Mandy Patinkin Reviews

David B from Sarasota, Florida

PATANKIN WAS GREAT

Don’t know what show others saw, but he was brilliant. It was a very fun and moving night. Would see him again in a heartbeat.

Harvey Boal from Phoenix, Arizona

A RENAISSANCE SONGSMITH

Attending the Patinkin performance in Mesa a few days ago affirmed my perception of this gentleman as an American treasure. His humor, rapport with the audience, thematic medleys, and nonstop enthusiasm made for an evening few artists can muster, much less maintain for so long without an intermission. I hope other reviewers, most apparently attending a different show that preceded this one, since their reviews were posted before the Mesa performance, managed to see Mandy Patinkin and enjoy his art the way the audience did here.

Susie from Nashville, Tennessee

BLINDSIDED

I've been loving Mandy's voice/style for decades and last night I finally saw him perform. I cried through the whole show. At first it was from happiness and then it was from sadness. It was moving - downhill slowly. I'm so sad that I left a Bucket List stunned and confused. People couldn't get out fast enough. :(

Bob Linden from New York, New York

SELECTION OF SONGS DISAPPOINTING

We saw him last night at Suffolk Theatre. Selection of his songs were disappointing.

Katya from San Francisco, California

MANDY NO MORE

I, too, was very disappointed in Mandy Patinkin's concert. An exhilarating performer in the past, he has chosen this time to sing a selection of songs that all sound the same: distressing, depressing, and deflating. Where has the old Mandy gone?

Katya from San Francisco, California

#2/ DISAPPOINTED IN MANDY

I meant also to add to my earlier comments that it would have been helpful if Mandy had shared with the audience the origins of the songs he was singing and some sense of why he was selecting them. Perhaps such commentary would have leavened the darkness of it all.

Kasia from Boston, Massachusetts

CONFUSING, CONTRIVED, AND LACKING IN GENUINE COHESIVENESS

I was excited to attend this performance with my husband, but after 15 minutes we were wondering what we were watching. The song selection is strange, and the choices are in no way explained or introduced. I was hoping for perhaps context or some entertaining story telling, but little was offered. There were some painful moments that did not work at all and that were puzzling. A cardboard dog cut out, a guest appearance by his son, a weird sing along to make up a song for his grandson - none of these “worked”. Some die hard fans seemed to clap at everything, but many around us seemed to also wonder what we just paid for and spent and evening watching. There was relief in our section at the end of the evening.

Disappointed from Westchester, NY

NOT WORTH SEEING; HE'S AN AGING SINGER WHO SHOULD HAVE STOPPED BEFORE THIS

I just saw him in Westchester, NY April, 2024. The songs he chose were strange - medleys of sentimental nursery tunes, an exhausting one-man rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, Over the Rainbow in Yiddish. He did do a couple of songs from Company. Honestly, his intonation was awful. The show was dripping in nostalgic sentiment. I probably would have been happy to have heard him sing Sondheim all evening, but not to be. Do NOT go see this show - expensive, and you'll leave just being sad you went. Better to watch Princess Bride for the umpteenth time, for free, than to waste your time and money on this.

Lee from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

DISAPPOINTED

Big Mandy fan. Very disappointed in the selection of numbers. Appeared to be very tired.

Kelly from San Francisco, California

DISAPPOINTING

Love Mandy but his voice was just not there. It was shaky, weak and often simply off pitch. The song selections might have been touching if they didn’t continue on a dreary dirge of nostalgia and contrived sentimentality. His attempt at singing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody was confusing as to whether we were meant to think it was parody or an earnest effort. I actually felt insulted that anyone would think an audience would enjoy the performance. I’m sorry to be so negative but i think there is a limit to how poor a show can be but banking on the draw of the name to sell tickets. Very disappointing.

from San Francisco, California

MANDY PATINKIN

Very morbid show. Songs depressing Audience almost stopped clapping half way thru

Sammy from Washington, District of Columbia

DEPRESSING SHOW, NO VOICE

I just don't get it. His voice is extremely limited. Yes, he's extremely dramatic, to the point of being overwrought. Very strange selection of unfamiliar songs that were uniformly depressing. Lots of empty seats in the theatre (we got decent tickets last minute, that should have been a sign). Most of the audience seemed pleased, but I assume they are long-time Mandy fans, applauding him for his lifetime of achievement -- not this performance. Maybe he used to be a good performer, but doesn't have it any more. Rather sad.

G. Vivian from Naples, Florida

MANDY PINTINKIN

Disappointing. Couldn’t wait to get out of there.

L Taylor from Nashville, Tennessee

ALSO SAD

I have loved Mandy work for years... so I had high expectations. He seemed tired and his voice was just not really there past the opening song which was amazing. I did not get the link between songs and would have liked a few more details between songs... Mandy go on a vacation and perhaps get some voice therapy......

Les Taylor from Nashville, Tennessee

LET DOWN

I have loved Mandy's work for years. The show was disappointing... after the first number. By the half way point I was wishing to leave but kept thinking he could turn it around. He seemed tired and in need of rest and voice therapy. I was upset that I had ventured out on a rainy night and spent over $100.00 on this. Not worth going....

Alan Weiss from East Greenwich, RI

WHAT IS THE YIDDISH FOR "ENOUGH ALREADY"?

We saw Hamilton well before the Tony awards. We went because we loved Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, which was brilliant. Thirty minutes before the curtain at Hamilton, people were already screaming and whooping. They were determined to love what they were about to see. And, Hamilton was outstanding, though it’s not in my personal top ten musicals. It’s not Fiddler on the Roof. This was the attitude last evening at the Zeiterion Theater in New Bedford, MA where Manny Patinkin was in the midst of a seven-city Being Alive tour (with the exquisite Adam Ben-David on piano). This was a star-struck, middle-aged crowd in a sold-out theater ready to love whatever they were to see. And, incredibly, a lot of them did. I think the world of Patinkin, from portraying Che, and Sunday in the Park with George, to Homeland. (He would have taken over for Josh Grobin in The Great Comet of 1812 except for a huge protest about using the understudy instead, with the result that the play closed and everyone was thrown out of work.) He’s done television, movies, the stage, recordings—he’s a great talent. But last night he just hammed it up. His “ad libs” were obviously scripted, and his “schtick” was for him, not the audience. He sang several songs in Yiddish, which was nice for a small portion of the audience, but was more for his demonstrating that he could do it. (Are Somewhere Over the Rainbow and White Christmas really the appropriate pieces for a Yiddish rendition?!) He pretended to be drinking vodka, which I thought went out with Sinatra and the old Rat Pack (though that was Jack Daniels). The show was self-absorbed and idiosyncratic. For example, he sang A- Tisket, A-Tasket and then segued into more contemporary work, but not too contemporary. He made the obligatory political comments aimed at a typically progressive crowd typical of Massachusetts, and talked of closing “palaces” by the country, gesturing around the theater, where artists can meet the audience. The Zeiterion Theater is a well-run operation with a skilled board and enthusiastic volunteers, but a “palace” the theater is not. It’s a rather pedestrian theater that could use a lot of work. He pandered to the New England crowd by crowing he couldn't stand New York. Then why accept so much work there? Critics have loved this tour though a great many members of the audience have not, as evidenced in reviews posted on line in several places. Frankly, Patinkin seemed weary. If there were an intermission, we would have left, but we were in middle seats which I thought were a great location otherwise. He said he couldn’t believe he was being paid to do this. Neither can I.

Terry from New York, New York

WTF?

I have no idea what was going on last night. To say that we were disappointed is an understatement. $75 a ticket to watch a man literally have a nervous break down on stage? Me and my mom did get the church giggles which made for an enjoyable evening but I have no idea what that was supposed to be

from Sarasota, Florida

PAINFUL

I have loved Mandy Patinkin for years. His voice is just not there anymore and the songs were unrecognizable. He brought 3 obnoxious kids on stage at the end who hammed it up and fell flat. . It just didn’t work, from start to finish. I was really rooting for him but by the end I was just sad and a little angry,

Susan from Sarasota, Florida

MANDY PATANKIN

Hated this show. Wanted to like it especially when several people were hooting and hollaring in the audiance with some kind of joy. I wondered why. hos song choices were awful..a mixed bag that were discordant. He had a cloth he used to wipe his head, then used it to wash down something on the floor, than used it on his head again. Disguisting. Hated the show. Piano player is fantastic. Mandy should retire..show was sad, boring. Lacking in luster.not entertaining. Sorry

Broadway fan Catherine from New York, New York

SELF SERVING AND UNFORTUNATE

Mr. Patinkin is an amazing talent. At the Rahway Arts Center the selections were not meaningful and the choices were very self serving I do n ot need to hear him curse or talk about how much vodka he consumes- not funny. This is NOT stand up! When we pay to hear HIM- we DO NOT pay to hear his son and wife _ they are not the talent - I have seem Mandy in concert 4 times and this was the last time.

Graham Emmanuel from Sarasota, Florida

WE WAS CONNED

It has all been said by others here. He was offensive. I went home feeling I had been conned. Looked like he came straight from sleeping in his shabby clothes all night. Poorly presented and off key. In a class with Bob Dylan and Van Morison when it comes to contempt for his audience. What a sad man.

Jane from New York, New York

MANDY WHY???

I went to see amanda pettingham and his beautiful musical theater solos. Instead I heard him sing the hokey pokey and ask everyone to stand up and do the hokey pokey as he's song in yedish. This concert was horrible and disappointing I couldn't wait to get out.

Jill from West Palm Beach, Florida

AWFUL

Worst show ever. The audience had no idea what was going on. The choice of songs went from terrible to worse than horrible. It was so bad, people were leaving 10 min into the show

Page:1234All