Broadway icon Chita Rivera—in her Tony-winning role of Aurora from Kiss of the Spider Woman—is the 16th ornament in Broadway Cares’ Broadway Legends series.
The six-inch ornament features Rivera
in a blue dress, adorned with a spider web pattern that replicates the costume from the Tony-winning musical. Because of production delays, Rivera’s ornament will not arrive until next year, but it should be delivered in time to help Rivera celebrate her 91st birthday January 23, 2024. Order now at BroadwayCares.org.
Rivera’s Aurora joins a stellar cast of notable Broadway women, which already includes Rivera as Anita from West Side Story. Others featured in the collection are Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Glenn Close, Harvey Fierstein (as Hairspray's Edna Turnblad), Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Barbra Streisand, and Gwen Verdon.
“It’s an absolute honor to see this sparkling tribute to Kiss of the Spider Woman land in the homes of theatre lovers,” Rivera says. “And who doesn’t need a little leading lady energy in their life?”
“I couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute than all of us honoring Chita on her birthday with what will fast become a collector’s item,” Broadway Cares Executive Director Tom Viola adds.
With a more than 60–year career on Broadway, Rivera is perhaps best known for creating the roles of Anita in West Side Story, Rose in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman, winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Tony Awards for Spider Woman and The Rink. She was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2018, recognizing a career that also includes performances in Nine, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and, most recently, The Visit.
Kiss of the Spider Woman features a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb and a book by Terrence McNally. Directed by Harold Prince, the musical opened on Broadway in 1993 and ran for 16 previews and 904 performances. The production won seven Tony Awards, including those for Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Rivera), and Best Costume Design (Florence Klotz).
Broadway Cares is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 Broadway Cares has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.
