Come celebrate the one and only Broadway legend Chita Rivera in a unique solo concert event celebrating her 80th birthday at Moraine Valley Community College's Dorothy Menker Theater, 9000 W. College Pkwy., Palos Hills, on Saturday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 for the general public and $35 for seniors and students.
Direct from her sold-out smash concert in New York, the multiple Tony Award winner will recreate signature moments from her legendary career including numbers from West Side Story; Sweet Charity; Chicago; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Bye, Bye, Birdie and The Rink. In addition to a special tribute to her dear friends John Kander and Fred Ebb, the timeless music of Leonard Bernstein, Charles Strouse, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim will also be featured, with live orchestral accompaniment conducted by Michael Croiter.
"A girl only turns 80 once in her life, thank God," Ms. Rivera said, " and I want everyone there as proof."
A theatrical icon and one of Broadway's greatest triple-threat talents, Chita Rivera has won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received seven additional Tony nominations. She recently starred in the successful production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood on Broadway and starred in the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer's Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. This summer ( 2014 ) she recreated her starring role in The Visit, the new Kander/Ebb/McNally musical, choreographed by Graciela Daniele and directed by John Doyle at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She also starred in the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. She trained as a ballerina ( from age 11 ) before receiving a scholarship to the American School of Ballet from legendary George Balanchine. Chita's first appearance ( age 17 ) was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the Broadway premiere of West Side Story ( 1957 ) brought her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is highlighted by starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink ( Tony Award ), Chicago, Jerry's Girls, Kiss of the Spider Woman ( Tony Award ), and the original Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful. On tour: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in August, 2009. She received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, DC in December, 2002 and was the first Hispanic woman ever chosen to receive this award. In May, 2013, she was appointed to a special Kennedy Center Honors Advisory Committee. Chita's current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing.
"Chita Rivera has a gleam in her eye, a smirk on her lips and a bounce in her step…you leave this show walking on air!" — The New York Times
"Chita Rivera is more than a musical theatre star. She's a force of nature." — Associated Press
"Chita Rivera is irresistible!" — Newsweek
"Shimmering show-biz perfection." — Los Angeles Times
"Ever-riveting! Chita Rivera has the rare presence of a thoroughbred star!" — USA Today
"Chita Rivera is a wonder to behold." — Wall Street Journal
Come sing along with the extraordinary Chita Rivera in CHITA: A LEGENDARY CELEBRATION
Moraine Valley Community College on Saturday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 for the general public and $35 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased online at morainevalley.edu/fpac, by calling ( 708 ) 974-5500, or at the Box Office, located on the south end of the Fine and Performing Arts Center .
chitarivera.com .
