By Mabel Pais
SiriusXM Broadway host SETH RUDETSKY brings BROADWAY ICON CHITA RIVERA to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 7:30 PM.
Rudetsky will host and music direct an intimate evening of hit songs and hilarious showbiz tales with the Broadway icon herself, Chita Rivera. The Tony Award-winning singer-dancer-actress-showstopper is best known for originating the roles of Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie opposite Dick Van Dyke, and Velma in Bob Fosse’s Chicago opposite Gwen Verdon. She won her first Tony Award for Kander and Ebb’s ‘The Rink’ and her second for playing the title role in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.’ Seth will have Chita perform her biggest songs from each of her iconic roles and, between songs, he’ll ask Chita to reveal inside scoop on what it was like creating some of Broadway’s most iconic roles while working with some of Broadway’s biggest titans!
TICKETS
Tickets to see Chita Rivera and Seth Rudetsky can be purchased by visiting NJPAC.org or the NJPAC Box Office or calling 888.GO.NJPAC (888.466.5722).
Chita Rivera
A theatrical icon and one of Broadway’s greatest triple-treat talents, Chita Rivera is one of the most nominated performers in Tony Award history having earned 10 nominations, won twice and received the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
A versatile actress/singer/dancer, her recent starring roles include ‘The Visit,’ the final John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally musical directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela Daniele on Broadway; and many, many more over her long performance career.
She trained as a ballerina (from age nine) before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet from the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Chita’s first appearance (age 19) was as a principal dancer in ‘Call Me Madam.’ Her electric performance as Anita in the original Broadway premiere of ‘West Side Story’ brought her stardom, which she repeated in London.
Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009 and received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in 2002. In 2019, Chita performed her solo concert at London’s Cadogan Hall; in 2018 she was honored as a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy; in 2016 she headlined at Carnegie Hall and in 2015, Great Performances aired their special ‘Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ To Do,’ a retrospective of her extraordinary life and career nationally on PBS. Her current solo CD is entitled ‘And Now I Swing.’ Her long-awaited book ‘CHITA: A MEMOIR’ will be published by HarperOne in April, 2023. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente. Learn more at chitarivera.com.
Seth Rudetsky
Seth is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s ‘ON BROADWAY’ as well as the host of ‘SETH SPEAKS’ on Sirius/XM Stars.
As a pianist, Seth has played for more than a dozen Broadway shows including RAGTIME, LES MIZ and PHANTOM. He was the Artistic Producer/Music Director for the first five annual Actors Fund Fall Concerts including ‘DREAMGIRLS’ with Audra MacDonald (recorded on Nonesuch Records) and ‘HAIR’ with Jennifer Hudson (recorded on Ghostlight Records, Grammy Nomination).
In 2007 he made his Broadway acting debut playing Sheldon (singing “Magic to Do” in a devastating unitard) in ‘THE RITZ’ directed by Joe Mantello for The Roundabout Theater. Off-Broadway he wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed ‘RHAPSODY IN SETH’ (directed by Peter Flynn) at the Actors Playhouse and has also appeared on TV on ‘LAW AND ORDER C.I.’ and had a recurring role on ‘ALL MY CHILDREN.’
As an author, he penned the non-fiction ‘Q GUIDE TO BROADWAY,’ the novel ‘BROADWAY NIGHTS’ and the recently published ‘MY AWESOME/AWFUL POPULARITY PLAN’ (Random House). Recently, he co-wrote and starred in ‘DISASTER!’ (which the NY TIMES called a “triumph”), and he currently writes a weekly column on Playbill.com and tours the country doing master classes and performing his one-man show ‘DECONSTRUCTING BROADWAY.’ Learn more at sethrudetsky.com.
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