By Andrew Poretz . . .
“Would you look at that line?” asked the “Mayor of Broadway,” Seth Rudetsky, after the age-defying legend that is Chita Rivera took her seat in one of his comfy chairs. He was referring, of course, to her ballet leg line. Chita, at an astonishing 90 years young, still has the gams of the ballet dancer she was before she found her way into a long career of musical theater and movies. She still has the lithe figure and the movement of a dancer, too.
With that, the multihyphenate Rudetsky kicked off another of his unique 90-minute shows that combine homey chat, live music and a rare opportunity to have an intimate visit with a beloved star. Seth may come off like the ultimate fanboy—speaking a mile a minute and asking the kinds of questions kids dream of asking their heroes—but he knows his stuff. The SiriusXM host is a consummate musician with a long list of Broadway pit credits as a pianist and has an apparently encyclopedic knowledge of all things Broadway. He also does his research, having devoured an advance copy of Chita’s autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, and found great clips to go with his interview.
Chita Rivera has been a performer for three-quarters of a century, and in the limelight for most of them—most notably as a Broadway star. The two-time Tony Award winner (with a record ten individual nominations, plus a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award) is an acclaimed singer, dancer and actress. She originated the iconic roles of Anita in West Side Story, Rose in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma Kelly in Chicago and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
As usual for “An Evening with Seth Rudetsky,” the stage was set up as an ersatz living room, with a grand piano at stage right. At stage left was a pair of large, leatherbound easy chairs situated on a mauve and cream carpet, with a small table between them. Behind them was a large screen to display a number of rare clips from the star’s career. The smallish Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center holds 511 people, though there were plenty of open seats.
After Mr. Rudetsky’s introduction of Ms. Rivera, the star, dressed in a black, three-piece ensemble, performed “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” (Bye Bye Birdie). Over at the easy chairs, the talk quickly turned to Chita’s start as a dancer. Her mother, to “get the energy out of this girl,” sent her to ballet school so she could “clean up the house” after young Chita broke a coffee table. She described her first teacher, Doris Jones, as her “second mother.”
Early in her audition process, she was spotted by the legendary choreographer, George Balanchine.
She actually had no idea who Mr. Balanchine was when he wrapped her blister and sent her off to continue auditioning. She was so matter-of-fact about it that Seth quipped, “Like oh, I took a piano lesson from Beethoven, so whatever.”
Though her ambition was in ballet, the star fell into musical theater when she accompanied a nervous friend to an audition for Call Me Madam, but Chita got the role. “If a door opens, I go with it,” she explained. At this, Seth showed a wonderful television clip of Chita and Judy Garland singing “I Believe in You” (from How to Succeed) on “The Judy Garland Show.” Chita clapped along with the clip.
The next clip, from the 1984 Tony Awards presentation, paired Chita with Garland’s daughter, Liza Minnelli, with whom she starred on Broadway in The Rink (John Kander and Fred Ebb), for which Chita won the Tony. In this fabulous clip, the two sang and danced their way among a group of roller skaters. With Seth, she performed “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer” from The Rink.
When Chita was a young chorus girl, Broadway great Gwen Verdon took her aside for some surprising advice. “You’ve got a talent all your own. Why don’t you create your part.” A quarter century later, they starred opposite one another in Chicago.
Other performing highlights included the duo “recreating” numbers from West Side Story and a medley of songs from Kiss of the Spider Woman.
The finale, “All That Jazz” (Chicago), was sensational, and was followed by “one more song!” For “Nowadays,” which she performed in the show with Gwen Verdon, she did a funny impression of Verdon for a “duet with herself.” It was a terrific ending to a marvelous evening.
While the performances and clips were wonderful, it was Seth’s interviewing skills combined with Chita Rivera’s openness and, frankly, dishy inside talk that made this an especially fun and rewarding evening. If only this show were taped and available on demand!
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Chita Rivera with Seth Rudetsky took place on March 25 at NJPAC in the Victoria Theater (1 Center Street, Newark, New Jersey) njpac.org
Photos: NJPAC
