Chita Rivera was a force to be reckoned with. A dancer of remarkable stamina and electric stage presence, Rivera clawed her way back to the top after having her leg crushed in an automobile accident. She’s said to have danced as well in her 70s as she did as a younger woman (albeit without the flying splits and backflips).
Sadly, Chita was cheated whenever her Broadway triumphs were translated to the big screen. However, the recasting of “West Side Story” opened the door for Rita Moreno.
Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics for the showstopper, “America,” caused some controversy from the start, due to of its ironic barbs about life in Puerto Rico, but Leonard Bernstein’s dynamic take on the huapango and Moreno’s energy sold the number (with the lyrics tweaked over the years).
Rivera was the recipient of two Tony Awards (she was nominated for ten), two Drama Desk Awards, and a Drama League Award. She was the first Latina and Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor, in 2002, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 2009. She was awarded a Tony for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.
Besides “West Side Story,” she also created roles in “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Chicago,” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Rivera was 91 years-old. R.I.P.
