Dec. 16, 2013
Contact Jen Roberdeau at 608-796-3738 or jaroberdeau@viterbo.edu
BROADWAY LEGEND CHITA RIVERA TO PERFORM CONCERT AT VITERBO UNIVERSITY JAN. 22
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Broadway legend Chita Rivera will perform a unique solo concert in celebration of her 80th birthday at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22 in the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center Main Theatre.
Rivera, a two-time Tony Award winner, will recreate moments from her legendary career, including numbers from West Side Story, Sweet Charity, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Bye, Bye, Birdie, and The Rink. The concert will also feature live musical accompaniment, the timeless music of Leonard Bernstein, Charles Strouse, Jerry Herman, and Stephen Sondheim, and a special tribute to Rivera’s dear friends, John Kander and Fred Ebb.
The Chita: A Legendary Celebration concert tour has garnered outstanding reviews. “Chita Rivera has a gleam in her eye, a smirk on her lips, and a bounce in her step…you will leave this show walking on air!” wrote a reviewer in The New York Times. According to a reviewer with the Associated Press, “Chita Rivera is more than a musical theatre star. She is a force of nature.”
Rivera rose to stardom with her performance as Anita in the Broadway premiere of West Side Story in 1957. She won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received seven additional Tony Award nominations. She was presented with The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. She was also the first Hispanic woman to receive the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002.
Chita: A Legendary Celebration is part of Viterbo’s Bright Star Season and is sponsored in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin. KQEG-TV is the media sponsor and Holiday Inn is the hotel sponsor.
Tickets are $48 for main floor, $44 for lower balcony, and $39 for upper balcony seating. For more information or to order tickets, contact the Viterbo box office at 608-796-3100 or visit www.viterbo.edu/tickets.
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