There’s a lot of love being expressed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Not only by the audience towards Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, the veteran musical stars who have been performing on New York stages for more than three decades each. But also between the two headliners—Patinkin and LuPone, reuniting here for the first time on a New York time since their respective Tony Award winning turns in Evita, clearly adore each other. If they’re just acting, they obviously deserve additional Tonys.

Unlike Hugh Jackman’s glitzy Broadway concert playing a few blocks away, this show is a decidedly low-key affair. Accompanied by just two musicians—Paul Ford on piano and John Beal on bass—and performing on a set featuring just a couple of chairs and a smattering of ghost lights, the performers deliver a gorgeous program of mostly theatrical songs, of the classical variety. And by that, I mean written by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim.

Neither performer is exactly known for their subtlety, and each probably has as many detractors as fans. But for the most part they are uncommonly, and wonderfully, restrained here. Directed and co-conceived (with Ford) by Patinkin, the evening plays to the star’s strengths, namely their ability to fully inhabit the characters singing the songs. Thus, they present mini-versions of several classic musicals--including South Pacific, Carousel and Merrily We Roll Along--that are absolutely stunning in their musical and dramatic impact.

There are also terrific diversions along the way, such as LuPone’s reprise of “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from her triumphant performance as Mama Rose in the recent revival of Gypsy; a charming duets on Frank Loesser’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and Patinkin’s amusing rendition of Jerome Kern’s “I Won’t Dance.” There’s also a very clever dance routine, albeit one that doesn’t actually involve real dancing, choreographed by Ann Reinking.

Naturally, a highlight of the evening is the pair’s delivery of their trademark numbers from Evita. His performance of “Oh What a Circus” displayed the same ferocity as it did some thirty years ago, while her “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” despite the sparse instrumentation, was no less powerful as well. (And despite her well-publicized propensity for chewing out rude audience members, LuPone totally kept her cool when a cell phone went off during the climactic moments.) 

The only thing the evening could benefit from is additional stage patter. The one time the performers directly addressed the audience, when Patinkin talked about their first working together in Evita--he even recalled her “great tits,” much to LuPone’s apparent pleasure—was so humorous and charming that one wished there was more of it.

Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 W. 47th St. 212-239-6200. www.Telecharge.com.