Everyday Creation
Everyday Creation is about purpose, awe and good vibrations. The show's title refers to three types of creation: The ways we express ourselves (for example, with art, music and so many other pursuits fueled by purpose and passion); the parts of life that fill us with awe (birth, death, love, the big picture); and our personal power to create our best possible lives while also making the world a better place. Here, you’ll encounter interviews, essays and some episodes created simply for information and fun. I'm your host Kate Jones, welcoming you to Everyday Creation.
Everyday Creation
Tony Award-Winner Chita Rivera's Decades-Long Career on Broadway Included a Rousing "All That Jazz"
Chita Rivera, Broadway's "first triple threat," became a star in 1957 with her role as Anita in "West Side Story." She won a Tony Award for her role in "The Ring" in 1986 and a second Tony in 1993 for "Kiss of the Spider Woman."
Sheldon Zoldan wrote this tribute, which references the song "All That Jazz" from the Broadway musical "Chicago," in which she starred as Velma Kelly. This video, from the 1982 TV special "Broadway Plays Washington," really showcases her talent. It begins with "America" from "West Side Story" and quickly transitions to a rousing "All That Jazz." The audience at the Kennedy Center broke into applause at the song's end, and I felt like doing the same watching it on YouTube 43 years later.
The photo of Rivera in this episode's thumbnail was taken in 1997. I found it on Wikipedia; it's credited to Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com.
There are a couple of other images of note in the chapters. The first is of the original cast recording for "The Visit." Rivera starred in that show when she was 82. The second is a photo taken of Rivera and President Barack Obama during the Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony in 2009.
This story is one of 41 that Sheldon, a longtime journalist, has written about the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well, and you can find the 2023 tributes on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year. There are so many interesting ones!
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Tribute excerpt:
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.540
"She became a star in
00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:02.580
1957
00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:06.100
when she played Anita in 'West Side Story.'
00:00:06.720 --> 00:00:09.120
She played the role of Velma Kelly in
00:00:09.120 --> 00:00:11.700
the Broadway musical 'Chicago' in 1975
00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:14.960
and won a Tony for her role in
00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:15.620
'The Ring'
00:00:15.955 --> 00:00:17.255
in 1986.
00:00:18.195 --> 00:00:20.455
She won her second Tony in 1993
00:00:21.315 --> 00:00:23.175
for 'Kiss of the Spider Woman.'"
Kate:
00:00:23.955 --> 00:00:25.415
That's just a snippet
00:00:25.795 --> 00:00:28.935
of Sheldon Zoldan's tribute to Chita Rivera,
00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:31.350
who died at the end of January
00:00:31.810 --> 00:00:32.310
2024.
00:00:33.730 --> 00:00:36.870
For more, here's the whole story.
Sheldon:
00:00:37.010 --> 00:00:39.430
Chita Rivera never cheated herself or her audiences.
00:00:39.890 --> 00:00:42.150
She sang. She danced. She acted.
00:00:42.735 --> 00:00:46.355
Lawrence Maslon, co-producer of the PBS series
00:00:46.495 --> 00:00:46.995
"Broadway:
00:00:47.455 --> 00:00:48.675
The American Musical,"
00:00:49.055 --> 00:00:51.955
called her "Broadway's first triple threat."
00:00:52.495 --> 00:00:56.095
Rivera died January 30th in New York City
00:00:56.095 --> 00:00:57.635
following a brief illness.
00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:00.540
She was 91. The Song of the Day
00:01:00.540 --> 00:01:03.660
is paying tribute to the singers, songwriters, and
00:01:03.660 --> 00:01:05.760
musicians who died in 2024.
00:01:06.940 --> 00:01:09.920
Rivera began her career as a ballet dancer,
00:01:10.285 --> 00:01:13.265
but got her Broadway musical start by accident.
00:01:13.725 --> 00:01:14.545
In 1951,
00:01:15.245 --> 00:01:16.385
when she was 18,
00:01:16.925 --> 00:01:19.485
she went with a friend to the friend's
00:01:19.485 --> 00:01:19.985
audition.
00:01:20.605 --> 00:01:22.705
Rivera ended up getting the part.
00:01:23.485 --> 00:01:25.425
She never stopped playing on Broadway.
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:27.780
She starred in "Bye Bye Birdie,"
00:01:28.320 --> 00:01:29.460
"Guys and Dolls,"
00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.120
"Can Can," and "Mister Wonderful" with Sammy Davis
00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:33.620
Jr.
00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:36.420
She became a star in 1957
00:01:37.520 --> 00:01:40.500
when she played Anita in "West Side Story."
00:01:41.235 --> 00:01:43.555
She played the role of Velma Kelly in
00:01:43.555 --> 00:01:46.295
the Broadway musical "Chicago" in 1975
00:01:47.315 --> 00:01:49.395
and won a Tony for her role in
00:01:49.395 --> 00:01:51.255
"The Ring" in 1986.
00:01:52.675 --> 00:01:54.855
She won her second Tony in 1993
00:01:55.820 --> 00:01:57.680
for "Kiss of the Spider "Woman."
00:01:58.300 --> 00:02:00.960
She was 82 when she starred on Broadway
00:02:01.260 --> 00:02:02.160
in "The Visit"
00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:03.440
in 2015.
00:02:04.620 --> 00:02:07.820
Rivera's dancing career almost came to an end
00:02:07.820 --> 00:02:08.720
in 1986
00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:12.275
when a taxi hit her car, crushing her
00:02:12.275 --> 00:02:13.175
left leg.
00:02:13.715 --> 00:02:16.755
It it took two surgeries and screws and
00:02:16.755 --> 00:02:17.255
plates
00:02:17.555 --> 00:02:19.255
to put the leg back together.
00:02:19.955 --> 00:02:22.615
She returned to dance a year later,
00:02:23.155 --> 00:02:25.315
but she was limited in what she could
00:02:25.315 --> 00:02:25.815
do.
00:02:26.850 --> 00:02:29.570
"You'll never see me in ballet slippers again
00:02:29.570 --> 00:02:32.050
because I don't have my Achilles tendon," she
00:02:32.050 --> 00:02:34.070
told The New York Times in 1993.
00:02:35.730 --> 00:02:38.550
Rivera's Broadway repertoire was broad,
00:02:39.250 --> 00:02:42.070
but we picked "All That Jazz" from "Chicago."
00:02:43.405 --> 00:02:46.285
John Kander wrote the music and Fred Ebb
00:02:46.285 --> 00:02:46.945
the lyrics.
00:02:47.565 --> 00:02:49.885
It was the opening song in the play.
Kate:
00:02:49.885 --> 00:02:52.125
This is Kate Jones. You'll find a lot
00:02:52.125 --> 00:02:54.225
of other tributes on Everyday Creation.
00:02:54.845 --> 00:02:56.145
Please check them out,
00:02:56.445 --> 00:02:58.225
and thank you for listening.
