Review: CHITA: THE RHYTHM OF MY LIFE WITH SPECIAL GUEST, BROADWAY FAVORITE GEORGE DVORSKY at North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, MA

At the rate Broadway legend Chita Rivera is going these days, she may need to write a sequel to her just-released autobiography, "Chita: A Memoir," to cover what she's been up to since that book left off. Of course, she'd have to find the time first.

This month alone, the indefatigable Rivera is continuing her multi-state book tour and making related media appearances, preparing to co-host the BroadwayWorld 20th anniversary concert benefitting Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, along with BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge, Sunday, May 21, at Sony Hall (235 West 46th Street), and planning for this year's Chita Rivera Awards, which will be presented Monday, May 22, at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place), both in New York City.

While most people with that kind of schedule might take some time here and there to put their feet up, Rivera isn't one of them. Indeed, this past Sunday, May 7, she was at the North Shore Music Theatre (NSMT) in Beverly, Massachusetts, for a concert appearance in "Chita: The Rhythm of My Life with Special Guest, Broadway Favorite George Dvorsky."

The moment she hit the stage, Rivera went to town with a program of music from her best-known Broadway shows, highlighting her collaborations with composers and lyricists including Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and choreographers and directors Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince, Bob Fosse, Graciela Daniele, and more.

An opening medley from 1993's "Kiss of the Spider Woman," which earned her a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, included "Sooner or Later" and the dark and haunting "And the Moon Grows Dimmer."

Like all seasoned concert performers, Rivera knows how and when to change the pace and she did just that, effortlessly moving from the moody "Spider Woman" to 1960's buoyant "Bye Bye Birdie," with a sexy "A Lot of Livin' to Do."

And while she's best known as one of the most gifted dancers to come out of the Golden Age of Broadway, Rivera is also a very fine vocalist as she once again proved with the wistful ballad "I Don't Remember You" from 1968's "The Happy Time."

A perfectly sung and danced selection of songs from 1957's "West Side Story" - including "A Boy Like That" and "America" - offered a clear reminder of why being Broadway's original Anita made Rivera such an enduring icon. Adding to her thrilling performance were her personal asides about everything from the nervousness she experienced at a vocal audition for Leonard Bernstein, to meeting her husband, fellow performer Tony Mordente.

"He played a Jet and I played a Shark, and, as actors, we were told not to fraternize with anyone from the rival gang. I ignored that, though, and instead I married him," explained Rivera with a laugh.

Returning to the music of John Kander and Fred Ebb, Rivera offered up a snappy "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" from 1984's "The Rink," for which she won her first Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a Musical.

Dvorsky - who has starred in more NSMT shows than any other performer in the venue's near 70-year history - got in on the act with a smooth rendering of "Sometimes a Day Goes By" from 1981's "Woman of the Year." Dvorsky then paired beautifully with Rivera on "Winter" and "Love and Love Alone" from 2015's "The Visit."

Rivera was backed to perfection, as she was throughout the show, by her trio - music director Michael Croiter on drums and guitar, Jim Donica on bass, and Jason Loffredo at the piano - on a medley from "Chicago." The famous Kander and Ebb vamp from "All That Jazz" was all Rivera needed to bring Velma Kelly, a role she originated in the 1975 musical, to vivid life in Beverly.

Her dance moves have been modified over time but Rivera can still do more with a Bob Fosse gesture or hand movement than anyone else alive today, as she demonstrated when she grabbed the familiar top hat and cane for "Nowadays." Her warm evocation of the tremulous voice of her mentor, friend, and co-star Gwen Verdon was a sweet added touch.

In a gentle and perfect coda for a show filled with music, dance, and memories, Rivera recalled the late Larry Kert, her friend and "West Side Story" co-star, with a moving rendition of "Circle of Friends," the song she performed at Kert's 1991 memorial service.

Photo Credit: Cheryl Mann

To post a comment, you must register and login.