The husband & I caught the film version of Sweet Charity recently, which prompted a discussion about Chita Rivera’s career. The Husband commented that her looks were too odd & too sharp for the camera & that is why she lost out the movie versions of the roles she created on Broadway to Rita Moreno & Janet Leigh. Best known for her roles in West Side Story, Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink, & Kiss of the Spider Woman, she has won 2 Tony Awards for best actress in a musical, & has been nominated for a total of 9 Tony Awards.
President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, & she was the first Hispanic ever to win the Kennedy Center Award in 2002. She recently starred in the Broadway & touring productions of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, & she will begin touring starting this month with her concert Chita Rivera: My Broadway. Her new solo studio album, Now I Swing will be released last year. I never met her, but I saw the original Chicago 5 times. Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero is a force of nature as she turns 78 years old today.
President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, & she was the first Hispanic ever to win the Kennedy Center Award in 2002. She recently starred in the Broadway & touring productions of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, & she will begin touring starting this month with her concert Chita Rivera: My Broadway. Her new solo studio album, Now I Swing will be released last year. I never met her, but I saw the original Chicago 5 times. Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero is a force of nature as she turns 78 years old today.
Yet another icon I was lucky enough to see on Broadway in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." She was quite simply, amazing.
ReplyDeleteI adore her, she is quite a great broadway dame.
ReplyDeleteOne of my best friends was in the original cast of Chicago. When Chita was in town with her show three years ago, I got to meet this icon. What a thrill!
ReplyDeletewonderful profile...and what an awesome clip! Thanks Stephen!
ReplyDeleteSeeing her in Chicago was just spectacular! and then in Kiss of the Spider Woman as well, she was very special in that too. A real star of the first caliber, someone who could really dance well and sing well, and who is a very individual presence. She is a real FAVE of mine too!
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