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She's Heaven Nowadays- Chita Rivera and Friends Preview Her Carnegie Hall Debut!
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Nov 5, 2022
Chita Rivera's landmark concert CHITA: NOWADAYS will arrive at Carnegie Hall on Monday, November 7 (8PM), marking the the first time the Broadway legend will headline the iconic venue. The two-time Tony Award winner will also welcome previously-announced guests Alan Cumming, Andy Karl, Javier Muñoz and Brandon Victor Dixon, the new stars of Hamilton on Broadway; and New York City Gay Men's Chorus.
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Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
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Two-time Tony Award winning legend Chita Rivera is making her solo Carnegie Hall debut
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on Monday evening, November 7th, with her brand new show called Chita Nowadays
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And she has some very special guests, including Alan Cumming and Andy Carl
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And we drop by the rehearsal studio to catch up with Chita and friends and give you a sneak peek
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Isn't it good? Isn't it great? Isn't it swell? Isn't it fun? Isn't it..
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Now it is. There's men everywhere jazz, everywhere booze, everywhere life, everywhere joy, everywhere nowadays
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You can like the life you're living. You can live the life you like. You can even marry Harry, but mess around. Hi
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There's people that you step on stage with, like Chita Rivera, that just light up the entire stage no matter what
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They can be sitting there, and all of a sudden you just want to have the best time of your life watching her, being on stage with her
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So all I know is I'm going to have a good time. I know the audience will too
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So without giving too much away, what are you doing in the show? I'm doing a couple songs from a show that is that little-known show called Bye Bye Birdie
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So I'm doing two songs with my lovely lady over here, Cheetah
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And I can't wait to get started on that stuff. And it's just around the corner
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But you know what? I'm game for anything. So I think that's what I wrote back in the email when I was first asked to join her on stage
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I was like, great. I'm ready for anything. Let's make this a great night
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Let's just ad lib and have a great time. Do you remember the first time you saw her on stage I do The first time I saw her was Kiss the Spider Woman on tour in San Francisco because I was with another show that was in town touring And I just like I went over there by myself on one of our nights off to see that show
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And she was captivating. And I hung out at the stage door and she came out
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I don't even know how old I was. I was like early 20s, which was a long time ago
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And I had my little, my playbill in my hand and a marker
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and she came out and gave me this big hug and this big smile and sighed away
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It's like, that's a star. She's on stage captivating everybody and then comes backstage at the stage door
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and just has a lot of love for everybody who's seeing a show. You learned nowadays Bob Fosse choreography by Chita Rivera
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I know, and I'm singing this iconic song with the iconic person who first sang it
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And I'm also doing a song from the rink that Liza sang
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and I'm playing the Liza part and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree
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So, you know, it's pinch me, I'm dreaming. Well, let's talk about, did a phone call come for this
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How did this all happen for you? Yeah, kind of a phone call, yeah. Like, I knew it was potentially happening
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and they're like, oh, would you be available? So it's happening, it's happening, you're on
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I'm on. I'm in. So, yeah, and then I, yeah, you know
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you don't have to think long for anything like this. And also I think what's really lovely about this night
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is that it's going to be such a celebration of Cheetah, celebration of her work
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and her is just this glorious, much beloved woman who's just been an amazing
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support and talent and beloved by so many people. You never meet anyone who's just not absolutely
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like that about her. Do you remember the first time you saw her on stage
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Was it in a show? Was it in concert? The first time I saw her on stage, I was
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on stage with her because the Kennedy Center Honours in 1998, I just
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come to New York and Candra and Eb were being honored. And they did a sort of a little, you know, truncated version
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of I did Cabaret. I did a veal coming with Joe Gray and Cheetah did all that jazz
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with Bibi Newarth. And Liza came on and sang New York, New York. It was like the gayest thing ever
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And I remember just being like what am I doing here I mean I not being disingenuous I really thought I mean I knew why because I was in cabaret but it just felt hilarious And I remember coming off I remember actually Cheetah and Lysa
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trying to teach me the dance moves to New York, New York. You know, I still can't get it
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And I just, yeah, it's more the shoulders I can do. But imagine Cheetah and Lysa both trying to teach me
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I got overwhelmed. I couldn't hear it. I was just like, ah, stop. But then what I loved most was after we came off stage
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I was like, oh, damn, I kind of made a few mistakes. And she was like, oh, so did I
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Nobody noticed. And, you know, that's so great. Because she said that to me
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She goes, if you make a mistake, it'll still be fine. You just, you know, just sell it and own it and love it
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And people don't, I don't like, I don't, I actually think people don't really like perfect
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They like authentic more. And so she's completely authentic. What about Alan? Is he not the cutest? And is Andy not the sexiest? And everybody else that I've got on this show, I've got my four guys, you know, I've got my four boys
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and so it's exciting, Richie. You know, you always ask me that before
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and then I'm always better afterwards because then I know, oh, phew, I did it
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Now I can, you know, have a feeling. You were teaching Alan Cumming
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the original Fosse choreography that lives in your muscle. What is that like teaching him
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Well, it's wonderful seeing him, feeling the explanation and hearing his voice and
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there's some things that are changed and seeing him get it seeing him get it
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you know and it's so right right now nowadays it's so right it's good isn't it grand isn't it
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great nowadays it's great to choose what you were going to do in this show
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you have like created so many incredible performances on stage How did you choose what you wanted to do Well well Graziella and Michael you know and the material you know Richie if you do it
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at the right times and for the right reasons, they fit. Great things go a long distance
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They still are authentic. They're still true, even in different situations. But if it's the
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right situation and this seems right to come out and look at carney hall and say it's good
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it's great freddie would love that freddie would love that so their music and their lyrics and all
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the great people i've worked with it lives for on forever and it's up to the lizas and the joels
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and everybody else and myself to keep it alive. Wow. A solo debut at Carnegie Hall
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Don't scare me like that. No, I think it's exciting. Of course it is
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But it's nervous, my thing. You just want to do it right, Richie
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You know, you just want to, you know, you know about the rhythm of life
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You know when something is right and when it's not. You know when something is choking or when it's free
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It's up to me to keep this boat floating. And that's good, isn't it grand
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Isn't it great? Isn't it swell? Isn't it fun
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