Stage work
A friend of his from high school (Idina Menzel's boyfriend at the time) mentioned Rent to him. On a whim, he auditioned and was cast as the HIV-positive rock guitarist Roger Davis. His powerful tenor voice and his performance in Rent earned him a Tony nomination, a Theater World award, and an Obie Award. He left the show on November 2, 1997, but went on to reprise Roger when Rent opened in London.
The role helped Pascal gain fame on Broadway, and he was cast in the Elton John and Tim Rice musical Aida as the Egyptian general Radames with the original and final casts (former Rent castmate Idina Menzel would co-star as Amneris in 2001), and Kander and Ebb's Cabaret, appearing in the show as the Emcee (closing cast). He also participated in several charity performances, including Chess in 2003 (playing the American, Freddie Trumper), Hair in 2004 (singing "I Got Life"), and the 24 Hour Plays in 2005. He returned to Aida in 2004 to close the run of the show as Radames.
Along with original Broadway Rent cast member Anthony Rapp (Mark Cohen), Pascal returned to Broadway to star as Roger in Rent from July 30 to October 7, 2007. In January 2009, he and Rapp reprised their originating (and film) roles as Roger and Mark in Rent: The Broadway Tour, which played in many cities in North America, as well as stops in Japan and South Korea. At the tour's Detroit, Michigan stop in February, Pascal suffered two herniated discs in his neck and was on medical leave for a week. His role was filled in by Cary Shields, who had played Roger in the Broadway, Canadian, "Benny" National Tour productions. Pascal made a full recovery and finished up the tour in early 2010. This tour closed on February 7, 2010.
Pascal reprised the role of Frederick Trumper, aka "Freddie, The American" in the London concert version of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall on May 12–13, 2008. His Rent and Aida co-star Idina Menzel played Florence. This performance was recorded; it has been televised, first on American and British television on June 17, 2009, and repeatedly in America on PBS stations as part of that network's "Great Performances" series; and has been released on DVD.
Pascal joined the Broadway cast of Memphis on October 25, 2011, as Huey Calhoun. He replaced original cast member Chad Kimball in the role. He remained in the Memphis cast until the show's closure on August 5, 2012.
Beginning April 8, 2013, Pascal starred as Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago. His last performance as Billy was June 16, 2013.
On November 7, 2016, Pascal joined the Broadway company of Something Rotten! as William Shakespeare in the show's closing cast. He also played the same role for the entirety of the show's first national tour alongside Rob McClure, Josh Grisetti, and Leah Hofmann, who were also in the closing cast of the show.
In late 2021, Pascal began performances as Edward Lewis in the U.S national tour of Pretty Woman: The Musical, a role which he had played on Broadway from January 15 to 20, 2019.
Pascal was cast as Ryuk in the English premiere of Death Note: the Musical for its concert run at the London Palladium in August 2023. Pascal directed a production of Rent for Long Island's From Stage to Screen, with performances running from July 28 to July 30, 2023. Pascal was set to direct Something Rotten! at Stage to Screen on Long Island but it was ultimately cancelled.
On November 4, 2024, it was announced that Pascal would be joining the off-Broadway musical, Drag: The Musical as the token straight man, Tom Hutchinson.
Pascal is scheduled to play Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar at Studio Tenn in May 2026.
