Actor Mandy Patinkin said director Rob Reiner gave him his choice of roles in the much-loved 1987 film adaptation of The Princess Bride. After almost three decades, it's impossible to say what may have drawn Patinkin to Spanish swordmaster Inigo Montoya in particular, but it's worth noting that Patinkin's own father died of cancer a few years before. The actor resolved to play the part as if the villainous Six-Fingered Man were cancer itself, and convinced himself that defeating his foe would inspire the resurrection of Lester Patinkin. "My name is Inigo Montoya," the character announces grimly, and the rest is movie history.

Unbeknownst to many Americans, however, Patinkin was already a star on the Broadway boards. He'd won a Tony for Best Featured Actor in 1980 as "Ché" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita. Then he won four years later by playing "George" (Seurat) in Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park With George. Patinkin earned a third Tony Award for The Wild Party in 2000.

Though his subsequent film work included memorable appearances in Alien Nation, Dick Tracy and Run Ronnie Run, he's been most visible on the small screen in this decade. He won an Emmy playing "Dr. Jeffrey Geiger" on Chicago Hope, then got nominated by playing himself on The Larry Sanders Show. He starred in 47 episodes of Criminal Minds before earning another Emmy nomination as CIA handler "Saul Berenson" on Showtime's Homeland.

With so many musical-theater credits to his name, it's no surprise Patinkin can sing his heart out. He's appeared on half a dozen cast albums along with seven solo efforts. No kinder a critic than Stephen Sondheim once referred to Patinkin's voice as "a gift from God." The New Yorker proclaims him "in the business of showstopping ... He is a musical force of nature!" He can thunder as if from the heavens, or thrill with one of Broadway's most heart-stopping falsettos. In short, his name is Mandy Patinkin. You know his music. Prepare to swoon.

Now he's touring through Tacoma with a show called Dress Casual. That title hearkens back to his 1990 album of Broadway standards - which was, as might be expected, pretty heavy on the Sondheim. Expect more of that at the Washington Center, where Patinkin will be accompanied by pianist Paul Ford. They'll also throw in some Irving Berlin, some Cole Porter, Harry Chapin, and at least one number that pays tribute to Patinkin's pride in his Jewish heritage. He once toured with a collection called Mamaloshen, sung entirely in Yiddish, that included a klezmer rendition of the "Hokey Pokey". Of his parents teaching him Yiddish, Patinkin once told The Jewish Week, "They gave me one of the best gifts of my life ... They are giants in fighting the climate change of language. The glaciers of Yiddish are melting, and they keep it alive in ways that are very moving to me."

In recent years, he's traveled to Cambodia and Greece to meet with struggling refugees. "The word is rachmones," he explains: "compassion. This work is a privilege of my life."

"If you told me I could only do one thing, I would choose live concerts," Patinkin has said. and that in itself is a commentary on the truly astonishing number of things he does very well, indeed.

MANDY PATINKIN: DRESS CASUAL, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. June 24, Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, $39-$110, 253.591.5894