Mandy and Patti 3/29

Well, what can I say? It was Mandy and Patti for God’s sake! Amahzing - as Seth would say. No, they weren’t vocally perfect, but who cares? Even from a mile away - at least it seemed that way from our next-to-last-row fourth balcony seats - you couldn’t help but be knocked back by those personalities. Yes, both voices show the wear of long and prolific careers, but so what? The only time I don’t cringe at “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” is hearing Patti perform it. And while she does have that crazy belt / head voice split (and some very “creative” vowels) with absolutely no mix whatsoever, you forgive her. She’s earned the right not to have a mix. Mandy, of course, is Mandy. And I think you either love or hate that. Believe me, I’ve gone through phases of both, but regardless your opinion, you really have to respect the man’s intensity and commitment on stage. This man does not phone it in. Who knew funny could be intense? Together, well, they just have chemistry. They’ve both almost grown into Forbidden Broadway characterizations of themselves, but I almost prefer it to the conservatory cookie cutter musical theatre performers we get nowadays. Mandy and Patti can enthrall an audience: Technically perfect? - no - but fully engaging? - yes.

And now for my rant. (Please skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to hear me bitch and moan.) These two are the last vestige of what I consider true Broadway personalities. Now we’re stuck with triple threat automatons. They are all “good,” but not very interesting individually. I mean, you can’t just be an excellent singer/actor any more, you also need to have a triple pirouette in your back pocket. And except for some rare exceptions, this just leads to performers that are good at everything, but don’t excel at any one thing.

Back to the concert - last night’s program consisted of standards, peppered with a few novelty numbers. And each act was anchored by a mini-musical complete with the truncated book scenes - South Pacific in act one and Carousel in act two. It was a treat to see these two, who in real life would never in a million zillion years be cast in these parts, sink their teeth into classic roles. I can almost hear Mandy telling Patti in rehearsal, “Let’s show ‘em how they SHOULD be performed.” What a trip to see Patti as an “Arkansas hick” and Mandy as the brutal Billy Bigelow. Sure, not ideal casting, but they made it work - Tim Gunn would be proud.

My fave moments: Ann Reinking’s chair-ography in “April in Fairbanks,” Patti’s “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” Mandy’s “Franklin Shepard Inc” and the encore duets “You’re Just in Love” and “Coffee in a Cardboard Cup.”