Chita and All That Jazz, the revue starring Chita Rivera which has been touring the nation off and on, is looking to land on Broadway this fall, Rivera said backstage at the Tony Award ceremony, June 6. The show has played Atlantic City and almost made it to Broadway last year but couldn't find an appropriate theatre.
Rivera's brother-manager, Armando Del Rivero, told Playbill On-Line Jan. 19 that the revue, with Rivera backed up by dancing "boys," was a hit in its two-month summer 1998 stint at Resorts International Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, and is hoped to play London in fall 1999 prior to a Broadway engagement in late 1999.
The intended-for-Broadway revue, with material by Fred Ebb, who previously worked with Rivera on Chicago (1975) and The Rink, was polished and further developed during the Atlantic City run, Del Rivero said.
Rivera, who turned 66 Jan. 23, 1999, opened as Roxie Hart in Chicago March 3 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. She created the role of Velma Kelly, the other star part in the 1975 Chicago.
-- By Kenneth Jones and Robert Simonson