Mandy Patinkin – Live in Concert – Lyric Theatre

Mandy Patinkin – Live in Concert continues at the Lyric Theatre, London until 19 November 2023.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Whether it is because of The Princess Bride, Yentl, Homeland, the original cast recording of Sunday in the Park With George, or any other moment in his glittering career, we have all fallen in love with Mandy Patinkin at least once. In a rare treat for UK audiences, Patinkin has brought an intimate solo show: Mandy Patinkin – Live in Concert to London’s Lyric Theatre for a limited run. It is without doubt worth the visit.

Concerts like these from established performers can be predictable affairs. Patinkin could easily have thrown together a setlist of greatest hits, told a few stories about fellow celebrities, and the audience would have gone home happy to have seen his bearded face and heard his signature vibrato in person. However, Patinkin uses this show as an opportunity to connect as well as entertain.

Firstly, it should be emphasised that Patinkin’s voice is still as exceptional an instrument as ever. It is distinctive and powerful, somehow filling the Lyric Theatre even in the quietest whispered passages. But for all the impressive musicality on display, there is also both silliness and heart. The song choices veer from golden era musical theatre to pop to The Muppets, with Patinkin committing fully to every heart-breaking or hilarious moment.

Patinkin the actor is on full display. He doesn’t perform songs as much as he wears them as costumes, draping melodies over the fully realised characters he conjures in each three-minute number. When not singing, he is joyous, joking with the audience and telling stories. He is an engaging performer, and against a plain curtained backdrop with nothing but a spotlight to focus one’s eye, he has the entire audience alternately silently enraptured and roaring with laughter.

This connection adds to the enjoyment of the music. Some of the most powerful musical moments come from numbers contextualised perfectly by Patinkin’s stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Soliloquy’ from Carousel, Patinkin’s own ‘Buckingham’, and Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Anyone Can Whistle’ in particular stand out as extraordinary moments of theatre. Sondheim is well-represented throughout, with ‘Children Will Listen’, and a gorgeous medley of ‘Sorry-Grateful’ and ‘Being Alive’ also making appearances. Besides the musical theatre, we are treated to ‘It Ain’t Easy Being Green’ from The Muppets, as well as two Randy Newman numbers and even a stunning solo rendition of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.

Adam Ben-David does an impeccable job as pianist, following perfectly Patinkin’s stops and starts and distinctive phrasing, and even getting involved in the comedy. A highlight of the set comes in the form of a blistering ‘Rock Island’ from Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, performed here with impeccable diction and virtuosity, plus some shade thrown at Bernie Madoff because that’s something that never goes out of style. Though Patinkin drives the number – originally performed by an ensemble – Ben-David supports his performance with precision, his voice afloat on a wash of reverb to separate it from the star’s. It is a masterful moment of synergy, and the inclusion of such an unobvious musical theatre number in this concert show a testament to Patinkin’s theatrical instincts.

After a night of laughter and heart, it is the final song of the evening that might be most affecting. Patinkin introduces The Wizard of Oz’s ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ as a song written with Jewish exodus from Eastern European pogroms in mind. Affectingly, he seamlessly slips into Yiddish after the first verse. Patinkin is a legendary vocalist, but this production has proven his greatest skill is that of connection. He uncynically forges a bond with the Lyric Theatre’s audience such that we are not simply entertained: we feel like we know this icon of stage and screen personally. It is a generous, captivating, and heart-warming evening. If you have ever been enraptured by one of Patinkin’s many brilliant performances, do not miss this rare opportunity to see him practice his magic in person. Fall in love with this exceptional talent one more time.

Ian Bowkett