Previews: GEORGE CHAKIRIS CLIPS AND CONVERSATION at Revolution Stage Company

His beginnings were as a chorus boy in Hollywood movie musicals of the 1950s, in classic films like There's No Business Like Show Business, Brigadoon, White Christmas, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. With his thatch of jet-black hair, George Chakiris was highly visible behind Cyd Charisse, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Mitzi Gaynor, Donald O'Connor, Danny Kaye, Marilyn Monroe and Debbie Reynolds.

Now more “silver-foxed,” Chakiris, a triple-threat performer and son of Greek immigrants, is coming to the desert for an evening of “Clips and Conversation” at the REVOLUTION STAGE COMPANY, Friday, May 16, 2025, at 7 pm. Chakiris will be interviewed by Los Angeles dance critic Debra Levine.

Best known for his Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning performance as “Bernardo” in West Side Story (1961), Chakiris’s grace and athleticism were emblematic of the Swinging '60s dance style. In ensuing decades, Chakiris led a distinguished acting career in film, theater, and television in America, Europe, and Japan. Our program assembles a selection of his sparkling film appearances drawn from West Side Story (1961) and Jacques Demy’s The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), and television clips from “The Garry Moore Show” (1961), “The Dinah Shore Chevy Show” (1962), and “The Andy Williams Show” (1967). Samples of Chakiris's four albums recorded at Capitol Records will provide the evening's soundscape—taking us back to a simpler, sweeter time.

Revolution Stage Company salutes an extraordinary career of actor, singer and dancer George Chakiris in an exciting evening of clips and conversation on its stage.

About Debra Levine, host: Debra Levine is a forty-year dance critic published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, DANCE Magazine and more. In 2008, Debra founded artsmeme, her arts blog devoted to live performing arts. Debra's forthcoming biography of the choreographer Jack Cole will be published in 2026.

About Revolution Stage Company, co-producer: Palm Springs' newest and most innovative theatre company, the REVOLUTION STAGE COMPANY presents classic musical and plays, often with a new twist, using local talent. We are a 501c3 non-profit organization in our second year. During our first season, the RSC presented over 250 performances on our stage, bringing the finest talent from New York to Chicago to Southern California to the Coachella Valley.

About McDonald, Selznick & Associates, co-producer: McDonald Selznick Associates (MSA) represents stage directors, choreographers, dancers, and actors in all mediums of entertainment including film, television, commercials, live stage, videos and digital. MSA has offices in Los Angeles and New York.

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