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An Evening with Patti Lupone & Mandy Patinkin
By Richard Kaplan
The Ahmanson Theater was the proud host for an utterly entertaining evening of musical theater presented by two legendary and highly celebrated performers. Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin who actually conceived the show along with his long time pianist Paul Ford.
The stage production designed by David Korins was elegantly stark accented only with a mosaic of garden lanterns and the organic simplicity of Paul Ford at the piano and John Beal on stand-up bass. The no frills staging placed a tremendous amount of responsibility on the principals to deliver the goods to a full capacity audience of passionate and knowledgeable theater enthusiasts. And, deliver they did in a two hour romp through no less than thirty seven Broadway compositions! Classics from Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific," like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "A Cockeyed Optimist" "Carousel's," "If I Loved You" and "You'll Never Walk Alone" were huge hits with the adoring audience. Choice selections from Stephen Soundheim's, "Merrily We Roll Along," like "Old Friends" and "Somewhere That's Green" scored big as well. Although Lupone's triumphant Broadway rendition of "Everything's coming Up Roses" from "Gypsy," received some of the evenings loudest ovations.
The mutual respect and affection between Lupone and Patinkin is palpable. It's hard to imagine that it has been thirty years since the two of them shared a stage in Webber and Rice's "Evita" which help to catapult the two of them to among theater's elite class. And, when Lupone stood at center stage to sing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" to close out the first half of the show. The audience screams and applause was thunderous! And when she lifted her arms up above her head silhouetted in the spotlight in that iconic pose from the Evita poster. Forget about it ! That alone was worth the price of admission.
Lupone and Patinkin easily traversed from evoking a sincere emotional delivery with romantic lyrics and dialogue to outright giddy comedic routines. Another highlight included a very clever synchronized office chair on wheels number which almost had the grace and agility of championship ice skating. It was choreographed by Ann Reinking who obviously has a great sense of humor. There were some dance scenes in which Patinkin at times resembled Steve Martin's wild and crazy guy character from SNL.
Throughout the program Patinkin did have some difficulty maintaining a strong sustained singing voice transitioning to his higher register which was always one of his trademarks. Whether it was a case of father time or just an off night for Patinkin, it still did not dampen the true spirit and tempo of the performance. His adept skill of theater, pathos and showmanship handily won over the affection of the audience. It was truly a satisfying evening of theater.
For those of you who have not ventured downtown to the theater district lately, you will be in for a lovely experience. The majestic water pond, beautiful sculptures and outdoor café's in the Ahmanson and Dorothy Chandler outdoor complex is truly a source of pride for our city of angels.