Adam Pascal, who became a Broadway star in 1996 playing the moody guitar-strumming Roger in the hit musical “Rent,” will take over the role of another rocker, the radio D.J. Huey Calhoun, in the Broadway production of “Memphis,” the producers of the show announced Tuesday.
Mr. Pascal, who also portrayed Roger in the 2005 film version of “Rent” and again on national tour, was nominated for a Tony Award for best actor in a musical for the role; he also played leading parts in the Broadway musical “Aida” and the Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of “Cabaret.”
Mr. Pascal will succeed the original Huey, Chad Kimball, who had disclosed that he would depart “Memphis” this fall after a two-year run on Broadway to heal from nerve damage and other physical stress from performing. Mr. Kimball will play his final show on Oct. 23, and Mr. Pascal will begin two nights later.
“Memphis,” which won the 2010 Tony for best musical as well as three other Tonys, centers on the romance and professional ambitions of Huey, a white D.J. in segregated Memphis in the 1950s, and Felicia, a black singer. Montego Glover, who plays Felicia, is signed on to the show for another six months at least, a spokeswoman for the production said.
Mr. Kimball and Ms. Glover were the rare pair of actors who stuck with their roles through multiple stages of creative development — in the case of “Memphis,” six years from the show’s world premiere in Massachusetts in 2003 to its opening on Broadway in October 2009.