WEST SIDE GLORY
It’s a relief that Chita Rivera, one of the last great holdovers from the Golden Age of Broadway is still performing today, and you’ll get only one-night — Thursday May 10, 2018 at The Wallis in Beverly Hills — to see her as she reminisces and sings songs from her Broadway shows in a candid, non-scripted show with host/interviewer and piano player Seth Rudetsky.
Chita, the unconquerable Queen of the Gypsies and phenomenon, is deservedly worthy of appreciation. She won Tony Awards for her performances in The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman. She originated the role of Anita in the 1957 premiere of West Side Story and has appeared in the Broadway productions of Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie, Jerry’s Girls, Merlin, Bajour, Can-Can and Nine, as well as her autobiographical show The Dancer’s Life. Rivera originated the role of Claire Zachanassian in the Kander-Ebb-McNally musical The Visit, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. She was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009, and she will receive a special honor for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater at the 2018 Tony Awards on June 10.
Always known for her plucky charisma and gung-ho spirit, she still outshines others of her age (85) and she looks positively stunning and exudes a sexy spunkiness which truly inspires. She still retains that magnificent Fosse-esque angularity of style in posture and arm movements — the amazing agility belonging to someone of her age is even more astounding considering the 16 metal pins in her leg as a result of a 1986 traffic accident. This triple-threat — dancer, comedienne, and warbler — belongs to the pantheon of the Broadway firmament: Her star turns are rife with the heart-and-soul of a Broadway performer, a well-trained professional, and survivor of the ups and downs of show business with an indomitable spirit that matches her distinctive, husky chirrup and lithe legginess.
Chita Rivera is one who is, and always will be, that brave, prideful, immortal of the stage, as well as a valiant heroine of the theater who survives every upset.
Chita Rivera & Seth Rudetsky
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
part of Broadway @ The Wallis
Bram Goldsmith Theater
9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills
Thursday May 10, 2018 at 7:30 and 9:30
for tickets, call 310.746.4000 or visit The Wallis
