Helen Mirren Honors Chita Rivera at Roundabout Theater Gala: She Shows ‘Women That Our Light Can Be Inextinguishable’
Emily Longeretta Nothing can stop Chita Rivera!That was the message of the evening at Monday’s Roundabout Theatre Company Gala, which carried the moniker, “Paint the Town.” The celebration, held at New York City’s famous Ziegfeld Ballroom, celebrated three-time Tony recipient Chita Rivera.Rivera, who starred in two major Broadway shows for Roundabout — 2003’s “Nine” and the 2013’s “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” — is best known for originating roles in “West Side Story,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Chicago” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”The night kicked off with a cocktail hour filled with theater stars, including Jane Lynch, Tony Shaloub, Richard Kind, Betsy Wolfe, Cherry Jones and many more, who mingled and couldn’t help but chat about how nice it was to be mask-free and able to hug one another again. Lynch, who is set to star in the upcoming production of “Funny Girl” opening next month, was greeted by both stars and execs alike, all eagerly confessing that they couldn’t wait to see the production.After one hour, everyone descended downstairs to the ballroom — a packed room of folks ready for Rivera’s honor, a full dinner, an auction and a performance by Sara Bareilles.Following opening remarks by Danny Burstein, artistic director and CEO of Roundabout Theater, Todd Haimes, took the stage and joked about the “rough two years” everyone has been through — especially when it comes to theater.With that, he passed the mic to a video message from Lin Manuel Miranda, who went on to introduce Helen Mirren.