Chita Rivera at the Cafe Carlyle

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 4/21/16 at 11:39am

I attended the second night performance of Chita Rivera: An Evening of My Favorite Songs at the Cafe Carlyle on Wednesday, April 21. Ticket was $90 per person with a $75 food/beverage minimum. 

This was my second time at the Cafe Carlyle. It has been a while because the first time was to see Eartha Kitt. The room was uncomfortably warm especially with my jacket and tie on. I don't mind warm so for most I would imagine this unbearable. This may have contributed to me squirming to be comfortable in the banquette seat. The waiter thought it would be nice to encourage those in seats to squish in on the banquette seats next to the person they were attending the show with but that just made everyone sit elbow to elbow so the waiters could navigate the dining room easier. 

Chita...I love Chita. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed by this show. If you have never seen Chita then this is an opportunity to see her in an intimate venue. However, if you happened to have attended her performance at Birdland in October 2014 then this is a rehash of that show. That Birdland show was also a replay of the recorded Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS performance available on DVD. So I was very familiar with both her songs and banter by this point. I was trying to refrain but at one point I turned to my friend and delivered the punchline one beat prior to Chita. My friend turned to me wide eyed and laughed. 

Chita did sound great. She moved on the postage stamp size of the stage which happens to be getting smaller and smaller each time she performs this show. For the BCEFA performance she had an entire stage. At Birdland it was considerably smaller and just a step up from the floor. Now at the Cafe Carlyle I think the grand piano had more real estate than Chita did!

I noticed the trims. Was slightly disappointed that Winter from The Visit garnered a place in the show but nothing from Kiss of the Spiderwoman.

For a repeat Chita offender...you would be fine skipping this. First time Chita audience members really should take the opportunity to see a genuine living Broadway legend.

Updated On: 4/21/16 at 11:39 AM

[SweetLips]

Posted: 4/22/16 at 7:29pm

Enjoyed reading your comments.

Thanks for sharing.

[bway_fanatic]

Posted: 5/19/16 at 12:16pm

Is there any way that Cafe Caryle can be stage door'd to maybe get Chita's autograph? I did not get a chance to get her on my 'The Visit' Playbill and would LOVE to see if I can get her to sign while she's here. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/19/16 at 12:58pm

I generally never ever do this but for her I did. Waited a few minutes after the revival of Nine. I had with me a playbill from 1964's Bajour. She was expecting a Nine Playbill. When she saw this, she smiled and said to me "My God, that is older than me" before signing it.