"Very simply, there was then — and is now — nobody who can sing, dance and act like Chita Rivera." Those were director Hal Prince's opening words when Chita Rivera was honored at the Kennedy Center in 2002.Â
Prince knew, and Prince was correct. When Rivera died on Jan. 30, 2024, at age 91, a bit of the American performing arts went with her. Over her more than 65 years of performing, she made an incontrovertible mark, all while being Latina in a milieu that did not celebrate or honor her difference. Rivera's influence and impact are sure.
A sublime co-star who knew how to complement There were crackerjack pairings on Broadway. Then there was Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera in "Chicago." Long before Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones inhabited the roles in the movie adaptation of the musical, Verdon and Rivera originated the roles, respectively, of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly during the debut run of "Chicago" in 1975. The two would slither and strut in glorious tandem during the show's final number, "Nowadays."
A triple threat who only ever served the story In the 1993 musical adaptation of Manuel Puig's novel "Kiss of the Spider Woman," Rivera played Aurora, a movie siren who is also the muse of Molina, one of the musical's protagonists. Molina, serving years in an Argentine prison for being a homosexual, conjures memories of Aurora to make his excruciating jail cell existence tolerable. And Rivera tears up the stage with her dancing and singing, as in the number "Where You Are." The audience, enraptured, is lured into empathy and identification with Molina's plight. And just like that, the plot hums.
An icon who created an iconic role Of all the performers who have played roles in "West Side Story," Rivera might have the most long-standing influence. She birthed the role of Anita in the original Broadway production. People, including Rita Moreno and Ariana DeBose, have gone on to win Oscars in the role. That is how significant Rivera's blueprint is — and forever will be. |