Stage And Screen Legend Chita Rivera Dies At Age 91

The New York Times reports:

Chita Rivera, the fire-and-ice dancer, singer and actress who leapt to stardom in the original Broadway production of “West Side Story” and dazzled audiences for nearly seven decades as a Puerto Rican lodestar of the American musical theater, died on Tuesday. She was 91. The death was announced in a statement by her daughter, Lisa Mordente. It gave no other details.

On Broadway, she created a string of memorably hard-edged women — Anita in “West Side Story” (1957), Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie” (1960), the murderous floozy Velma Kelly in “Chicago” (1975) and the title role in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993).

She sang enduring numbers in those roles: “America” in “West Side Story,” “One Boy” and “Spanish Rose” in “Bye Bye Birdie,” and “All That Jazz” in “Chicago.”

Read the full article.

Breaking News: Chita Rivera, the dancer, singer and actress who leapt to stardom in the Broadway production of “West Side Story” and dazzled audiences for nearly seven decades as a Puerto Rican lodestar of the American musical theater, has died at 91. https://t.co/BSmfhTheBn

— New York Times Music (@nytimesmusic) January 30, 2024