'Chita Loves Broadway Cares' at Birdland, Jan.14

Jim Caruso's Cast Party and TheaterMania.com are especially proud to announce "Chita Loves Broadway Cares," a benefit concert starring the renowned and hugely-celebrated performer Chita Rivera, to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. This one-night-only, can't miss show happens on Monday, January 14, 2008 at 7PM, as a very special part of the long-running, critically-heralded concert series Broadway at Birdland.

"Chita Loves Broadway Cares" stars Rivera, the adored and acclaimed iconic Broadway star, in an up-close-and-personal performance inspired by and intended exclusively for what the star herself calls her "Broadway family." In another remarkable rarity, 100% of proceeds from the evening will go to benefit Broadway Cares, the nation's leading industry-based, not-for-profit AIDS fundraising and grant making organization.

In this intimate evening of music, Rivera will sing songs from some of her most celebrated Broadway performances, including numbers from West Side Story ("America"), Sweet Charity ("Where Am I Going?" and "Big Spender"), Chicago ("All That Jazz" and "Nowadays"), and The Rink ("Chief Cook and Bottle Washer").  Joining Rivera will be Music Director Carmel Dean on piano, Michael Croiter on drums and Jim Donica on bass.

Chita Rivera is an accomplished and versatile actress, singer and dancer who has won two Tony Awards, both as Best Leading Actress in a Musical (Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Rink) and received seven additional Tony nominations. In December 2002, she received a Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, D.C, the first Hispanic woman to be awarded this prestigious prize. She recently starred in the Broadway and touring productions of Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. Additional recent starring roles include the acclaimed 2003 revival of the Maury Yeston musical Nine with Antonio Banderas.

It was her breakout electric performance as Anita in the Broadway premiere of West Side Story 50 years ago that first catapulted Rivera to national stardom, a role she repeated in London. Other career highlights include starring roles in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie with Dick Van Dyke, and Jerry's Girls with Leslie Uggams and Dorothy Loudon, Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven, and Mr. Wonderful opposite Sammy Davis, Jr. Her tours include Born Yesterday, Call Me Madam, The Threepenny Opera, and Kiss Me, Kate. Rivera has also worked in both film and television, most notably opposite Shirley MacLaine in the film version of Sweet Charity.

Looking ahead: in February 2008, Rivera will take her acclaimed, sold-out Feinstein's concert to London's Shaw Theatre, followed by the new John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally musical The Visit, currently scheduled to open in May 2008 at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA.

"Chita Loves Broadway Cares" is presented Monday, January 14, 2008, at 7PM at the legendary Birdland (315 West 44th Street, between 8th & 9th Aves), New York City.

Tickets are $40.00 + $10.00 Food/Drink Minimum (Per Person). VIP tickets, offering seating in the front two rows, are available for $100.00 + $10.00 Food/Drink Minimum (Per Person). Tickets can be purchased Online: www.BirdlandJazz.com; or by Telephone: 212.581.3080.

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