Although Mandy Patinkin may be best known for his role as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, the performer’s life has been characterized less by vengeance and far more by his humanitarianism. In addition to his career on Broadway, in Hollywood, and on television, Patinkin has dedicated time to working with refugees and underprivileged Americans — including kids in his hometown, Chicago.
Patinkin grew up in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. It was there where he first started performing and which he credits, in part, for his love of music. But it also informed his humanitarian work as well.
"That single word, 'connect,' is the word of my life," he says. "It is the word that I live to live, to be, to understand, to embody, to not waste or squander, and to reach for — and to risk for," he says.
Patinkin will be in Milwaukee to perform songs from his album Diary Tuesday evening at the Riverside Theater. But first, he joins Lake Effect's Joy Powers by phone from New York to talk about the album, his work as an activist, and his love of the Midwest:
