One thing is certain about Mandy Patinkin — his Jewishness is part of every role he portrays.
“It’s who I am,” said Patinkin in a telephone interview from New York, where he is currently performing on Broadway with longtime friend Patti LuPone. The powerful performing twosome will bring their show, “An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin,” to Kansas City’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts through Theatre League (Jan. 17-22) just days after closing the show on Broadway. (For ticket information call 816-994-7222 or visit www.theaterleague.com.)
“My Jewishness and humanness are intertwined,” Patinkin continued. “It’s rachmones and compassion for others. It defines my character. If Jewishness, you take away from who I am.”
Now 59, Patinkin got his theatrical start through the Jewish Community Center near his childhood home in Chicago. At the suggestion of his mother, the teenage Patinkin became involved with the Young Men’s Jewish Council.
“I wasn’t interested in school, and I got involved in a play and I found myself,” Patinkin said. “It was about telling someone’s story. ... It saved my life.”
After attending Kenwood High School, Patinkin landed in our own backyard at the University of Kansas. During his two years at KU, Patinkin appeared in “Man of La Mancha,” “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” and as Tevye the milkman in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof.”
“This is where I started,” Patinkin told AP. “This is the last place my father saw me perform.”
While at KU, Patinkin was chosen as Teen Angel in nationwide 7-Up commercial; he left Lawrence and relocated to New York to attend Julliard School of Drama. After Julliard, Patinkin performed with the Baltimore Center Theatre Group as well as in BBC Radio productions.
Patinkin has been back to KU on a few occasions, but won’t get the chance this time.
“I wish I had free time to visit my alma mater,” he said.
Patinkin has had a diverse career spanning the Broadway stage as well as film, television and recording. He won a Tony Award for the role of Che in the musical “Evita,” where he and LuPone first connected. Patinkin went on to tread the boards in such other shows as “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Falsettos” and “The Secret Garden.” His film roles have included “The Princess Bride,” in which Patinkin made the phrase, “prepare to die” famous, “Yentl” and “Ragtime.” The small screen of television took Patinkin’s signature voice and face to the masses through such roles as Dr. Jeffrey Geiger in the hospital drama “Chicago Hope,” for which he won an Emmy. Patinkin portrayed Special Agent Jason Gideon in the ensemble cast of the TV series “Criminal Minds.” Currently, Patinkin is in production of the Showtime series “Homeland,” playing Dr. Saul Berenson, a member of the CIA who is — of all things — the Middle East Division Chief emeritus.
Patinkin said all the characters he has played have been Jewish in one sense or another. He’s found all the roles he’s played — whether on stage or screen — to be compelling, however Patinkin is particularly enjoying this turn in “Homeland.”
Patinkin is excited about bringing this current show to Kansas City audiences in eight performances. It’s a show he and LuPone have been doing off and one for the past nine years.
“It’s a figurative journey of two souls both spoken and unsung,” Patinkin explained. “It’s a concert format but it’s not the usual fair. It’s designed to be very entertaining. There are some familiar big show tunes and some that aren’t so familiar. Most importantly, it’s with my dear friend Patti LuPone. We love each other dearly and it’s a celebration of our lives.”
Theatre League Executive Director Mark Edelman has been promoting shows for 35 years, during which time he estimates he has used the words direct from Broadway at least 10,000 times. This particular show may represent the most direct path a show coming from Broadway to Kansas City has ever taken.
“I don’t’ think I’ve ever presented a show as direct from Broadway as ‘An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin,’ because that show is closing on Broadway on Jan. 13 and opening at the Kauffman on Jan. 17, four days later. It’s pretty tight,” Edelman said.
How does Patinkin keep a show that was conceived nine years ago fresh for audiences who have never seen it?
“We keep changing it, too,” Patinkin said. “When you pick the right material you keep it fresh.”
And there are stretches of time when the pair doesn’t perform together.
“I long for it when I’ve been away from it like a vitamin” he said.
Patinkin has a life beyond the footlights. Happily married to actress/writer Kathryn Grody, Patinkin enjoys his family time which includes sons Isaac, 29, and Gideon, 25.
“My older son is getting married,” said Patinkin, pride welling up in his voice. “It’s on his time clock. I hope it’s before I die,” he said with a laugh.
Gideon, a singer and songwriter, has his first CD coming out.
“Every now and then my youngest son performers with me and I love it, but he’ll be in New Zealand rolling out his CD,” Patinkin said.
Patinkin will continue doing concerts through the end of March, take personal time in April and in May, it’s back to filming the Showtime series, which takes place in the post 9-11 world of terrorism. He likes the role of Berenson, a mentor/father figure to the lead character CIA Agent Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes. Patinkin describes the series as a psychological thriller.
“It has some very serious questions about who are the terrorists,” Patinkin said. “It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life … These writers thrill me. It’s extraordinary and I’m a very extraordinarily lucky man to be part of it.”
