Long before Mandy Patinkin was an Emmy-winning star, he established himself as a Tony-winning Broadway legend.
He will celebrate what he adores the most about the arts during Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Being Alive, which comes to the Fox Tucson Theatre on Sunday, Feb. 18.
“Oh, I love it there,” he said about Arizona.
“I’ve been there so many times over the years. I just love it. I hang out a little extra, enjoy the terrain and breathe in that glorious air — particularly during an East Coast winter.”
During the 90-minute show, the 71-year-old Patinkin will perform his favorite Broadway and classic American tunes, ranging from Irving Berlin to Harry Chapin. Still, he said, he wouldn’t reveal too much about his performances out of fear of disappointing ticketholders.
“I can promise you that I’m going to do everything I can to make sure myself and everyone who comes to the show has a fun time,” he said.
“I don’t like to say what songs I’m doing. I get people who say they’ve driven a long time to hear me sing a song and sometimes I change my mind at the last minute or in the middle of the show.”
Patinkin does say the show is eclectic and made for fun, something that performers, guests — and everyone — need post-pandemic.
“We put this show together after the pandemic to have a fun time,” he explained. “It was a different show before the pandemic. It was a little darker. We put that in the drawer. After the pandemic, (pianist) Adam Ben-David and I needed to welcome ourselves back and the audiences back. To have fun: that’s what people needed to see and what I needed to see and do.”
Patinkin debuted the show in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Feb. 6 and, he explained, it was a pleasure to bring it to the stage. The stage is where he belongs, he said.
Patinkin made his theater debut in 1975, starring opposite Meryl Streep in the comic play “Trelawny of the ‘Wells’” at The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare Festival.
He was the first to play Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita,” earning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He received a Tony nom for Best Actor in a Musical for the roles of Georges Seurat/George in Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George” in 1984.
Patinkin is lauded for his TV roles as well: Dr. Jeffrey Geiger in “Chicago Hope” (1994 to 2000), SSA Jason Gideon in the crime-drama “Criminal Minds” (2005 to 2007), and Saul Berenson in the Showtime drama series “Homeland” (2011 to 2020). He earned seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama Series for “Chicago Hope” in 1995. Patinkin has had recurring roles in “Dead Like Me” (2003 to 2004) and “The Good Fight” (2021).
Not one to be pigeonholed, Patinkin portrayed Inigo Montoya in Rob Reiner’s family adventure film “The Princess Bride” (1987) and Avigdor in Barbra Streisand’s “Yentl” (1983), for which he earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination.
Still, his heart takes him back to the stage.
“Of all the blessings I’ve been given, being in film, being in plays, being on television, being on the stage, recording or podcasts, if I could only do one thing, I could choose the live concert venue,” he said.
“It’s immediate. The best thing about it is the audience. They make the evening happen. Without them, it’s nothing. I’m the luckiest guy on the planet. I’ve been doing it since about 1989. I just pinch myself. I can’t believe I get to do it.”
It’s not about the accolades or the adulation, either.
“It’s the feeling of being together,” Patinkin said.
“These songs were written by women and men, great artists—geniuses some would call them. They wrote down what they wished for themselves and the world at large.
“They left those wishes behind — if they’ve left us — for the rest of us to enjoy for the rest of our lives. They run the gamut of silly fun things, heartfelt things to tell your loved ones, your wife, your kids, the most important people in the world. They’re like vitamins for my soul.”
Patinkin is humbled by the love he receives on stage. He can sing the songs thousands of times, but they can be absorbed different ways, depending on “what happened to your life that day and the lives of the people in the audience, the town and country and world at large.
“That, in my humble opinion, is the mark of a great artist,” he added.
“I am not referring to myself as a great artist. I’m a mailman for the artists, for the rest of us to enjoy. That’s the deal. That’s exactly what I am. I’m no genius. I get to watch you open it and read it.”
Patinkin said, with a laugh, he knows his shows aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.
“We promise you a good time,” he said. “If you hate it, you can go home, or just take a nap. We won’t bother you — unless you snore too loud. Then I’ll humiliate you.”
Mandy Patinkin in Concert: “Being Alive” w/Adam Ben-David on piano
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18
WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson
PRICE: Tickets start at $20
INFO: www.foxtucson.com
