Chita Rivera is regarded as an American national treasure.  She is one of Broadway’s most versatile entertainers: dancer/actress/singer, a two-time Tony Award winner, recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor and a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is a legend.

Celebrating her new CD And Now I Swing, she captivated the packed house with the many songs and stories from her years of fame, including medleys from starring roles in West Side Story, where she originated the role of Anita over 50 years ago, Bye Bye Birdie, Sweet Charity, The Threepenny Opera, Kiss of the Spider Woman, revival of Nine with Antonio Banderas and autobiographical A Dancer’s Life.

Time passes but great artists like Rivera remind us why they have reached these pinnacles of success. She is a star with all the moves and poses, a little raspier voiced perhaps, but mesmerizing. She struts her stuff unsurpassed with “Camille, Collette, Fifi,” “Carousel,” “Chief Cook and Bottle Washer” (Kander & Ebb’s The Rink with Liza Minnelli), and special material written by Flaherty/Ahrens for A Dancer’s Life, all making us aware why she is the one and only . . . Chita Rivera!

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
October 14, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org