Mandy Patinkin to Play Merrill Auditorium, 10/18

Broadway's master songman, Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Paul Ford on piano, will bring his critically acclaimed theatre concert to Merrill Auditorium thanks to Portland Ovations for one performance only on Friday, October 18 at 8pm. Tickets are on-sale now at PortTIX, the box office at Merrill Auditorium, 207.842.0800 or by visiting portlandovations.org.

Tony and Emmy Award-winner Mandy Patinkin has an extensive list of theatre credits that include Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theater. He won a Tony Award for his 1980 Broadway debut as Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita and was nominated again in 1984 for his starring role as George in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical,Sunday in the Park with George. In 1991 he returned to Broadway in the Tony Award-winning musical The Secret Garden and in 1997 played a sold-out engagement of his one-man show, Mandy Patinkin in Concert, with all profits benefiting five charitable organizations. Mandy's other solo concerts, Dress Casual, Celebrating Sondheim, andMamaloshen have been presented both on Broadway and Off. In 2009 he celebrated the 20th Anniversary of performing his solo concerts with a two-week run of all of his concerts in rep at New York's Public Theater, the very space he began his concert career. Mandy continued the celebration with a critically acclaimed two-week run ofMandy Patinkin in Concert in London's West End at the Duke of York's Theatre. Mandy's other stage credits include: the world premiere of Compulsion, a new play by Rinne Groff and directed by Oskar Eustis, appearing in productions of the play at Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep and finally at The Public Theater in early 2011, Paradise Found (London's Menier Chocolate Factory), The Tempest (Classic Stage Company), Enemy of the People (Williamstown Theater Festival), The Wild Party (2000 Tony nomination),Falsettos, The Winter's Tale, The Knife, Leave It to Beaver is Dead, Rebel Women,Hamlet, Trelawney of the 'Wells,' The Shadow Box, The Split, Savages, and Henry IV,Part I.

Feature film credits include: Everybody's Hero, The Choking Man, Pinero, The Adventures of Elmo In Grouchland, Lulu on the Bridge, Men with Guns, The Princess Bride, Yentl (1984 Golden Globe nomination), The Music of Chance, Daniel, Ragtime,Impromptu, The Doctor, Alien Nation, Dick Tracy, The House on Carroll Street, True Colors, Maxie, and Squanto: Indian Warrior. Mandy won a 1995 Emmy Award (as well as a Golden Globe nomination) for his performance in the CBS series "Chicago Hope", and recently starred in the CBS series "Criminal Minds" as FBI profiler Jason Gideon and in the Showtime Original Series "Dead Like Me" as the reaper Rube Sofer. Mandy returns to TV in the Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning Showtime Original Series "Homeland" as CIA Division Chief Saul Berenson. His other television appearances include the role of Kenneth Duberstein in the Showtime film "Strange Justice," playing Quasimodo opposite Richard Harris in the TNT film presentation of "The Hunchback," a film version of Arthur Miller's "Broken Glass" for BBC/WGBH-Boston and episodes of "Three Rivers", "The Larry Sanders Show" (1996 Emmy nomination), "Law & Order", "Boston Public", "Touched by an Angel", and "The Simpsons".

In 1989, Mandy began his concert career at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. This coincided with the release of his first solo album entitled Mandy Patinkin. Since then he has toured extensively, appearing to sold-out audiences across the United States, Canada, London, and Australia, performing songs from writers including Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Randy Newman, Adam Guettel and Harry Chapin, among others. In 1990 he released his second solo album entitledMandy Patinkin In Concert: Dress Casual on CBS Records. His 1994 recording,Experiment, on the Nonesuch label, features songs from nine decades of popular music from Irving Berlin to Alan Menken. Also recorded on the Nonesuch label are Oscar & Steve, Leonard Bernstein's New York, Kidults and Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim. In 1998 he debuted his most personal project, Mamaloshen, a collection of traditional, classic and contemporary songs sung entirely in Yiddish. The recording of Mamaloshenwon the Deutschen Schallplattenpreis (Germany's equivalent of the Grammy Award). In October 2007, Mandy debuted a new concert with dear friend Patti LuPone and they continue touring their show An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkinthroughout the US, Australia, New Zealand, and most recently during a 9-week Broadway run at the Barrymore Theatre. Mandy continues to collaborate with An Evening with Mandy Patinkin & Nathan Gunn and most recently The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville starring Mandy and the performance artist Taylor Mac, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and Bridges, a new concert starring Mandy, Paul Ford, and a middle eastern trio. Mandy resides in New York City with his wife, actress and writer Kathryn Grody.

Paul Ford was the original pianist for the Broadway productions of Stephen Sondheim'sPassion, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, the Off-Broadway production of Assassins, and most recently the revival of Pacific Overtures and the Tony award winning revival of Assassins. His other Broadway credits include Curtains, 110 in the Shade (revival), Tom Sawyer, High Society, The Rink, Rags, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, The Secret Garden and Falsettos. Mr. Ford was the pianist for a number of concerts under the baton of Paul Gemignani including: the acclaimed Folliesconcert at Lincoln Center; the Carnegie Hall concert performances of A Sondheim Tribute, Anyone Can Whistle and South Pacific with Reba McEntire; A Little Night Musicwith the Philadelphia Symphony; Gypsy with Patti LuPone and the Chicago Symphony; and episodes of PBS' "My Favorite Broadway." He accompanied Mr. Patinkin in Mandy Patinkin: Dress Casual at The Public Theater and on Broadway, both the Broadway and Off-Broadway engagements of Mamaloshen, and continues to work with him on all of his recordings and national/international tours.

Tickets for Mandy Patinkin range from $41 to $63 for Ovations' Members and $45 to $70 for the general public. To purchase tickets visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTIX at 207-842-0800 or stop by the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.

This performance by Mandy Patinkin is sponsored locally by OceanView at Falmouth and The Portland Phoenix.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride