Patti and Mandy in Concert: Just Two 'Old Friends'

An exclusive limited concert run at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia will mark the first time Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin have appeared on stage together since their Tony-winning runs in the original Broadway company of Evita. Each an established singer/actor, known for unexpected surprises on stage whether they are wonderfully cast in Broadway hit shows such as Sweeney Todd, Gypsy and Evita or simply grabbing attention presenting themselves in solo concerts, Patti & Mandy command the stage with enormous talent and a flare for the unexpected.

LuPone most recently appeared at City Center in a critically lauded turn as Rose in Gypsy, which is rumored to be landing on Broadway this spring. Her Broadway credits include Mrs. Lovett in the recent revival of Sweeney Todd, Noises Off, The Old Neighborhood and  Master Class.

Patinkin is known best in recent years for TV credits like Criminal Minds, Dead Like Me and an Emmy-winning turn on "Chicago Hope." He appeared on Broadway in Sunday in the Park with George and The Wild Party.

This dynamic duo team up together to lighten your heart and send it soaring. Patinkin says, "We've set out to create an entertaining evening for the audience and fun for Patti and me. Through some of the greatest material ever written for the theatre, both sung and spoken, we'll tell the story of two people, from their first meeting through the passage of time in their lives. There will be familiar and some surprising song choices. I'm thrilled to be sharing the stage again with my dear friend."

From the opening duet , "Another Hundred People" from Company briskly sung by the pair, to several selections randomly offered as the moments blend into one song after another, it is discovered early on that this evening is all about friendship and sharing what they love best, singing and apparently each other.

Clearly a tribute to composers Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti and Mandy simply take over the stage with touching vignettes from the bench scene of Carousel with Julie Jordan & Billy Bigelow, where Patti fails to hold back tears to the greatly anticipated second act numbers from Evita. Both Patti & Mandy stop the show with "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", Oh What A Circus" and High Flying Adored" proving indeed that "no one does it like they do".

But more than this, they had fun blending medleys of songs that might seem odd at first until you hear them tell the tales through musical numbers such as "Getting Married Today", where Patti goes on a tirade of sending the audience home from the wedding that won't take place to Mandy quietly subduing her with a tender " Loving You" both from Sondheim.

There is plenty of comedy in a medley of "April in Paris" and "April in Fairbanks" in which they perform a hilarious sit down ballet on swivel chairs twisting and turning and ending up crashing off stage, courtesy of the brilliant choreography by Chicago's Ann Reinking.

It's not that others have never sang these songs before or as well, but it is the feeling that these two Broadway buddies were reliving their careers singing the stories of life, love and romance such as "Somewhere That's Green" (Mandy) right into "In Buddy's Eyes" (Patti). It is hard to see where the passion ends and the acting begins. When two people and a few chairs can accomplish this kind of musical magic, well this is what brings a theater loving audience to its feet every time.

"An Evening with Patti LuPone & Mandy Patikin" is rumored to become many "evenings" of the same as this delightful musical concert makes plans to tour.

SONG LIST:
Another Hundred People (Company) - Duet
When (Evening Primrose)- Duet
A Cockeyed Optimist (South Pacific) - Patti
Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific)- Patti
Some Enchanted Evening Reprise - Mandy
Getting Married Today (Company) Patti
Loving You (Passion) - Mandy
A Cockeyed Optimist Reprise (South Pacific) -Patti
I'm Old Fashioned (You Were Never Lovelier) 
I Have the Room Above Her (Showboat) - Mandy
Baby It's Cold Outside (Neptune's Daughter) - Duet
Everybody Says Don't (Anyone Can Whistle) - Mandy
A Quiet Thing (Flora) - Patti
It Takes Two (Into the Woods) - Duet
I Won't Dance (Roberta) - Duet
April in Paris (Walk a Little Faster) - Patti
April in Fairbanks (New Faces of 1956) - Duet
Oh What A Circus (Evita) - Mandy
High Flying Adored (Evita) - Mandy
Don't Cry for me Argentina (Evita) - Patti
High Flying Adored (reprise) (Evita) - Patti
Old Folks (70 Girls, 70) - Duet
Buddy's Blues (Follies) - Mandy
The Hills of Tomorrow (Merrily)  Duet
Merrily We Roll Along (Merrily) - Duet
Old Friends (Merrily) - Duet
Like It Was (Merrily) - Patti
Franklin Shepard, Inc. (Merrily) - Mandy
Somewhere That's Green (Little Shop of Horrors) - Mandy
In Buddy's Eyes (Follies) - Patti
You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan (Carousel) - Duet
If I Loved You, and Reprise (Carousel) - Duet
What's the Use of Wonderin' (Carousel) - Patti
If I Loved You Reprise - Mand
You'll Never Walk Alone (Carousel) - Duet
Encore: You're Just in Love (Call Me Madam) - Duet

An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin played October 23-29,2007  at the Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia, PA. www.princemusictheater.org

Directed by Mandy Patinkin
Conceived by Mandy Patinkin and Paul Ford
With Paul Ford on Piano and John Beal on Bass
Choreographer... Ann Reinking
Costume Design... Ann Hould-Ward
Lighting Design... Eric Cornwell
Sound Design... Otts Munderloh
Executive Producer... Staci Levine

Photo of Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone