Chita Rivera and Danny Burstein to be Honored by Encompass New Opera Theatre

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Encompass New Opera Theatre, The Board of Trustees and The Encompass Honorary Gala Chairs, Sheldon Harnick and Maury Yeston will pay tribute to Legendary Theatrical Icon and Tony Award-winning luminaries, Chita Rivera and Danny Burstein, with a star-studded musical salute.

The elegant evening - hosted by Midge Woolsey of Thirteen/WNET and WQXR Radio - will feature recollections and tributes by well-known Musical Theatre and Opera personalities and friends from the Music Theatre and Opera world including John Doyle, George Dvorsky, Sheldon Harnick, Maury Yeston, and Karen Ziemba. Dazzling musical entertainment will feature stars of stage and screen. Beth Ertz is the Music Director/Arranger/Pianist; Richard Pearson Thomas, Associate Music Director. Michael A. Kerker of ASCAP and Nancy Rhodes of Encompass will co-produce and direct. The 2022 Gala Chairs are Daniel J. De Siena and Deborah Surdi.

Sheldon Harnick to present Danny Burstein with the Sheldon Harnick Award for Creative Excellence and John Doyle will present Chita Rivera with the Encompass Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in the American Musical Theatre.

The Encompass Musical Salute will take place at The National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY, 10003) on Sunday, March 20, 2022, starting at 5:30 PM with a Cocktail & Hors d'oeuvres Reception, Dinner at 6:30, and the Musical Program at 7:30 PM, followed by a Champagne & Dessert Party. Tables of 8 and single tickets available. To buy tickets, to place a congratulatory Ad in the program, or for more information, visit www.EncompassTheatre.org or call (718) 398-4675. All COVID-19 protocols are in place and will be followed.

Past honorees include Sheldon Harnick (both for his 80th and his 90th Birthdays), John Kander, Charles Strouse, Jerry Herman, Jerry Bock, Maury Yeston, Joseph Stein, Richard Maltby, Jr., David Shire, John Weidman, Marvin Hamlisch, Alan Menken, Joel Grey, Jeanine Tesori, Barbara Cook, Lee Adams, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, Terrence McNally, Christine Ebersole, Estelle Parsons and Maury Yeston.

Chita Rivera

A theatrical icon and one of Broadway's greatest triple-threat talents, Chita Rivera is one of the most nominated performers in Tony Award history having earned 10 nominations, won twice and received the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the theatre.

She trained as a ballerina (from age nine) before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet from the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Her electric performance as Anita in the original Broadway premiere of West Side Story brought her international stardom. 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), The Dancer's Life, The Visit; the revivals of The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Nine; and original Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven, and Mr. Wonderful.

Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom and the coveted Kennedy Center Honor; performed her solo concert at London's Cadogan Hall and Carnegie Hall. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente. Chita Rivera will be honored with the Encompass "Lifetime Achievement Award."

Danny Burstein

Danny Burstein won the Tony Award 2020 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in the Broadway hit Moulin Rouge! The Musical. His role of Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! earned him the coveted 2020 Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance. Burstein has also won two Drama Desk Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, received seven Tony Award nominations, and three Grammy Award nominations. He has been seen in eighteen Broadway shows including The Drowsy Chaperone, South Pacific, Golden Boy, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Titanic, and Company. Other Broadway credits include The Seagull, Saint Joan, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Follies.

He played the role of Buddy Plummer in the Kennedy Center production of Follies, co-starring with Bernadette Peters, Ron Raines, and Jan Maxwell. He reprised that role in the Broadway engagement of Follies.

He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Frosch in Die Fledermaus. Off-Broadway performances include, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Talley's Folly, Mrs. Farnsworth, and Merrily We Roll Along.

Film/TV features include The Same Storm, Indignation, Madam Secretary, Louie, Absolutely Fabulous, Law & Order, The Good Fight, Evil, Blacklist, and Elementary.