WORCESTER—Over these past two years, I’ve had the great honor of working with some of Broadway’s best; but only one who I could call, without the least bit of exaggeration, a bona fide legend. Legend is not a term I use loosely, but Ms. Chita Rivera was indeed a Broadway legend.
As a star of the stage, Chita was as iconic as those roles she famously originated on Broadway: Anita in “West Side Story,” Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie,” and Aurora in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” and many others. Like many musical theater fans, I had to pinch myself when Chita agreed to play Worcester. In September 2022, local audiences had the unforgettable experience of seeing the Tony Award winner, Kennedy Center honoree, and Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee perform live in Worcester with host and pianist Seth Rudetsky.
Having learned of Chita’s recent passing, I wanted to take a moment to share a short reflection honoring one of the American musical theater’s greatest talents.
As the presenter of her Worcester concert and master class, I had the distinct privilege of spending a couple days with Chita and her long-time assistant Rosie during their stay in our city. And the memories are infinite: “All that Razz” signature donuts from Glazy Susan’s, late-night show biz stories and philosophical ponderings with Chita over vodka tonics at Bocado, and spa treatments in the Canal District at Thomas Rothwell. But the one story that I’d like to share captures exactly who Chita was as a performer.
When Chita performed in Worcester, she was given a full schedule: an education workshop and Q&A session with students, sound check, concert, and a post-show meet and greet. Those familiar with the Jean McDonough Arts Center know the dressing room facilities are located one floor below the BrickBox Theater. To access the dressing rooms you have to either descend a long (and I mean long) staircase or take the elevator down to the basement floor and follow a roundabout path through storage to the green room area. Saving her from the stairs, but not the steps, I took Chita by way of the elevator each time she needed to go back to her dressing room in between activities.
The last act before Chita’s concert was her sound check. Just hours before her performance, I watched Chita work through her set with Seth and the sound technicians, marking every note and shimmy. You must remember that it had been years since I had last seen Chita perform live: specifically 16 years ago in her retrospective revue Chita Rivera: A Dancer’s Life and eight years since her chilling turn as Claire Zachanassian in Kander and Ebb’s “The Visit at Williamstown.” Listening to Chita “mark it” during her sound check, I was somewhat concerned. I am quite protective of the stars who perform as part of our series. I want to ensure they feel supported, cared for, and presented at their very best. At this moment, I honestly was not quite sure if Chita, now at 89 years old, still had it. Would Chita pull through or leave an audience questioning if the leading lady’s star wattage had dimmed? It was all very questionable from what I was seeing and hearing at this sound check. The only thing I could do at this point was cross my fingers and hope for the best.
As the concert approached, I got ready in the dressing room next to Chita’s. It still possesses a somewhat surreal quality straightening my tie in the mirror while being treated to Chita’s extended vocal warm-ups, a routine she must have done thousands of times before. As I listened to her hum and trill in the next room, I imagined how these were the exact same exercises heard backstage over the orchestra striking John Kander’s signature vamp before she rose to the stage as the original Velma Kelly for “Chicago”’s “All That Jazz.” And now Chita was completing this perfected routine for Worcester.
As I called places and prepared to guide Chita to the elevator, she looked at me, then looked at the stairs, then looked at me again and said, “We’re doing the stairs.” From the moment she ascended those steps to her final bow with Seth, she possessed the energy, vocal prowess, and even Fosse-esque dance moves of a performer twenty years younger. Her transformation was miraculous. And this is Chita Rivera – the consummate professional and showman; knowing exactly how much energy she had to preserve throughout the day to give her audience two hours of song and story at one hundred percent and nothing less. This was the legend who rarely, if ever, missed a performance and always delighted in dedicating countless hours at the stage door sharing intimate moments with her legions of fans. This was the Chita who would never stop performing because the grease paint flowed through her veins as thick as blood.
Whether on the Broadway stage or in Worcester; performing for the President of the United States or her dedicated Central MA fans, Chita delivered because she believed her audiences deserved her absolute best. Three standing ovations later, Worcester audiences received Chita’s absolute best. It was the only way she knew how. While Chita’s immense talent is unquestionable, her drive, passion, commitment, and love of performing went unrivaled. And what a thrill it was to see such a legend provide a glimpse into theater history, as if a single day had not passed since Chita created these roles and classic numbers on Broadway.
Chita was an actor’s actor and the theater community rightfully adored her. From the chorus girls to the divas, everyone in the theater admired Chita and openly embraced the chance to learn from the best. The wonderful Kelli O’Hara was Broadway in Worcester’s follow-up concert to Chita’s. As Kelli prepared to go on stage for her show, I shared this story about Chita’s determination to take the stairs as a means of psyching herself up for her performance with us. Kelli and I made a pact that night: when Kelli is 89, she agreed to do another concert with me (and I’m holding her to it) – promising to “take the stairs” just like Chita. And ultimately, this will be Chita’s greatest legacy: her work ethic, love of the stage, and gratitude and respect for her audiences will live on, not only in those revered original cast recordings and cherished Playbills, but in a younger generation of gypsies and leading men and women who will continue to admire and emulate Chita as the treasure to musical theater that she was and remains.
Born and raised in Worcester, Eric Butler serves vice president of City Year, a national education nonprofit. He previously served as director of development at edX, a global online education platform founded by Harvard and MIT. As a commercial theater investor and producer, Eric’s portfolio includes productions of “An American in Paris,” “Kinky Boots, On Your Feet!” and “Moulin Rouge”
