Adam’s star turn in Burn This corralled a lot of critical notice. LA Weekly said that “Adam Rothenberg’s Pale is the hot, pounding heart of this production.” Los Angeles Broadway World thought that Adam was “astounding in a fearless portrayal of an intensely hurting individual.” Variety thought that “The talented Rothenberg, who blessedly lacks Malkovich’s distracting androgynous quality, offers a Pale who is believable, tough, utterly masculine …” And the Los Angeles Times noted that “Rothenberg, who looks a little like Willem Dafoe’s younger brother, has charisma and the right urban grace.”
In addition to all the raves, we got a new profile of Adam courtesy LA Stage Times’ Connie Danese:
Adam Rothenberg, playing the role created by John Malkovich, is a thoughtful and charismatic actor who explodes onto the stage in his first entrance like a modern-day Stanley Kowalski. How does he get to that peak so quickly? “Uhh,” he grins sheepishly, “Jump rope.” He pauses to add, “And a little Tai Chi. Then, well, you just throw yourself into the language and get your heart rate up.”
When asked about his training, Rothenberg is both charming and generous. “I have a wonderful teacher I would love to mention by the name of Alan Savage. I never went to acting school. I learned in the trenches working in black box theaters in New York. But this teacher has helped me a great deal. He stresses working with the text, understanding why you’ re saying something based on what the other person just said. I don’t know how to explain it. A lot of actors feel they need to be doing so many things, when at the end of the day if the writer has done his work you just show up, trust you’re enough and throw yourself into it.”
In the second act Rothenberg’s character shows a surprising sensitivity. “To me that section was just about dropping the rage and going with the language, which is so brilliant and beautiful. I felt the more I thought about what I was saying, the sensitivity just took care of itself.”
