Like our last artist of the day, Patrick Toon’s name also seems to convey part of his aura or being. He’s like a walking Irish tune, and on occasion, a song actually does emanate from him (as it did recently in Henry IV, Part One!)  Patrick, who just played Bardolph for us in that show, is now in his sixth season with The Shakespeare Theatre.  He has appeared here in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Cymbeline, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Galileo, Amadeus, Othello and As You Like It.  I save As You Like It for last, because while I (Bonnie) have admired Patrick’s performances in all of the shows he has done for us, I am particularly fond of his portrayal of Silvius, the love-sick shepherd who moons about the forest of Arden.  While his portrait of Silvius was wonderfully funny, it was also heartbreakingly poignant, and his speech about love was one of the most moving moments in the play. There’s a great photo of Patrick dancing at the end of that production in our upcoming 50th anniversary book, and it also remains one of my favorite captured memories from that production. I must also add that Patrick’s recent performance in Henry IV, Part One, yielded one of my favorite make-up jobs ever.  His syphilitic nose was a masterpiece of glue and various shades of red and purple paint!  We’ve also had the great fortune to view Patrick’s comedic/singing skills in several of our late-night cabarets, and he has never failed to entertain us in great Toon-ish style on those evenings.  In addition to all of this, Patrick must be given great credit for patiently enduring the chronic flirtations of his beloved mate, the shameless hussy, Denise Cardarelli, who despite her coy escapades, is decidedly devoted to Mr. Toon.  A most kind, sweet, talented, helpful, thoughtful man, who I appreciate for all of the above as well as for the fact that he sends me real letters in the mail and has not abandoned the art of letter-writing, Patrick is also a humanitarian, and continues to raise funds by running to help in the Haitian earthquake relief effort.