Leonard Bernstein's New York

This is an educational television feature, a "Cable in the Classroom" program designed to introduce Bernstein's music to students by presenting it in terms of his love affair with New York City. It is a pleasant pastiche of performances set in various settings around the city, interspersed with stills and film from original performances, and commentary by critics, colleagues and performers who remember Bernstein fondly. It places the man, and the music, in context, and for some of us, may be the first time we have heard songs from "On the Town" or "West Side Story" rendered without the fanfare and contrivance of the Hollywood productions we grew up with. I happen to like Mandy Patinkin; in any case, he is but one of half a dozen featured singers, and there is nothing unseemly about his performance.

Unfortunately what could have been a good document of a recording has been subverted by the presence of the ever insufferable egomaniac Mandy Patinkin. It's bad enough his voice grates like nails on a blackboard, but to have to listen to his insufferable egomania (he thinks he should be playing Tony in 'West Side Story' even though he is 30 years too old) is really a chore. Fortunately there are a few good performances to compensate, though nothing near the stature of the original cast members. I mean most of these singers couldn't act there way out of the proverbial paper bag. Still, the music is the thing, and many of these numbers have rarely been recorded, so it is good to hear them. One other drawback is the fact that the performances are often interrupted by useless comments from the performers. I don't need some dimwit telling me how great Bernstein was, just give me the music, please!!!