On May 19, ten-time Tony nominee Graciela Daniele will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the third annual Chita Rivera Awards (previously known as the Astaire Awards).
READ: Date Set for 3rd Annual Chita Rivera Awards; Members of Nominating Committees Announced
Cher and producers Jeffrey Seller and Flody Suarez will also be honored that day with the Ambassador for the Arts Award, honoring their contribution to the convergence of theatre, film, and television. The ceremony will take place at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.
Daniele has made her mark as an icon of theatre dance. With 26 Broadway credits as a performer, choreographer, and director, Daniele has created such masterworks as Once On This Island and Chronicle of a Death Foretold and choreographed for pieces like The Pirates of Penzance, The Rink, and Ragtime. She has collaborated with Chita Rivera four times: Chicago, The Rink, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, and The Visit.
Cher is, of course, the subject of the new bio-musical The Cher Show, currently playing Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre. The show’s lead producers, Seller and Suarez, advocated for the telling of Cher’s story and her conquering of the music, television, film, and now theatre realms. Cher made her Broadway debut in Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; she is a Grammy-winning artist who has topped the charts for six decades, and an Oscar winner to boot. In bringing her story to the stage, the trio will accept the Ambassador for the Arts Award.
Tickets are available to the ceremony at ChitaRiveraAwards.com.
Nominations for the competitive categories of the Chita Rivera Awards will be announced April 26. The awards honor dance and choreography in theatre (Broadway and Off-Broadway) and film.
