The McAninch Arts Center (MAC) is pleased to announce the addition of “Mandy Patinkin in Concert: BEING ALIVE” with Adam Ben-David on piano to the MAC’s 2023-2024 Season. Patinkin, seen on Broadway in “Evita” and “Sunday in the Park with George;” in film in “Ragtime” and “The Princess Bride” and on TV in CBS’ “Criminal Minds” and the Showtime Original Series’ “Homeland,” will be accompanied by music director, conductor and pianist Adam Ben-David in this exclusive Chicago fall engagement. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 14. Tickets are on sale at www.AtTheMAC.org, by phone at 630.942.4000 or in person at the MAC Box Office, located at 425 Fawell Blvd.
Pictured: Mandy Patinkin. Photo by Joan Marcus
“Mandy Patinkin in Concert: BEING ALIVE” presents the acclaimed actor/singer/storyteller in his most electrifying role: concert performer. “Mandy Patinkin is in the business of showstopping,” raves The New Yorker, and that is exactly what he does in this powerful, passionate evening of song. “BEING ALIVE” is a marriage of many of Patinkin’s favorite Broadway and classic American tunes. From Randy Newman to Stephen Sondheim, from Harry Chapin to Rufus Wainwright, Patinkin will take audiences on a dazzling musical journey they will never forget.
Patinkin has carved out a varied career including theater, the concert stage, film, television, and as a recording artist. In his 1980 Broadway debut, Patinkin won a Tony Award for his role as Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber's “Evita” and was nominated in 1984 for his starring role as George in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, “Sunday in the Park with George.” Patinkin’s other stage credits include “Compulsion,” “Paradise Found,” “The Tempest,” “Enemy of the People,” “The Wild Party,” “Falsettos,” “The Secret Garden,” “The Winter's Tale,” “The Knife,” “Leave It to Beaver is Dead,” “Rebel Women,” “Hamlet,” “Trelawney of the ‘Wells,” “The Shadow Box,” “The Split,” “Savages” and “Henry IV, Part I.”
In 1989, Patinkin began his concert career at Joseph Papp's Public Theater in New York City. Since then, he has toured his various solo concerts across North America, in London’s West End, through Australia and New Zealand, as well as on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Before “BEING ALIVE,” his most recent solo concert was “Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Diaries,” which debuted at NYC’s Connelly Theater. In addition to solo concerts, Patinkin has created collaborations with artists including opera star Nathan Gunn in “An Evening with Mandy Patinkin & Nathan Gunn,” touring the U.S., Australia and New Zealand; with his dear friend Patti LuPone in “An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin” which has toured since 2007 and played Broadway in 2012; “Bridges,” a concert with musicians from various countries in the Middle East; and most recently, “The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville,” with Taylor Mac and direction by Susan Stroman.
Patinkin’s most recent feature film is the entertaining dramedy “Before You Know It.” Other feature films include “Life Itself,” “Wonder,” “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” “The Queen of Spain,” “Ali and Nino,” “Wish I Was Here,” “The Wind Rises,” “Everybody’s Hero,” “The Choking Man,” “Pinero,” “The Adventures of Elmo In Grouchland,” “Lulu on the Bridge,” “Men with Guns,” The Princess Bride,” “Yentl,” “The Music of Chance,” “Daniel,” “Ragtime,” “Impromptu,” “The Doctor,” “Alien Nation,” “Dick Tracy,” “The House on Carroll Street,” “True Colors” and “Maxie.”
In television, Patinkin was recently seen as Judge Wackner in the Paramount+ series “The Good Fight.” He won a 1995 Emmy Award for his performance in the CBS series “Chicago Hope,” and starred in the CBS series “Criminal Minds” and in the Showtime Original Series “Dead Like Me” and “Homeland” as CIA Agent Saul Berenson.
As a recording artist on CBS Records, Patinkin released two solo albums, “Mandy Patinkin” and “Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Dress Casual.” Recently on the Nonesuch label, Patinkin recorded three digital albums: “Mandy Patinkin: Diary January 2018,” “Mandy Patinkin Diary April/May 2018” and “Mandy Patinkin Diary December 2018.” Also with Nonesuch are “Experiment, Oscar & Steve,” “Kidults” and “Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim.” In 1998 he debuted his most personal project, “Mamaloshen,” a collection of traditional, classic and contemporary songs sung entirely in Yiddish. The recording of “Mamaloshen” won the Deutschen Schallplattenpreis (Germany’s equivalent of the Grammy Award). Patinkin’s most recent Nonesuch Records release is “Children and Art” (2019). The songs were recorded in New York with pianist/producer Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman); several had been previewed as part of the digital “Diary” series.
As diverse as his professional life has been, Patinkin’s education in the field of social activism has been even more varied and continues to evolve. He has helped raise funds for organizations dear to his heart including Brady Campaign, PAX, Association to Benefit Children, American Jewish World Service, Search for Common Ground, National Dance Institute and ACLU. Patinkin is a board member of the Arava Institute and continues to work with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), highlighting the plight of refugees worldwide.
Patinkin resides in New York City with his wife, actress and writer Kathryn Grody.
Adam Ben-David has been living his “bucket list” dream of accompanying Patinkin in concert since 2016. He has been active as an arranger, music director, conductor and pianist on Broadway for the past 22 years. Adam’s credits include “The Book of Mormon,” “Jersey Boys,” “Spring Awakening,” “Wicked,” “High Fidelity,” “The Light in the Piazza,” “Bombay Dreams,” “Aida” and “Once Upon a Mattress.” He has accompanied numerous artists including Kelli O'Hara, Jarrod Spector, James Taylor, Patti LuPone and Megan Hilty. Ben-David is currently composing a theatrical adaptation of the children’s classic “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.” He is a graduate of the Juilliard School.
Tickets
“Mandy Patinkin in Concert: BEING ALIVE” with Adam Ben-David on piano comes to the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 14. Tickets are $75-$100. For tickets or more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. The Box Office is currently open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Beginning Sept. 12, Box Office hours are noon-6 p.m., Tuesday–Saturday and two hours prior to performances.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by Bank of America, Brookdale Senior Living Glen Ellyn, the DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville, Anonymous, Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, The DuPage Foundation, Ball Horticultural, Clayco, Enjoy Illinois, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation; Wight & Company, WDCB 90.9 FM and College of DuPage Foundation.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.