By Michael Buckley
02 Jul 2006

Coming to New York, he was "jobless and miserable for almost a year.” Misery ended with the opportunity to stand by for Brian d'Arcy James (as Burrs) in Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party. "Brian's a great friend, and one of our gems of the theatre. He's so deserving of all the success he's having. He was great in Lieutenant of Inishmore. I wanted so badly to do that play, but I couldn't work it out in terms of my schedule. I think Martin McDonagh is one of the great playwrights of our time.”

He considers Spinning Into Butter (at the Mitzi Newhouse) as "really important to me. It took me out of the general casting pool of actors who only do musicals. It was a highly controversial play; I got a lot of attention from it. I'm very grateful for the experience.”

His television debut occurred in "Six Feet Under.” In two episodes he played Kurt, a square-dance instructor. At the time of 9/11, Pasquale was in rehearsals for a musical version of the 1996 film "The Spitfire Grill.” He played Sheriff Joe Sutter in the Playwrights Horizons production. "It was very strange to be performing two or three nights later. At least, we were telling a positive story during such a traumatic time.”

Light in the Piazza (which was based on a 1962 movie) followed, and, in turn, he was cast in the Lincoln Center production of A Man of No Importance, a Terrence McNally/Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty musical version of a 1994 picture. Pasquale earned Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk nominations as Robbie Fay, the object of Roger Rees' character's unrequited affections.

Nicky Silver's Beautiful Child was next in line. He played Isaac, the son of characters played by Penny Fuller and George Grizzard. "How are you going to beat that, with those two guys as your parents? They're fantastic; they up your game big time! Terry Kinney directed, and he's become a great friend.” Pasquale's character was "a gay teacher who returns home to hide from the world because he's been having an affair with an eight-year-old [male] student. It was about the struggle to punish or forgive, and the relationship between him and his parents. [The play] was very disturbing, very difficult, but really rewarding at the end of the day.”

In Neil LaBute's Fat Pig, Pasquale succeeded Jeremy Piven in the role of Tom. It was directed by Jo Bonney, who also directed A Soldier's Play. While playing Captain Taylor in the latter, Pasquale appeared at Joe's Pub in a November 2005 evening of folk and soul music. Does he have any plans to record? "I'd love to do a CD, but I'm a little ignorant about how to get started. I'm thinking about doing an old-fashioned jazz record, with maybe an ode to Chet Baker. It's something I want to pursue when I'm a little more settled in my acting.”

As Archibald, Pasquale led a stellar cast in a December 2005 World AIDS Day concert performance of The Secret Garden at the Manhattan Center. "I played opposite Laura Benanti's brilliant Lily. It was a dream cast, with Michael Arden [as Dickon] and Celia Keenan-Bolger [playing Martha]. That's the last time I've been on a stage.”

***

"Aurora Borealis” (2004) and "The Last Run” (2003) are two independent movies, in which Pasquale "had a good time working.” His other TV credits include a short-lived series "Platinum.” Currently on "Rescue Me,” his character is again top man in the complicated love life of Maggie (Tatum O'Neal), the sister of series lead Denis Leary (as Tommy Gavin). In the series the firefighters have recently all quit smoking. How does that reflect real life? "Most of [the other actors] smoke; however, I do not.” Susan Sarandon and Marisa Tomei are among this season's guest stars.

Is there a role that, thus far, has given Steven Pasquale the most satisfaction? "Fabrizio in Light in the Piazza was the most rewarding onstage experience that I've had,” he declares. "There's a ton of roles I haven't done that I'd love to do — like Billy Bigelow [Carousel] and [Georges in] Sunday in the Park with George. They're just two of the great roles that I've been listening to my whole life, and I'm finally getting old enough to play them.”

***

Michael Buckley also writes for TheaterMania.