Exclusive: Broadway Legend (and Author) Chita Rivera Unpacks Her Life in the Theatre

The big day is here at last! The long-awaited memoir of the star of stage and screen, the legendary Chita Rivera-three-time Tony Award-winner, Kennedy Centers honoree, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, has officially been released.

She was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero-until the entertainment world renamed her. But Dolores-the irreverent side of the sensual, dark and ferocious Chita-was always present center stage, and was influential in creating some of Broadway most iconic and acclaimed roles, including Anita in West Side Story‚ the part that made her a star-Rosie in Bye Bye, Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Written in gratitude to her longstanding fans and with the hope that new generations may learn from her extraordinary experience, Chita takes us behind the curtain to reveal the highs and lows of one extraordinary showbusiness career-the creative fermentation, the ego clashes, the miraculous discoveries, the exhilaration when it all went right, and the disappointment when it all went wrong. Chita invites us into workrooms and rehearsal studies, on stage and on set as she works with some of the greatest talents of the age, including Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr, Gwen Verdon, Shirley MacLaine, and many others. We also learn deeply moving, revelatory details about her upbringing and her heritage, and how they indelibly shaped her work and career.

This colorful and entertaining memoir-as vital and captivating as Chita herself-is the unforgettable and engrossing personal story of a performer who blazed her own trail and inspired countless performers to forge their own unique path to success.

What took so long to get Chita's life story on the page? "It was just time. I acknowledged the time," she explained to her longtime friend Richard Ridge. "When Patrick Pacheco [became involved] the decision was easy, because things roll so naturally."

Purchase the new book today and watch as Chita chats with Ridge about how the new book came together. Plus- don't foget to get your tickets today to see Ridge and Rivera in action at BroadwayWorld's 20th Anniversary Concert Celebration!