PATINKIN FINDS NEW MEANING IN STANDARD MUSICAL FARE

Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Columbus Dispatch
By C. Schieber

A cavernous stage bordered by walls of wires, hanging lights, catwalks and a door marked "door'' faced off with the audience awaiting the appearance of Mandy Patinkin last night at the Ohio Theatre.

As starting time approached, it was plain there would be no orgy of laser lights, no million-dollar sets and no corny cat outfits.

In fact, Patinkin soon strolled out in sneakers, carrying two bouquets of flowers as if to offer them to the listeners rather than the other way around. Patinkin was accompanied only by pianist Paul Ford.

The singer clearly intended the material to speak for itself. Speak it did, as well as whisper, cry, scream and praise.

At his best, which was most of the time, the singer took songs from movies and Broadway shows out of context, often a recipe for trouble -- or at least a dull musical review. Instead, he gave them new context by placing them in company that augmented their meaning or giving them new emotional narrative. Sometimes, as with a series of Sondheim songs, he wisely let them fly on their own. These especially were moments of delicate beauty.

But a few times, he trusted too little and interfered too much, as in the bombastic Broadway Baby or in the odd ballad or two he allowed to become mawkish. The description of his day in his New York home on Sept. 11 was moving but long.

Still, he misjudged rarely. On the contrary, he gave Harry Chapin's Cat's In The Cradle a delicate wistfulness and brought life to the worn- to-the-bone Over The Rainbow.

He lent an ambivalence to a few obvious choices such as Bali Ha'i that re-examined for a moment his position as a spokesman for Broadway tradition.

Throughout it all, he entertained, with a wit and spontaneity that was open, clever and sometimes pointed.

He sang Hokey Pokey in Yiddish and got the entire audience participating. He fought with a hand puppet about the proper tempo and approach to Holiday For Strings, sounding like a one-man Spike Jones.

Best, however, he reveled in words: their sounds, feelings, cadence and ability to communicate.