"A calmer Patinkin blends sweetness, comic touch" Austin American-Statesman By M. Barnes October 15, 1999 Mandy Patinkin is to concerts what brandy is to wine. As he proved once again at the Paramount Theatre on Wednesday, Patinkin refines all the expected elements of concert performance -- vocal, emotional, intellectual -- down to their tangy essences. When Patinkin first appeared at the Paramount in 1992, he was mourning the recent death of friend and theatrical producer Joseph Papp. Speaking and singing from the heart, he overwhelmed the audience with his emotional nakedness. Yet the star of stage and screen was still new to concerts, and performed self-consciously, stiffly, relying on tricks, such as his trademark whining slide, sung through several octaves. His 1993 performance was more restrained, as he teased pure musicality from his unusual voice -- he has nursed one of the most expressive falsettos I've ever heard. By 1996, his emphasis had moved to the lyrics of show tunes, American standards and novelty numbers, developed with pianist Paul Ford. Each song was staged like a little drama. This week, for his fourth series of Paramount concerts, he had fun, pure and simple. Making every song his own, Patinkin relaxed enough to toy with tempos, or go completely overboard during his admittedly silly spoken interludes. How could the audience resist a participatory version of the "Hokey Pokey," sung in Yiddish? Or his mocking egoism in "Coffee in a Cardboard Cup," when he allowed hordes of fans on stage to touch him and proffer presents? And Patinkin has perfected that almost-lost skill of articulating a comedic song, sung at top speed. (Danny Kaye redux!) He still occasionally closes his eyes and grasps his pants during intense numbers, but he seemed on Wednesday more accessible, more at peace with himself, and less, well, neurotic. He lent ballads an untroubled sweetness and roared through his priceless version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Soliloquy." He continues to be one of the most knowing interpreters of Stephen Sondheim. It may be that some Austin lovers of musicals have turned spoiled and indifferent, because of Patinkin's regular visits, but not me, nor the noisy, adoring audience that gave him multiple standing ovations Wednesday night. Waiter, I'll have another Patinkin, to go.