More Theater Monday - Chita Rivera with Seth Rudetsky at NJPAC

We were given complimentary tickets to Chita Rivera with Seth Rudetsky at NJPAC for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Chita Rivera with Seth Rudetsky

Where: NJPAC

             1 Center St.

              Newark, NJ

When: This event took place on March 25, 2023

The great Chita Rivera has had one of the most illustrious theater careers of all time. She has appeared in numerous Broadway shows. She has created legendary roles in the original Chicago, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and The Visit among others. She has won numerous awards including two Tony Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theater. She is so well known for her dancing that the Broadway theater dance awards are literally named after her.  

Her distinguished work has not only been confined to the stage, however. She has also appeared in a number of movies as well as TV shows.

Recently, Ms. Rivera sat down with Sirus XM's Seth Rudetsky to talk about her life and career. It was an extremely fascinating conversation. At 90 years old she may have lost a little of her step and sometimes was gallanted escorted across the stage by Rudestky, but she looks terrific and is still quite sharp. Although she did have a little trouble accessing her thoughts at times, as soon as Rudetsky prompted her with a question or a bit of memory, she was quite sharp, picked right up on it,  and was able to recall the memory or answer the question in detail. Subjects covered included everything from her earliest dance classes to her most recent turn on Broadway in the 2015 production of The Visit. She also sang songs from her vast repertoire including songs from the aforementioned Chicago and Kiss of the Spiderwoman as well as songs from The Rink, West Side Story, and more. Her voice may not be what it once was but the opportunity to hear All That Jazz sung by the original Velma Kelly was certainly priceless. All in all, it was a lovely evening and once in a lifetime event.

And that's our view. For more about Chita Rivera, check out her upcoming self-named memoir which will be available on April 25. Upcoming Broadway-related events at NJPAC include an Audra McDonald concert on Saturday, April 29. If you are interested in attending contact us as we may have a pair of tickets available. Otherwise for more information about this event or to purchase tickets or to find out about other upcoming events at NJPAC or purchase tickets, visit www.njpac.org/tickets-events. You can also find out about other upcoming events at NJPAC in our weekly Sunday Scoop posts.

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.