The Stage

Chita Rivera - The Secret of Life

Published Monday 11 February 2008 at 10:50 by Paul Vale

Aside from marking a turning point in modern musical theatre, West Side Story thrust into the limelight a performer who was to become one of Broadway’s most enduring, enigmatic and exotic leading ladies, Chita Rivera.

Stepping out on to the Shaw stage, resplendent in a simple yet flattering frock and outrageous spike heels, Rivera gleefully announced she would not be dancing for us tonight although in truth, her taut dancers body was seldom still throughout the evening. That said, this grand dame of the triple threat gave us a set to remind us of her well-deserved place in the annals of musical theatre history with numbers from West Side Story, Chicago, Kiss of a Spiderwoman and The Rink with a side order of Sweet Charity thrown in for good measure.

Rivera has that unique ability to fill the stage with her presence and this is something that has neither diminished with time nor the lack of a structured musical. She claims the cabaret circuit is still a relatively fresh experience and the intimacy afforded by the Shaw is something both she and her adoring audience evidently relish.

Here she was able to joke and tease as she mixed a collection of musical standards such as America, A Boy Like That, Class, Nowadays and a poignant rendition of Where Am I Going? with highly individual interpretations of Mas Que Nada and Jaques Brel’s Carousel.

For a finale, Rivera rightfully reclaimed the opening vamp from Chicago as her own with a strident and assertive All That Jazz.