Monday, January 23, 2012

Born On This Day-January 23rd... Gay Icon, Chita Rivera

The husband & I caught the film version of Sweet Charity recently, which prompted a discussion about Chita Rivera’s career. The Husband commented that her looks were too odd & too sharp for the camera & that is why she lost out the movie versions of the roles she created on Broadway to Rita Moreno & Janet Leigh. Best known for her roles in West Side Story, Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink, & Kiss of the Spider Woman, she has won 2 Tony Awards for best actress in a musical, & has been nominated for a total of 9 Tony Awards.


President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12, & she was the first Hispanic ever to win the Kennedy Center Award in 2002. She recently starred in the Broadway & touring productions of Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, & she will begin touring starting this month with her concert Chita Rivera: My Broadway. Her new solo studio album, Now I Swing will be released last year. I never met her, but I saw the original Chicago 5 times. Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero is a force of nature as she turns 78 years old today.




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