my resumé and say I had an impact. Never in a million years did I think I’d be a person that would leave a mark like that. That’s the mark that Roger in “Rent” sings about, in the song “One Song Glory.” The irony of me being so closely connected to that song, is that I’ve achieved what that character is so desperately trying to achieve. … I’ve done the character the ultimate justice in my way.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com@raferguzman