One could easily say that “Blond met blond” this Labor Day weekend at the Rrazz Room in New Hope. Rex Smith appeared on Saturday, August 30, while Adam Pascal appeared on Sunday August 31. What is on the minds of these cuties, and why the battle of the blonds? Dare we glimpse into the minds of blonds? Fear not. I had the opportunity to chat with both (separately!) before their appearances. Here is my interview with Rex Smith.

Rex Smith

Fresh from his scheduled appearance on “Oprah,” Rex Smith was scheduled to appear at New York’s swank boite, “54 Below,” the night of our interview. He was a big star on Broadway, as well as a pop singing star with a major recording and performing career, and he appeared on television. I caught up with him by telephone as he was preparing to jog from Hell’s Kitchen to the club for a sound check. Rex Smith is a dynamo of energy and positivism, as our chat will prove.

“It’s Tom Jones meets Mark Twain,” Rex Smith informed me, delivered in the tone and cadence of someone appearing as the lead in “The Music Man,” and he continued in the same long-breathed, stentorian paragraphs for most of our time together. “The story of Madison Square Garden to Broadway, From Mishkin Avenue to the Champs Elysees, it’s a two-act format, with videos and music interwoven. I did much of it myself using I-movie and Final Cut, I am a big fan of Apple. I first thought my life would make a great book, but who has time to sit down and write a book? So, I decided two-thirds of the way through plans to write a book that my life would make a great show, a musical! It’s like a documentary, a 70-minute show that I’ll be doing tonight at 54 Below, and later this week at the Rrazz Room, both premier showcases, I might add, not dinky places at all, so I’m very proud of that. Let me tell you about tonight’s show at 54 Below. Kevin Kline, my pal from “Pirates of Penzance,” will be in the audience. Kline is the godfather to my daughter Savannah.” (Smith has five children.) “I’ll tell the funny story when Kevin Kline told me not to date Linda Ronstadt because he warned me that dating your co-star wasn’t a good thing, and not good for your career, etc. I then discovered he had asked her out! Big laugh, I hope! He knows I’m telling that one, and he’ll play along. We’ve been friends ever since that phenomenon of ‘Penzance.’ Back to the act: I especially like one part, where I begin with a young rock and roll teen idol – me – then the act scales down, to where I lip sync myself from an old film clip when I was, like 35, singing ‘You take my breath away.’ It looked great when we tried it out, and I hope it goes over well tonight.”

Rex Smith will be 59 on September 19. Rex Smith’s show, which is billed as his “Confessions,” will next play Palm Springs on November 7, 8, and 9.

“When I appeared in my television series, ‘Streethawk,’ George Clooney died in my arms. I was the first ‘Daredevil.’ I recorded the song, ‘Super Hero’ for CBS/Columbia. I opened for Ted Nugent at Madison Square Garden. I was a major recording artist. I am very grateful for the great, roller-coaster ride that has been my lucky life, and it’s far from over.”

Rex Smith then talked about how he met his son Brandon for the first time, when Brandon was 16 years old. “It was a performance of ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ a matinee. He had asked an usher if he could sit up front, and he told the usher that he had reason to believe he was my son. There he was, in the first row. That was the first time we saw each other. He later came backstage. Incredible. I had no idea he existed until that moment we met.”

Why did the mother of your son keep you a secret from your son? What were the circumstances?

It was 1979. She worked for the Calgary Stampede. I was 23, and I had a Mustang convertible. You can fill in the rest. I invited her to Hawaii for two weeks so that we could get to know each other better. And we did. She was in the midst of a divorce, and I had my career, so she apparently told everyone that the baby was her soon-to-be ex-husband’s. Brandon believed it until she told him on her deathbed who his biological father was. That was when he decided to search for me. It’s like ‘Oliver Twist!’ (which incidentally I played!) You can’t make this stuff up.

I then asked Rex Smith what happened to his career, which was exploding, and then a long hiatus to follow.

“Well, I did do a very high profile Broadway production of ‘Kiss Me Kate’ directed by Michael Blakemore in 2002, and I did mention being the male lead in ‘Sunset Boulevard.'” My dad was an executive, so I decided that with my children, I was going to watch them grow, and be a part of their lives, not just an absentee dad. I became a realtor, and successful, too. I coached Little League. I was a dad. I do not regret those years. Now, that my youngest ones are 10 and 14, it’s time to perform. I was just talking about this the other day with my friend, John Schneider. My act isn’t an ego trip, I’m not Norma Desmond (referring to the ‘Sunset Boulevard’ character), watching my films and living in the past.”

“Hey, look at the time. I have to jog down to 54 Below to do that sound check. I might look like hell when I get there, but they’ll get over it. I’m sitting here in my son, Brandon’s, apartment, with my two-year old grandson on my lap, looking over the city from thirty floors up on 42nd and Eleventh, and yes, Life is Good. That’s what keeps me going, and hopefully, in shape, so that I can be here for my kids and grandkids.”

Adam Pascal

I spoke later that same day with Adam Pascal. Known mostly for his astonishing breakthrough on Broadway and in the filmed version of “Rent,” he has appeared on television, the stage, and on recordings. Thankfully, I had time to recover from the whirlwind named Rex Smith. Mr. Pascal couldn’t have been more different. He was pensive, reticent, even shy about talking about himself, only feeling comfortable when speaking about his music. Here is my talk with Adam Pascal.

“The name of my show is ‘Me and Larry.’ The ‘Larry,’ is my friend, Larry Edoff. Larry and I will perform at the Rrazz Room this Labor Day weekend. It’s a great place, and I’m looking forward to our appearance there. We are appearing in four area concerts: this appearance in New Hope at the Rrazz Room, and in the Hamptons, and in New Jersey.”

I asked for more information about the show. Would there be any duets featuring the music of Queensryche, a favorite of Mr. Pascal’s? “No, no Queensryche,” he laughed. “Me and Larry will feature Broadway material from my career. We will do ‘Glory,’ and also ‘Maria’ from ‘Westside Story,’ and ‘Not a Day goes By,’ from ‘Merrily We Go Along.’ I love the intimacy of small venues, where I can see the people out there and communicate with them, and our musical choices reflect that.” I asked if there might be a recording resulting from this or future concerts. “It takes a lot of money to physically produce a CD recording and to market it, to finding a distributor. We will probably make a recording from this tour of our Broadway covers available through the regular channels, like i-tunes and Amazon, where I’ve had success. A lot of my audience apparently purchases music online, and not in a physical disc.”

I asked what does the future hold for him. “Well, I’ve put Queensryche on the back burner for now. And I have no plans to appear on television. I’m not a huge fan of television. It’s not my preferred medium.”

I then asked him if he could clear up something I had found knocking about the internet. I asked him to settle the matter of whether or not he was straight or gay or bisexual. I did say that I was aware of his marriage, but he had sponsored a film, “American Primitive,” about a gay couple in the closet set in 1979, which, for some, confused the issue. “Really? I have never heard this before now. I love my wife; and I am a happily married, straight man, for the record.” I then said he wasn’t like James Franco, who encouraged all sorts of speculation about his sexuality? “No, no way.” He then added, as he laughed, “I’m flattered by the attention, that people want me to be gay. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on some people’s part to get me on their team.” I added that few people would welcome the news that Chris Christie, New Jersey’s Governor, was gay. “Oh wow, probably not!”

I then asked about the film, “American Primitive,” and what was happening with that. “It was completed in 2008, and it’s languishing, waiting for a distributor. As we discussed earlier, distribution is a big hurdle to overcome. There is no release date, which is a crime, since director, Glen Winne, did a fantastic job with the film.”

Adam Pascal’s parting words were, “We hope you all come out and see us, because we would love to see you, live and in person.”