For the first question, I think because he is the narrator not really the SUBJECT of the show. I honestly don't know, but that is the best I could come up with.
And see folks, I didn't say anything bad about him. :)
"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2
A brilliant Patinkin film performance you might check out is the totally unusual THE MUSIC OF CHANCE with James Spader and Charles Durning...offbeat, brilliant.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
There was something of an anti-SITPWG backlash that year with the Tonys. SITPWG was seen as the show for snobs and intellectuals and, significantly, had been the subject of article after article in the Times by Frank Rich (then, the most hated man on Broadway) extolling its genius and indirectly (and sometimes directly) putting down "La Cage," Jerry Herman and the old-school Broadway musical with its "hummable" melodies. Rich single-handedly went out of his way to prop up the show which struggled at the box office. Rich's cheerleading (and the Pulitzer) helped keep the show running for well over a year, but engendered a lot of resentment around Broadway.
All of those bad feelings resulted in a a near shut out Tony night for SITPWG, which was viewed as not so much a snub of Sondheim (who has always been well-respected), but more as a slap at Frank Rich and the power of the Times which many felt had gotten completely out of control. It also didn't hurt that Herman and Fierstein were very popular figures in Broadway circles. And there was also the fact that "La Cage," despite its gay subject matter, was more audience-friendly and would be the bigger hit (which ultimately was the case).
So while Hearn and Chita Rivera (the first win of her long and legendary career) were certainly very deserving, Patinkin and Peters probably never had a chance at the Tony that year because of all the anti-Times, anti-Rich, anti-SITPWG sentiment at the time.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Borstalboy, I can't believe you've seen THE MUSIC OF CHANCE -- isn't just the weirdest, greatest movie?? I actually rented another movie one time, and this movie was in the box by mistake. I always ask people if they've ever seen it and NO ONE ever has. Don't forget that Joel Grey is Charles Durning's "partner." Mandy fans, you should check it out. Very bizarre and James Spader is great.
"Do you know ChrisLovesShows?" "Yes. Why, yes he does!"
Music of chance is a very interesting and bizarre movie but one I've watched a number of times. If you want to see another strange one with Mandy in a small role try Lulu On the Bridge.
I love him unbelievably. I cannot wait to see him live for the first time at Dodger Stages (going to buy TIX as soon as details are released) !! -d.b.j-
Nugget, if you love him (and you either love him or hate him) you'll love him in concert. I've been to more than I can count and his Sondheim concerts last year and the year before were a knockout. The shows he'll be doing at the Dodger Stages will be his Pops concert, I believe, but he ALWAYS does some Sondheim.
Dodger Stages on W. 50th Street in New York City. The run is from September 20, 2004 - October 17, 2004 and will include 4 - 6 shows per week beginning at 8pm.
patinkin typically tours in the fall in concerts. This year he won't be doing that (only the shows in NYC) since he is picking new material with Paul Ford to do the next CD. He films Dead Like Me from February thru July and that touring schedule fits well with his other commitment.
He WAS to have done an independent film centered around the Trojan War this fall but haven't heard anything more about it.
I also love Mandy and plan to see him in his recent concert. I first saw as Che in Evita. I do not get Showtime to see his new show but I am watching him in the reruns of Chicago Hope. He was in the first few seasons.
"Life is not measured by the number
of breaths we take, but by moments
that take our breath away."
"Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."