There is usually a fun, lively, sizable crowd for opening nights in Shea’s Broadway series. Last night (Tuesday, May 24, 2007), was the opening of Chita Rivera: A Dancer’s Life, the final production touring through here for this theater season. The crowd included more of Buffalo’s theater community than usual… our own actors, directors, writers and so on, which made for a special kind of noise from the audience in response to the show.
You don’t have to be theater-savvy (just normal savvy) to read into the title and understand the gist of the show: Chita Rivera, a performer who has enjoyed a career of more than fifty years and is still going, relates to the audience her life as a dancer and the life that all dancers endure in their effort to make audiences happy . Again, just the gist, the essence, the idea. The seed--a simple thing--until planted.
The richness of that long career blossoms on stage in a bright and too fleeting show. Again, to enjoy this show you do not have to be theater-savvy. Although you will might very well become so just by watching it. A Dancer’s Life samples moves from a roster of Broadway’s greatest choreographers, recreating such moments as the dance at the gym from West Side Story, “Put On A Happy Face” from Bye Bye, Birdie, the great buddy number “Nowadays” from Chicago and the can-can from Cole Porter’s…Can Can.
For any audience, this is a medley entertainment from among the best of old Broadway. Old, as in classic. But dusty? Not! Each staging is a fresh as their respective original opening nights.
Without a doubt, Chita Rivera will be the major attraction for ticket-buyers. Veterans of Broadway from the mid-century are fewer and fewer, but none finer than she. She is beyond critique. She is the purpose of the show. Yet, it seems Rivera to have a message bigger than herself. Life might be a short walk for us all, but some make it more worthwhile by dancing through it; theater folk or civilians.
The show itself is a triumphant accomplishment. If the question behind the perennial A Chorus Line is “What does a dancer have to do for a little respect?” Ms. Rivera’s unique show answers “Keep on dancing, baby.”
As conceived, by Ms. Rivera, choreographer and director Graciela Danielle and playwright Terrence McNally, the show is articulate and communicates plenty in short order; yes, it is light enough to never lose pace with itself. Ms. Rivera and Mr. McNally, have a simpatico going-- he having created the characters of Anna in The Rink and Aurora in The Kiss Of The Spider Woman, and she having brought them life (winning Tony awards for those roles, no less). He captures her directness and she illuminates his observations as this chatty script progresses to its essential musical moments.
Loy Arcenas’ sets are brilliant; uncluttered and complete, elegant and graphic. They are equaled by Toni-Leslie James’ costumes. The company never looks less than scrumptious. Beverly Emmons is credited with the tour’s lighting based on the original design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhaur for Broadway. Their plot abets the best moments with fluidity, drama and energy.
Every effort has been made to imbue this show with the joy of performance. Earlier this season, Shea’s gave to us the national touring production of Sweet Charity, a slight effort toward reviving that forty-year-old musical but not without its pleasures. In A Dancer’s Life, the signature “Hey, Big Spender” number is recreated. It is abbreviated from the original--only two performers instead of a bevy of hard broads--but it is effective.
First, the instrumental ensemble wallops the throbbing opening measures out of the pit. Then, Rivera, in full light, and Amy Hall, in silhouette, perform the number in a manner that is both sinuous and insinuative. The three-minute segment you can see this week has many times more impact than the two hours you might have seen a few months ago. The issue here is not the mastery of the material. Simply put, in A Dancer’s Life you are dealing with a company that loves to perform and loves its work.
That begins with Rivera herself and is shared by the deftly used corps of virtuosic dancers, the musicians, the tour’s crew, its creative team and, as Ms. Rivera would have it, to the choreographers anthologized here as well as to the costars she describes. That joy is palpable in every moment of the show.
Perhaps this show speaks a bit more to those who live theater than to those who love theater. Neither group should come away disappointed. And if one group should applaud louder, laugh harder or leap to their feet faster on opening night? Just a chance for stage folk to say “hello”.
Chita Rivera: A Dancer’s Life : Starring Chita Rivera with Richard Amaro, Lloyd Culbreth, Raymond Del Barrio, Carolyn Doherty, Pascale Faye, Amy Hall, Richard Montoya, Jennifer Savelli, Lisa Mordente and Steven Sofia; directed and choreographed by Graciella Daniele, written by Terrence McNally, original songs by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, scene design by Loy Arcenas, costumes by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Beverly Emmons from the original by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer.
Now - June 3 Shea’s Center For The Performing Arts 646 Main Street (between Tupper and Chippewa) For tickets, call Ticketmaster at 852-5000 or www.ticketmaster.com Shea’s Ticket Office - 650 Main
Photo by Paul Kolnik