I pretty much agree with everything Karen says below -- I had the pleasure of
appearing with Mandy in a University of Kansas production of Pippin in the
early/mid-70s when he was a student there (just before he hit the big-time -- he
moved to NYC to attend Julliard the year after Pippin). I was 22 or 23 at the
time, as I recall, and he was a year younger than me. I sang and danced in the
chorus (in my younger/skinnier days), and he played the title role. His singing
then was quite different - more of a full "tenny-bare" sound, none of the
breathy throaty stuff we hear now (we didn't use body mikes, either, which makes
a huge difference). The real attention-getter, though, was his acting. He was
phenomenal, totally committed, very serious about getting it right, but never in
a "prima-dona"-ish way. I also saw him at KU in _The Winter's Tale_. I'm glad
he's done so well, but he does need to be careful about the roles he chooses. I
saw him in _Sunday in the Park with George_, which was brilliant, and I have the
original cast recording of _The Secret Garden_, which has some problems (but the
duet "Lily's Eyes" is still amazing).
(In my not-so-humble opinion, his best comedy role was Inigo Montoya in _The
Princess Bride_ .)
Cheers!
Lana
Karen Mercedes wrote:
> On Tue, 29 May 2001, Martha Merrill wrote:
>
> > Hi List,
> >
> > I just got a CD over the weekend with Mandy Patinkin singing showtones by
> > Hamerstein and Sondheim. He has quite an interesting voice, don't think I
> > have ever heard anything quite like it. Any opinions on his technique or
> > sound?
>
> I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Patinkin in concert a couple years ago
> (the beginning of his long MAMMALOSHEN tour). My observation, at "close
> range" and without studio electronics is that Patinkin has a really
> attractive baritone voice that he does his best at all times to obscure by
> singing almost exclusively in falsetto. It's a terrible shame, because I
> think his "true voice" is that of a latter-day Alfred Drake. Instead, he
> chooses to give us Michael Crawford.
>
> As a performer, however, he is a phenom - albeit occasionally
> self-conscious and self-indulgent. His concert was an act of artistic
> generosity - a non-stop hour and a half at the highest pitch of energy
> and intensity.
>
> His theatrical work (and film work) shines in serious roles - George
> Seurat in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, Che Guevara in EVITA, for
> example (also Avigdor in YENTL, James Nashe in THE MUSIC OF CHANCE) - is
> fine, but I think his comedic work is much more problematical, and there
> are some things he just shouldn't have done - e.g., Sancho in the studio
> recording of MAN OF LA MANCHA, and Lt. Cable in the studio recording of
> SOUTH PACIFIC: both performances show artistic poor judgement and maximum
> self-indulgence. One suspects that Mandy grabs onto his own artistic idea
> and keeps it firmly locked in his jaws, and no amount of persuasion from
> directors, conductors, etc. will induce him to let it go. As a result,
> when he makes the right artistic choice, he's grand; when he doesn't, he
> can make an embarrassing spectacle of himself.
>
> KM
> ............................
> NEIL SHICOFF, TENORE SUPREMO
> http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
>
> My Own Website
> http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
>
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> + I sing hymns with my spirit, +
> + but I also sing hymns with my mind. +
> + - 1 Corinthians 14:15 +
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>
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--
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Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus
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Lana Mountford Amazon.com
Seattle, WA
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