COMPARING THE INCOMPARABLE PATTI LUPONE AND MANDY PATINKIN

Besides being Broadway stars, Miss LuPone and Mr. Patinkin have much in common:

Both were named for relatives:
Mandel Bruce Patinkin was named for his grandfather.

Miss LuPone was named for her great-grand-aunt Adelina Patti, the celebrated 19th-century opera singer.

Both performed as children:
Miss LuPone was trained in dance and was part of a singing trio with her twin brothers during the 1960s.

As a boy, Mr. Patinkin sang in his school's choir and participated in community theater.

Both have lived in New York:
Mandy Patinkin was born in Chicago and attended the University of Kansas for two years, then headed off to NYC in 1972.

Miss LuPone was born in Long Island, New York.

Both attended the Juilliard School of Drama:
Patti LuPone attended the Juilliard School of Drama four years before Patinkin.  Upon graduation, she joined John Houseman's renowned The Acting Company where she appeared on and off Broadway, as well as in touring shows all over the United States ranging from Shakespeare to Molière to Mamet.    

After Patinkin attended Juilliard, Joseph Papp gave him his first Broadway role in Trelawny of the Wells at Lincoln Center in 1975, with Meryl Streep and John Lithgow.

Both have been involved in humanitarian efforts:
Mr. Patinkin supports organizations including Doctors Without Borders, Americans for Peace Now, The September 11th Fund, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and Gilda's Club.  A cancer survivor, he supports the Prostate Cancer Foundation and health awareness.    

Miss LuPone has received the Equality Advocate Award for her efforts in the fight against AIDS.

Both enjoy versatile careers:
LuPone is known for every type of entertainment from opera to Broadway to concerts to film and TV.  Just like Mr. Patinkin, Miss LuPone has had great success with the solo concert stage, appearing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and at the Kennedy Center, Australia's Sydney Festival and London's Donmar Warehouse. 

Patinkin's incredible versatility as actor, singer, and dancer have given him an impressive resume filled with musicals, comedies, dramas, feature films, TV shows, concerts, Shakespeare…you name it, he’s done it!  

Both love working with each other:
Miss LuPone said to Playbill.com, "I adore him, and so I adore working with him onstage. He's dangerous onstage, and I love the fact that he's dangerous, and yet we're safe in each other's arms."

Mr. Patinkin agreed in the Philadelphia Gay News, "She's a dear old friend, and I love her deeply.  Being with her is as good as it gets in theater." 

How AN EVENING WITH PATTI LUPONE AND MANDY PATINKIN got started:

LuPone recently told Playbill.com how it began, "There was a booker in Richardson, Texas — they were opening a brand-new performing arts center — who called my agent at ICM Artists and said, 'I got Mandy, how about Patti?' and then called Mandy's agent and said, 'I have Patti, how about Mandy?' And he put us together after 25 years. So I got a call from Mandy, who said, 'I don't want to just do, you sing a song and I sing a song, and then we do a duet.' I was doing Noises Off at the time, and I said, 'Mandy I can't partake in the development of this.' He said, 'I'll do it. I want to do it.' I said, 'Great, do it.' And we did it, and then we didn't do it for five years. And then all of a sudden it happened again. I guess the idea of Mandy and me being onstage together again is generating enough excitement that we're getting booked all over the place."

Photo: Mandy Patinkin