Black History Month Recognized with "Memphis" Star Adam Pascal

Adam Pascal

Photo: Broadway.com

In recognition of Black History Month, host Robert Hammond will showcase the musical Memphis with its star Adam Pascal.

Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for best musical, Memphis is set in the places where rock and roll was born in the 1950s: the seedy nightclubs, radio stations and recording studios of the musically-rich Tennessee city. With an original score, it tells the fictional story of DJ Huey Calhoun (Adam Pascal), a good ole’ local boy with a passion for R&B music and Felicia Farrell, an up-and-coming black singer that he meets one fateful night on Beale Street. Despite the objections of their loved ones, they embark on a dangerous affair. As their careers rise, the relationship is challenged by personal ambition and the pressures of an outside world unable to accept their love.

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Adam Pascal became part of theatrical history by creating the role of Roger Davis in Rent, earning a Best Actor Tony nomination and reprising his performance in the 2005 movie adaptation. Pascal has since juggled a career as a concert and recording artist with leading roles on Broadway in Aida (as Radames), Cabaret (as the Emcee) and Memphis (replacing Chad Kimball as Huey Calhoun). Other highlights include co-producing the Off Broadway hit Fully Committed, co-starring with Jack Black in School of Rock, performing alongside Queen's Brian May, and starring as Freddy Trumper in Chess alongside Josh Groban and Idina Menzel. Adam has three solo recordings Model Prisoner, Civilian and Blinding Light.