Mandy Patinkin In Las Vegas

This might be the first time the words "Mandy Patinkin" and "neutral" are used in the same sentence. And they're only being used in one sentence as a preface to saying that I challenge you to find anyone who is neutral about Patinkin's stage performance.

I certainly am not. I am an unabashed Mandy fan.

I've always loved his kind of presentation — flat-out emotional and very much of musical theater. The big voice that, even when singing the subtlest of Sondheim's music, hangs out there for everyone to see. You know what this guy is feeling, what he means when he sings.

To me, Mandy Patinkin has always been synonymous Broadway and he was here September 16, opening the University of Nevada at Las Vegas' "New York Stage & Beyond" series.

The stage is bare, artfully set with behind-the-scenes paraphernalia. There are a couple of ladders, a couple of sandbags leaning against them — backstage detritus. Patinkin's long-time accompanist Paul Ford came out and began to play the piano. Then, carrying a big basket of flowers in each hand, Patinkin walked on. He deposited a basket on either side of the stage (where they stayed bathed in a soft spot throughout the evening) and began to sing.

First up was Did You Ever See A Dream Walking, which segued into a Jewish wedding. The audience was called on to stand and do the Hokey Pokey and Patinkin broke the ceremonial wineglass with his heel. For the next two hours he sang and talked and left most of the audience cheering.

He sang Jolson (Rockabye Your Baby), And The Band Played On, and matched the force of Robert Preston when he sang the wonderful Movies Were Movies from Mack and Mabel.

Naturally, he sang Sondheim…..Oh, did he sing Sondheim. Send In the Clowns. Broadway Baby. Waiting For the Girls Upstairs. No one does justice to this one composer as does this one singer.

Of course, in addition to his singing, Patinkin talked. There was a long anecdote about his wife, his father, his son and his underwear that was, if kind of pointless, nonetheless charming. He retold the story of The Emperor's New Clothes in his own way.

And he closed the show with his signature line: "Hello. I am Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

He brought down the house.

So, you get the point: I really enjoyed this show. The thing is, I've seen Mandy Patinkin perform before in Broadway shows and at Lincoln Center. While I think it's a very neat trick when he goes from falsetto to the lowest register in one song, I can frankly do without the falsetto.  But there's something about him that draws me at every opportunity and has me listening to him — especially his first CD — quite often.  And, after some thought, I've figured out what it is.

First, of course, is the talent. It is monumental and unflagging. If you love Broadway, you must see this man. Like him or not, you do owe it to yourself. The second reason is a newer one and has to do with living outside commuting distance to Broadway.

Being in Las Vegas means that in so many ways you're living in what is truly the entertainment capital of the world. (Next time I'll tell you more about that.) You name a performer and that performer has been or will be here. What isn't here, however, is Broadway. Musicals fail all to frequently here even when the productions are terrific. As for drama and comedy unembellished by any music? No productions but those of the school and community theater variety.

Ah! But when Mandy Patinkin comes to town, Broadway comes to town. I've always found him rather cold on TV and as much as I love The Princess Bride, I don't believe he (or any of the characters) is real. Great actor, but he always seems angry to me. However, onstage his passion for what he does is palpable.

He told a local interviewer: "I love doing concerts more than anything. They feed my soul. ... The stage is where I want to die. Walk out, sing a note and drop dead. I get to sing the most beautiful songs in the world. I love them."

Yes, Mandy Patinkin can be overwrought, over-emotional, way too intense for some. But not for me. When I look for entertainment in my adopted hometown and, very rarely, have the opportunity to see a flesh-and-blood Broadway performer, I jump at the chance. Because I know that, here in Las Vegas, by the time we get a steady diet of quality theater, the Jersey Boys will be retired old men playing pinochle in Miami and The History Boys will have long since graduated.

Come back soon, Mandy.


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