With Talent and Grit, Chita Rivera Starred on Broadway for Decades

Chita Rivera, Broadway's "first triple threat," became a star in 1957 with her role as Anita in "West Side Story." She won a Tony Award for her role in "The Ring" in 1986 and a second Tony in 1993 for "Kiss of the Spider Woman."Sheldon Zoldan wrote this tribute, which references the song  "All That Jazz" from the Broadway musical "Chicago," in which she starred as Velma Kelly. This video, from the 1982 TV special "Broadway Plays Washington," really showcases her talent. It begins with "America" from "West Side Story" and quickly transitions to a rousing "All That Jazz." The audience at the Kennedy Center broke into applause at the song's end, and I felt like doing the same watching it on YouTube 43 years later.The photo of Rivera in this episode's thumbnail was taken in 1997. I found it on Wikipedia; it's credited to Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com.There are a couple of other images of note in the chapters. The first is of the original cast recording for "The Visit." Rivera starred in that show when she was 82. The second is a photo taken of Rivera and President Barack Obama during the Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony in 2009. This story is one of 41 that Sheldon, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well, and you can find the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. Sheldon also created Song of the Day, which was a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. He ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.Send us Fan MailThis is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in major podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.