Tweet it! Get up close and personal with Broadway legend @Chita_Rivera as she takes the stage w/ @SethRudetsky for #BroadwayUpClose @KimmelCenter 6/3 Press Contact: Amanda Conte 215-790-5847 [email protected] TONY® AWARD-WINNING BROADWAY LEGEND CHITA RIVERA JOINS SETH RUDETSKY FOR AN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL EVENING OF CONVERSATION AND SONG ON THE KIMMEL CENTER CAMPUS JUNE 3, 2017 Performance Marks Final Installment of 2016/17 Broadway Up Close Series FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2017) –– Two-time Tony® Award winner and Broadway legend Chita Rivera performs at the Merriam Theater on June 3, 2017 at 8:00 p.m. in the final presentation of the 2016-17 Broadway Up Close series presented by the Kimmel Center in association with Mark Cortale Productions. Hosted by Sirius XM Radio Star Seth Rudetsky, Broadway Up Close delivers an evening of song with a heaping side of Broadway dish, welcoming esteemed Broadway stars to perform some of their best-known songs and share “behind-the-scenes” stories in a more intimate cabaret-style setting. “Few performers embody the tradition of American musical theater quite like Chita Rivera,” said Anne Ewers, President and CEO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “It will be a privilege for Chita to grace our stage and be a part of this series, giving our audience an exclusive look into the life of a performer who originated so many important Broadway roles.” An accomplished and versatile actress/singer/dancer, Chita Rivera has won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received eight additional Tony nominations for an exceptional 10 Tony nominations. She recently starred in The Visit, the final John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally musical directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela Daniele on Broadway (2015), following the acclaimed production at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the summer of 2014. She starred in the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele and the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. She trained as a ballerina (from age 11) before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet from legendary George Balanchine. Chita’s first appearance (age 17) was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the original Broadway premiere of West Side Story brought her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is highlighted by starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink (Tony Award), Chicago, Jerry’s Girls, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony Award), and the original Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful. On tour: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. She received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in 2002 and became the first Hispanic woman ever chosen to receive this award. In November, 2016 she headlined at Carnegie Hall and in 2015, Great Performances aired their special Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ To Do, a retrospective of her extraordinary life and career nationally on PBS. Chita’s current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente. Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon host on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio’s On Broadway as well as the host of Seth Speaks on SiriusXM Stars. He co-wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed new musical Disaster! last season on Broadway which was just presented in concert on London’s West End this past month. As a pianist, he has played piano for over a dozen Broadway shows including Ragtime, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera among many others. As a comedian, Rudetsky was awarded “Funniest Gay Male in NY” at Stand-Up NY and is a three-time Emmy nominee as a writer for The Rosie O'Donnell Show. His newest book, The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek, was published by Random House and is available on Amazon.com. Other upcoming performances coming to the Kimmel Center include Motown The Musical (May 30– June 11, 2017, Academy of Music), Fun Home (June 13–18, 2017, Forrest Theatre), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (June 24–July 9, 2017, Perelman Theater), and Wicked (July 26–August 27, 2017, Academy of Music). BROADWAY UP CLOSE: CHITA RIVERA Hosted by Seth Rudetsky Merriam Theater June 3, 2017, 8:00 p.m. Tickets Tickets are on sale now and at $39.00. Tickets can be purchased by calling (215) 893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center Box Office. Group sales are available for groups of 10 or more and can be purchased by calling (215) 790-5883. More information at kimmelcenter.org. Mark Cortale Productions Mark Cortale is the Producing Artistic Director at The Art House in Provincetown, Massachusetts. In his inaugural season in 2011, he founded the Broadway @ The Art House series featuring Seth Rudetsky as host and pianist. In 2015 Mark launched the Broadway @ Town Hall series in Provincetown that has included concerts with Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker, Audra McDonald & Will Swenson, Vanessa Williams Cheyenne Jackson and Rosie O’Donnell. He also founded Well-Strung, The Singing String Quartet who will make their Kimmel Center debut on December 8th. He has produced the Broadway @ series hosted by Seth in Australia (with Megan Mullally) and in London’s West End (with Patti LuPone) at the Leicester Square Theatre. He has also presented the series in San Francisco @ The Nourse Theatre, in Santa Monica @ The Broad Stage, in Fort Lauderdale @ The Broward's Parker Playhouse and in New Orleans @ The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA). Mark also produced the feature film Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, the Kimmel Center’s mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center Campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the Merriam Theater. The Kimmel Center is also home to eight Resident Companies: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Philly POPS, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Curtis Institute of Music. With nearly 9,000 seats per night, The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is the region’s most impactful performing arts center, and the second largest in the country. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2016-2017 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org. # # # For photography, please visit www.kcpress.smugmug.com .