Wow, Playbill has done a special feature on our leading man, Richard Todd Adams. It sounds like he was cute in "ass-less chaps", but wait 'til you see him in his Captain's uniform! According to this article in Playbill.com:

MR. ADAMS' BUTT, MR. ADAMS...

Richard Todd Adams is one Broadway caliber "Leading Man" who's not afraid to work his rear end off -- literally. In last month's Fringe musical The Day the World Went Queer!, the six-foot-two hunk from Galveston, TX, did something cheeky: He wore a leather harness and "ass-less chaps" that bared his behind, and to top it off, the rich and robust baritone belted "Nobody Wants a Daddy [Who's a Bottom]." But it was all for laughs in this madcap satire by Jonathan Matthew Gilbert, Lavell V. Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen. Adams was a riot playing Grant, a strait-laced straight guy who "turned gay" when his town legalized same-sex marriage. He says, "I can't believe I was onstage with my ass hanging out, but it was fun and I love doing comedy."

This month, Adams plays Brett Mansford, a jet-setting pilot and playboy in Plane Crazy, Suzy Conn's new musical comedy about stewardesses during the swinging sixties, "when stews were sexy and the world was sexist." It plays Sept. 15-25 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival and stars Allison Spratt, Hollie Howard and Jodie Langel. Adams says, "It focuses on Faith, who's a virgin from Toledo; Holly, an aspiring actress; and Janet, who jumps in bed with anyone. Brett falls for Janet, and she thinks he's a jerk, but he genuinely loves her. Jodie and I sing a great duet called 'Dancing on Air,' and I get a heartfelt and beautiful solo: 'I Will Take Care of You.'"

Next, Adams, 31, will sing at "Kurt Weill: Hard Times and War," a concert sponsored by the Lotte Lenya Competition for Singers, on Oct. 20 at Lincoln Center. "The first year I entered, [opera legend] Teresa Stratas was one of the judges and gave me unbelievable feedback. So when I went to the finals, I had a swelled head and faked my way through it. I didn't win and afterward, Stratas grabbed me and cussed me out: 'You're too good to do that crap. You always have to sing from the heart.' She really opened my eyes. The next year I said, 'I'm gonna f****** win this thing' and I did."

Adams has toured the U.S. and Canada in 2 Pianos 4 Hands, and for two years, played Raoul in both the Los Angeles and national touring companies of The Phantom of the Opera. "I learned more in those two years than my four years at Juilliard. I'd love to play the Phantom someday." However, as a sports fan who named his Lhasa apso Espen after the ESPN network, perhaps his most favorite role has been that of head coach for the Special Olympics: "An ex-girlfriend got me involved. It was a big challenge teaching basketball to people with learning disabilities. But if I had a horrible week, they always lifted me up. Even though the scoreboard was there, they'd ask: 'Did we win?' If we did, they'd embrace me and it was so rewarding."

For more information, visit www.rtadams.com.

Photo by Ben Strothmann.

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