OCTOBER 3 • 2024 | 51
piano. Ben-David comes from a
long line of gifted musicians. His
mother was a principal singer with
the Metropolitan Opera House and
his father was Cantor Emeritus at
Scarsdale Synagogue. His sister,
Sheera Ben-David, is currently the
cantor at Temple Sholom of Chicago.
Adam is the third one in his family to
graduate from Juilliard.
He was the associate musical direc-
tor for Book of Mormon on Broadway
for nine years, as well as having
worked on Once Upon a Mattress
(1996 revival), Jersey Boys, Spring
Awakening, Wicked, AIDA and many
others. Ben-David is also the compos-
er of the upcoming Broadway-bound
musical From the Mixed-Up Files of
Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, based on
the whimsical children’s story.
Ben-David joins Patinkin on tour
after Patinkin’s longtime pianist, Paul
Ford, retired in 2015.
“I’ve been blessed musically twice
in my life. To have two human beings
who have the ability to listen and
make music with you is beautiful.
And when I say listen, Adam knows
where I’m going even before I do with
some of these songs,” Patinkin says.
“These songs are all written by
geniuses, and they have a simplicity
to them — so they can reflect on
almost anything in all our lives at
any given moment. But, nonetheless,
sometimes if I go down a different
road, Adam feels it, he knows it. He
just has an instinct that’s uncanny.
And that, to me, is the definition of
making music together.”
As far as what can audiences expect
from Patinkin’s concert on Oct. 22?
“Just expect to have fun,” advis-
es the consummate showman who
changes up his set list every time he
performs.
Patinkin’s vast repertoire includes
songs from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter
and Harry Chapin to Broadway roy-
alty Stephen Sondheim. And Patinkin
is no stranger to Sondheim, having
been nominated for a Tony Award
in 1984 for the title role of George in
the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical,
Sunday in the Park with George by
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine.
“I’m just the mailman for these
guys who wrote these great songs,”
says Patinkin, who won an Emmy
Award for his role as Dr. Jeffrey
Geiger in CBS’ Chicago Hope and
recently played Judge Wackner in the
Paramount+ series The Good Fight.
“So, come and watch me deliver the
mail. Come see me do it before I’m
not in the world.”
continued from page 49
Details:
For tickets to see Mandy
Patinkin’s “Being Alive”
concert at East Lansing’s
Wharton Center for
Performing Arts on Tuesday,
Oct. 22, go to whartoncenter.
com/events/detail/mandy-pa-
tinkin-in-concert or call (517)
431-2000.
Kathryn Grody and
Mandy Patinkin
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