Talking with Chita Rivera: It's Still Good, Nowadays

It may be hard to believe, but it wasn't until Chita Rivera had turned 83 that she headlined at Carnegie Hall. That was on November 7 -- Election eve -- when the two-time Tony winner recreated signature moments from her legendary career in a show entitled "Nowadays."

And what a career it has been: Rivera came to the theater in 1951 when she was still a teenager and scored a role in the chorus of the national company of "Call Me Madam." This led to roles in "Guys and Dolls" and "Can-Can," but her breakout role was as Anita in "West Side Story." She followed that with one big hit ("Bye Bye Birdie") and a string of flops ("Zenda," "1491," "Bajour"). In 1975 she created the role of Velma Kelly in "Chicago"; nine years later she won first Tony Award for playing Liza Minnelli's no-nonsense mother in "The Rink." Her second came with another iconic turn, that of the title character in "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in 1992. Since then she took showy roles in revivals of "Nine" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," as well as being a pivotal part of "The Visit" (one of the last collaborations of John Kander and Fred Ebb) that she premiered in Chicago in 2001, finally making it to Broadway in 2015. For the role she received her 10th Tony Award nomination.

In the past few years she also developed and toured "Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life," a musical revue in which she recalled her career, and was the subject of the PBS documentary "Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin' to Do," which was a project she was somewhat reluctant to participate in for the simple reason that she didn't think she deserved the attention. Such is the humility of Ms. Rivera, who remains one of the most loved stars by those in the musical theater community and out of it.

She is preparing to bring a smaller-scaled version of her Carnegie Hall show to The Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut on November 20. For more information about the show, visit the Ridgefield Playhouse website.

EDGE spoke to the down-to-earth superstar recently, just a few days after her Carnegie Hall triumph and the election of Donald Trump, in which she talked about the high of her concert and the low of the election, as well as just why she loves "The Walking Dead."

An extraordinary evening

EDGE: You recently appeared at Carnegie Hall. What was that like?

Chita Rivera: It was extraordinary. It was something you don't expect in your lifetime. It is very difficult for me to talk about things like that and to say how wonderful it was.

EDGE: Was this your first time performing there?

Chita Rivera: Actually I had done one song for an honor for Lena Horne, so I had been in the building, but had never done my own show. It was directed and choreographed by Graciele Daniele. I had a brilliant 15-piece orchestra and four of the fellas I have danced with for the past 20 years. They're all in brilliant shape, all looking very handsome. It was evening I was really blessed to have. They are Alan Cumming, Andy Karl, and two stars from "Hamilton," Javier Mu�oz and Brandon Victor Dixon.

EDGE: Will you be doing this show in Connecticut?

Chita Rivera: A version. It will not be the same because I won't have all of those people. But I will be doing a lot of the same material by the people who help create who I am -= Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, John Kander and Fred Ebb, Bob Fosse. It has lasted a long, wonderful time. We just change variations on them to make them feel new. But when you're lucky enough to have material that is eternally wonderful, then you've got it.

35 at heart

EDGE: Was there a high point in the Carnegie Hall show?

Chita Rivera: Oh, yes. It was mind-boggling and I am so happy we came with the idea: in the 'West Side Story' section, first we did 'A Boy Like That,' then 'America.' Here we mixed my version with Javier Mu�oz's version, which was rap. Who would ever think, but rap has been done for many, many years, but people don't realize it. Then at the end of the 'West Side Story' section, I was honored to be joined by the New York Gay Men's Chorus. It was so moving. I started 'Somewhere' and Andy and Javier continued as I went off to change; then the stage was filled with -- I don't know how many -- but we easily had 60 or 80 of the Gay Men's Chorus. It was quite beautiful.

It was an extraordinary evening, then came the next day (Election Day). So life goes on. You just got to get back in there and digging it and make it come up back again.

EDGE: You have been a regular on Broadway since the early 1950s. Have you ever calculated just how many performances you have done there?

Chita Rivera: Gosh no. I have no idea. It's not as if I wake up in the morning and say, 'Gee, I like to figure that out.' I think it would scare me to find out. I appreciate and am grateful for the past, but I live in the moment. God knows I try.

EDGE: I think I read somewhere that you see yourself as being 35 at heart?

Chita Rivera: I thought that was a good joke. Don't ask me why I picked the number 35, but actually what I say is don't let the number of your age mean anything to you. You got to take care of yourself, but just go on with your life and do what you feel and what you want and what makes you feel good. Keep alive and keep going. But it is a funny line, I think.

High energy

EDGE: But you continue to work very hard. Do you exercise every day?

Chita Rivera: You know what, when you live as long as I am, just being you is exercise. In other words, I am high energy. I don't sit around. I do things. It helps to have a spirit that wants to do things, so I do. And because of all the training and all the dancing, I am always doing an exercise, even when I am walking.

EDGE: I also read where you consider yourself a Broadway gypsy at heart?

Chita Rivera: Yep. Absolutely. I wouldn't change that for the world. It keeps you grounded and you are never along. You never feel that you alone. You just feel connected when you're a gypsy. You understand the basics of life. You are at least aware of them, And you try not to let your head get too big, because you will topple over.

EDGE: You mentioned your disappointment with the recent election results. What would you say to a younger person about coping with Trump's election?

Chita Rivera: Just do exactly what I have been trying to do. I have not had the news on. Usually I wake up in the morning and put CNN on. I love the news. I was just in Italy and England before we started rehearsals for this and I heard what the world was thinking. But when I woke up on that Wednesday morning and never turned on my TV and went on with my life. That's what I would tell kids today. Still believe everything that you believe in yourself. Make sure you are around the right people and continue to believe this is a wonderful country and continue to try to keep it that way. Without going any deeper into my feelings about you know what, that's all I can say to them, Stay positive and pray that we can get along with the rest of the world and not be selfish Americans.

Loves 'The Walking Dead'

EDGE: I take it you were surprised by Trump's popularity...

Chita Rivera: That is my problem. We've seen the kind of person that has been chosen. We have a right to feel the way we want to about individual people, but you worry about yourself if you feel that way about a huge group of people. But I don't know any of those people. Who are they who voted for him? I am terribly curious about what our country is thinking. I am living in the country, and I did see a few of the signs and I thought, 'Okay. They're up here.' But when someone shows you exactly how they think, exactly how they are. I give him one bit of credit -- he let you know who he was and it was up to you if you wanted him to represent you. I don't know who these people are who voted for him. But you got to give it to him. He let you know who he was. He did not try to hide it. Even when he read it off a teleprompter, he was stupid. I don't dislike people unless they're cruel and mean; but this is the first time in my life that I have this hole in my chest, that I really disliked someone. And I didn't like that feeling. I don't like to feel like that. I am guilty of going to an ugly part of myself. I haven't gone to the streets about it, but talking about it now brings me back. Frankly speaking, I am glad that I am talking about it because I am able to vent just a little bit.

EDGE: You have done so many shows -- both hits and flops. Are there of the latter you regret didn't connect with audiences?

Chita Rivera: This is recent, but we were desperately in love with 'The Visit.' I understand it was dark, but theater is about every emotion, every story. And I thought John (Kander) didn't a brilliant job with the story that audiences could take. It's not 'Mary Poppins,' but I thought those who saw it could take it. It was given a chance, but I feel timing is important, the right theater is important -- all of those things have something to do with why some things succeed. I do believe our company was extraordinary. Unfortunately we lost Roger, but his replacement was wonderful. So that makes me unhappy and I had to let it go.

I also did one called '1491' with John Callum, and that was obvious, I think -- it was Columbus discovering America, and it wasn't very good, but was fun. And there was one called 'Zenda' with Alfred Drake that I thought was really interesting. It had a wonderful score by Vernon Duke. It was a great movie, if I recall. I have a tendency to forget nasty things. And I had a lot of fun with 'Bajour,' but I do remember Fred Ebb saying to me, it's a nasty story. It's about people stealing money and things from people. And I said, okay, maybe people don't want to see those things.

But nowadays people want to see everything -- they want to see the murder right there on stage. They don't want to see it like the way Jerry Robbins had the body gracefully carried over the heads of the kids without blood dripping from the body. But I love 'The Walking Dead' -- there's a confession from a Catholic girl. I think the story's great and the characters are great. Sometimes it can be a bit too much, but I am fascinated by that kind of thing. My favorite leading man, by the way, is Boris Karloff, so you see where I am come from. That kind of horror leading man and that kind of movie. Those were beautiful, amazingly photographed films. Halloween is a fun night for me. I have graveyards in my front yard with skeletons and the kids all look forward to it. But I hate this blood and gore, but I have made a confession, I love 'The Walking Dead.' It is all about survival -- what a human being would do in a situation if anything like that happened.

A new knee

EDGE: In 1986 you were in a serious car accident in which you broke your leg and required 18 screws to mend. Yet you recovered and were working, first opening a restaurant then back on stage, in no time. Can you talk a bit about your recovery process?

Chita Rivera: It (the recovery process) was good in that I knew that I was doing something. First of all, I have to be active. I have to have something to do that is positive, so when I went into the hospital and the nurse said, 'you really did a good job on yourself,' I felt my body shift, like in a gear shift. I said, okay, all right, and I went into recovery gear. I am a very good patient. I do exactly what I am told. Most dancers of my era certainly do that, if there are any left. That was something great to do and I felt myself getting better. It was something to work for and a goal to work to. It took me 11 months, but I was busy in that 11 months. It was like taking class, really, because I was going to all kinds of physical therapy and taking all kinds of exercises. So 11 months really wasn't terrible. Gary Criss, a beautiful dancer, said to me a long time ago, 'you're going to be different after this.' And I said, no, but he was absolutely right. Every day we wake up we are absolutely different. So I have learned to live with these 16 screws in my left leg and it gotten to a point where I can just use it. I use it in another way. So that's that.

What's funny is I also have a new knee. I got it eight months ago. I like challenges, and since I got it, I feel you might as well use it. I do feel my new knee. I do feel it is different than the other one. After Carnegie Hall when we worked so hard, I said to myself, I wish I had the other knee done too. It can be painful, but dancers are kind-of used to some kind of pain. Freddy wrote this amazing number called 'Pain' for me and it is really, really funny. I have very crazy sense of humor and like to laugh at what really hurts. So I can get through it by making light of it. I mean I have a brand new knee, for me it seems that if we could get all kinds of parts together we could last quite a while.

Lucky and grateful

EDGE: I read you were surprised by a documentary that PBS made about you. Why was that?

Chita Rivera: Because, I don't know. It's not as if I think little of myself, but there are so many people out there that are doing absolutely amazing things, and I don't think I have done anything amazing. I think I am a good example for kids if they want longevity and good training, but there are people out there doing extraordinary things. It came out very nicely and I think it's very human -- I think my life is very human. I am very -- how can I say it? I am very lucky and very grateful for the things I have been able to do. And I think it give kids hope.

EDGE: Back in 1951, you came to New York to be a ballet dancer. Then you went to an audition for dancers for 'Call Me Madam' and pretty much put ballet behind you. Did you ever regret making that choice?

Chita Rivera: No. At one time it ran across my mind. I didn't regret it, but I thought, 'gosh, what would it have been like?' And there was that question. Just that. It wasn't as if I would exchange this life for one ballet. I did it in concert with my ballet teacher in DC when I was still in school, but not with the NY City ballet. And it would have been quite different. But, no, I have just been too fortunate to be stupid enough to say that I would exchange 'Spider Woman,' 'Chicago,' 'West Side Story,' all those wonderful shows for something else. I think you have to take what you've got and do the very best you can with it.