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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