Hockadoo! The 2010 Tony winning Best Musical MEMPHIS announced today that Broadway veteran Adam Pascal will join the cast of MEMPHIS as "Huey Calhoun." Pascal will begin performances on Tuesday, October 25th. Chad Kimball will play his final performance on Sunday, October 23rd. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Kimball recently suffered nerve damage in his neck as a result of performing the demading role he created on Broadway nearly two years ago and has had to miss several performances of late.
"We are ecstatic to welcome Adam to the MEMPHIS family in his highly anticipated return to Broadway," producer Sue Frost said. "His seismic, breakout performance in the original company of Rent took the theatre community by storm, and we have all been huge fans ever since."
"Broadway has been such a hugely important part of my career and I am thrilled to have found my next artistic challenge in MEMPHIS' Huey Calhoun," said Adam Pascal. "He is a complex and engaging character, and I look forward to singing that soulful score eight times a week at the Shubert Theatre."
MEMPHIS takes place in the smoky halls and underground clubs of the segregated 50's, where a young white DJ named Huey Calhoun fell in love with everything he shouldn't: rock and roll and an electrifying black singer. MEMPHIS is an original story about the cultural revolution that erupted when his vision met her voice, and the music changed forever.
Critically acclaimed MEMPHIS won four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score (David Bryan and Joe DiPietro), Best Book (Joe DiPietro), and Best Orchestrations (David Bryan and Daryl Waters). MEMPHIS won four Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Performance by an Actress (Montego Glover), Outstanding Music (David Bryan) and Outstanding Orchestration (David Bryan and Daryl Waters). MEMPHIS has also won four Outer Critic Circle Awards including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Score (David Bryan & Joe DiPietro), Outstanding Actress (Montego Glover) and Outstanding Choreography (Sergio Trujillo).
MEMPHIS features a Tony-winning score with music by Bon Jovi's founding member/keyboardist David Bryan and lyrics by Bryan and Tony-winner Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), who also pens the musical's book. MEMPHIS is based on a concept by the late George W. George (producer of the Tony nominated Bedroom Farce and the film My Dinner With Andre), with direction by Tony nominee Christopher Ashley (Xanadu) and choreography by Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys).
Tickets range from $41.50 to $131.50 (including a $1.50 facility fee). The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday - Saturday evenings at 8pm, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2pm, and Sundays at 3pm. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.Telecharge.com or call 212.239.6200.
Adam Pascal started singing in various rock bands when he was 12, and has been singing in bands, as a solo artist, in movies, or on the Broadway stage ever since. In 1995, his band Mute recorded a self-titled album that was released in Japan by Zero Corporation. Adam next landed the role of Roger Davis in the off-Broadway production of Rent, and its subsequent Broadway production. Nominated for a 1996 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical), and winning a Drama League and Obie Award for his performance, he reprised the role for the West End premiere (the first of several times he would do so). Adam was then cast as Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice's new Broadway musical Aida, for which he received another Drama League Award. Again landing on the Broadway stage, Adam was the final Emcee in the Sam Mendes/Rob Marshall production of Cabaret at Studio 54. Across the Atlantic, he played the role of Freddie Trumper in the Tim Rice/ABBA Musical Chess for two sold out performances at The Royal Albert Hall, London, alongside Josh Groban and Idina Menzel. With fellow former Rent cast member, Jesse L. Martin, Adam co-produced the hit off-Broadway play Fully Committed. The show went on to garner many awards and played to sold out houses in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and London. Adam's career expanded to the big screen in the independent film SLC Punk! He was subsequently cast alongside Jack Black as Theo, the lead singer of No Vacancy, in School of Rock. Adam also reprised the role of Roger in the movie version of Rent, helping to bring the Broadway show and its music to a new generation of fans. He has also starred in the films Falling Star and American Primitive. Adam's journey with Rent finally concluded in 2009, when he reprised the role of Roger one last time alongside original costar Anthony Rapp in Rent: The Broadway Tour, travelling all over the U.S., as well as Japan and South Korea. Adam's debut solo album, Model Prisoner, and second album, Civilian, were released on Sh-K-Boom records. His latest CD with his band Me & Larry, Blinding Light, received praise and critical acclaim.
To catch Kimball's final performances as "Huey' before his departure, or to book tickets to see Pascal, visit www.memphisthemusical.com.
