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May 20, 2005
Broadway at Rothstein
Mandy Patinkin performs a benefit concert for PTI.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
Mandy Patinkin is a man who would do anything for family, and he
considers Rabbi Dovid Davidowitz family. That's why the well-known
actor and singer is coming to Vancouver this month to perform a
benefit concert for the Pacific Torah Institute (PTI), the yeshivah
that Davidowitz co-deans with Rabbi Noam Abramchik.
Davidowitz's grandfather was Patinkin's landlord in New York for
years, said the actor. "He and I became dear friends and I'm
a part of their whole family," Patinkin added, noting that
the PTI is the only yeshivah north of Los Angeles.
"They asked me if I could find some time to come and do a benefit
for them. So, we've been working out dates and everything and finally
we worked it out. I'd do anything for this family, and that's why
I'm there."
Patinkin is a Tony Award-winning actor (in 1980, for his Broadway
role as Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Evita); he has
appeared in many great films, including Ragtime (1981), Yentl
(1983), The Princess Bride (1987) and Dick Tracy (1990);
he was on the television show Chicago Hope in the 1990s and
starred in the Showtime series Dead Like Me, which, despite
its excellence, lasted only two seasons (2003-2004). He just completed
a pilot for a TV show called Quantico for CBS – the
news was to be released on May 17 as to whether it will go
to series.
The Bulletin got hold of Patinkin by phone the day before
he and his son, Isaac, headed off to Israel to participate in the
2005 Israel Ride. The annual event is co-sponsored by Hazon, a New
York-based organization dedicated to fostering new vision in the
Jewish community through outdoor and environmental education, and
the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. It is a five-day,
approximately 300-mile bicycle ride from Jerusalem to Eilat, which
raises awareness about "the environment and peace and partnership,"
said Patinkin.
"The great part about it is that Jerusalem is at 2,300 feet
[above sea level], which is about a half mile high, and Eilat is
three feet, so there's a downhill aspect, no matter how you look
at it," he said, laughing. "But I'm very excited. I've
been training for quite a while for it, and off we go."
Given his hectic schedule – which includes planning for his
25th wedding anniversary in June – it may seem surprising that
Patinkin is able to perform a concert for PTI. But, despite his
many successes, Patinkin remains humble and it is completely in
sync with his personality to take time out to help "family."
"I'm just an actor," he told the Bulletin about
his long-standing popularity as a performer. "I get on the
train that other people help to create and I certainly participate,
but it's not all me by any means. Sidney Lumet said to me once,
'It's better to be mediocre, or just OK, in a hit, than great in
a flop.' The point of that is that it's the piece that's important,
not the individuals; the story, the play, the film, the television
show as a whole. That's where the heart of it is.
"The players certainly help bring it to life and God knows
I've been blessed with having – and privileged to have –
a variety of extraordinary experiences in my lifetime so far,"
he continued, adding that he hopes to live to 100, and he's only
half way there.
"It's a bit of luck, it's a bit of trying to manoeuvre yourself
to be in projects with people you like and projects that speak to
what you care about. Those things for me are, basically, affirming
life, trying to turn darkness into light. It's why I love Stephen
Sondheim's material so much, because, to me, that's what Steve's
about, he's about turning the darkness into light."
Patinkin then referred to the opening phrases of the Torah, those
about God creating light from the darkness.
"It's a pretty great theme," he enthused. "It's certainly
been what my life's about, trying to take anything that isn't filled
with light, and make it light. And so I look for pieces that echo
that, because you don't get any extra time in this life – you
only get how much time you get, so you don't want to waste it. And
the songs I sing and the plays I do and the television I do, I try
as much as possible to make it be about affirming life, rather than
ignoring it."
Patinkin attributes his approach to life to his father's death,
which occurred when Patinkin was just 18 years old. He said his
father – who was 52 when he died – "was robbed of
the rest of his life and I vowed that I would never let that happen."
As well, Patinkin has had to deal with the recent loss of his sister,
at 54 years old, from Crohn's disease, and that of his cousin, Hugh
Patinkin, whose "heart stopped a few weeks ago, out of the
blue, a perfectly healthy man, you know, the arteries of an 18-year-old,
for no reason, just stopped." Patinkin himself has survived
prostate cancer – May 14 marks the one-year anniversary of
his surgery.
"I mean, that's only recently, for a lifetime of choices,"
said Patinkin of the way in which he lives. "I would say that
it has most to do with my father's early death.... My dad always
used to say, 'Oh, when the kids are grown, we'll go to Israel. When
the kids are grown, when they're out of school, we'll do this.'
And there he was, 52, he didn't get any of it done. Then the kids
grew, and he got robbed! That influenced my whole life, both [in]
telling the truth – my father was an influence on me in terms
of the truth – and in terms of realizing how precious life
is, and I've never realized it more than this past year with both
surviving prostate cancer and the death of some very dear family
members who were very, very young."
Judaism has also played a major role in Patinkin's life.
"It's influenced everything I've done. Everything," he
said. "I grew up in the synagogue, on the south side of Chicago,
and went to Hebrew school every day of my life, virtually, till
I was bar mitzvahed. Then, like many Conservative Jews ... you run
away from the synagogue for a while. As soon as I was bar mitzvahed,
I hit the hills and left. And then I fell in love and got married
and had children, and that's when I embraced it again.
"I'm not like a religious person, at the synagogue all the
time. I just love my Judaism: I love the culture and the traditions,
I love connecting to my ancestors' music and their words and their
thoughts. And I love the ideas of Judaism, which have to do with
compassion and forgiveness," he said, adding, "I've never
felt that we were at a more hopeful time in terms of peace with
the state of Israel and the Palestinians. I've worked hard. I'm
a board of directors member of Peace Now and I work hard to try
to bring peace to the Middle East and we're closer than ever right
now, so I think the dream's going to come true."
Patinkin is at the Norman Rothstein Theatre on May 30, at 7 p.m.
The show will consist of a mix of famous Yiddish and Broadway tunes.
Unfortunately, there are only sponsor-level tickets still available;
there is a waiting list for other seats. For more information, call
the PTI office at 604-261-1502.
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