Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
November 11, 2018

He’s best known for that legendary line in 1987 film The Princess Bride: “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Or more recently for his Emmy Award winning role in TV’s Homeland. Between this mainstream fame, however, Mandy Patinkin has trod the boards to great acclaim, particularly with musical theatre and touring concerts, including this show fresh from New York. There are no toe-tappers, and many of the often bittersweet songs are obscure, but this masterful actor-singer has such presence and passion that the audience was gripped throughout.

The vast Hamer Hall, almost at capacity, was transformed into an intimate space by Patinkin’s easygoing-meets-tender performance. Dressed casually in black, he was moodily lit from above, and by a dramatic naked bulb on a stand behind him. There was nothing else on the stage but a bentwood chair, and a grand piano played by Adam Ben-David, whose accompaniment was sensitive to both humour and pathos.

Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Diaries 2018. Photo © Darrell Hoemann

Patinkin began with the madcap Ya Got Trouble from 1957 musical The Music Man, instantly impressing...