LuPone — who will return to Broadway in March in a revival of Gypsy — and Patinkin will help inaugurate the new Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts in New Albany, OH. The Tony-winning duo will perform at the brand-new space Feb. 23, 2008, as part of the Opening Gala Fundraiser. Musical director Paul Ford will accompany LuPone and Patinkin on piano with John Beal on bass. Show time is 8 PM.
The new community center will offer a week of opening events Feb. 19-24. The center's mission, according to its official website, is to "provide ongoing educational and cultural programming for the school district and community."
LuPone and Patinkin first presented this concert in September 2002 at the Charles W. Eisemann Center in Richardson, TX. That evening featured duets from several musical theatre classics, including tunes from South Pacific, Carousel, Sunday in the Park with George, and, of course, Evita. The award-winning actor-singers also performed individually.
Ann Reinking, who won a Best Choreography Tony Award for her work in the long-running revival of Chicago, choreographed the concert act, which was conceived by Patinkin and Ford and directed by Patinkin.
A Tony Award winner for her work in Evita, Patti LuPone also earned an Olivier Award for her performances in the West End productions of Les Misérables and The Cradle Will Rock. Her other theatrical credits include Sunset Boulevard, Anything Goes, Oliver!, Working, The Old Neighborhood, Master Class and Pal Joey. LuPone also headlined two solo Broadway concerts, Patti LuPone On Broadway and Matters of the Heart, and received glowing notices for her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the Lincoln Center concert version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and a Tony nomination for her performance in the recent revival of that Sondheim work. She was seen in the Kennedy Center's staging of Marc Blitzstein's Regina and joined Audra McDonald for Los Angeles Opera's production of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. LuPone was most recently on the New York stage in City Center's production of Gypsy. Mandy Patinkin won a Tony Award for his role as Che in the Broadway mounting of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita. His theatrical work includes roles in The Wild Party, Sunday in the Park with George, The Secret Garden and The Knife. An Emmy Award winner for his work on "Chicago Hope," his other screen credits include "Criminal Minds," "Yentl," "Ragtime," "Dick Tracy," "Broken Glass," "Life with Mikey" and "The Princess Bride." Patinkin's latest solo recording, "Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim," is available on the Nonesuch label.
As previously announced, LuPone and Patinkin are scheduled to entertain audiences at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA, Jan. 18-19, 2008. Additional tour dates of An Evening with Patti LuPone & Mandy Patinkin are expected.
The Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts is located in New Albany, OH. For more information call (614) 939-2245 or visit www.mccoycenterforthearts.com.
