PHOTO FLASH: All That Chita! Legendary Original Velma Chita Rivera Visits Takarazuka's CHICAGO

It was over forty years ago when Broadway great Chita Rivera first emerged from beneath the 46th Street Theatre stage (now the Richard Rodgers) as Velma Kelly to thrill audiences with "All That Jazz" at the top of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse's brilliantly sardonic musical, CHICAGO.

Though the show had a healthy run of over two years, audiences didn't truly appreciated the musical's sexy social satire until the 1996 City Center Encores! concert production, which moved to Broadway and will celebrate its 20th Anniversary in November.

The tremendously talented actor/singer/dancer has come to be appreciated as a Broadway treasure, taking Tony Awards for THE RINK and KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN.

In 2015 she made what was announced to be her final Broadway appearance in Kander, Ebb and Terrence McNally's THE VISIT, still dazzling audiences with her musical and dramatic skills.

Last night Chita Rivera paid a visit to Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater to enjoy CHICAGO performed by members of Takarazuka, Japan's famous all-female musical theater troupe.

After the show she posed for a pic with Yoka Wao (Velma Kelly), Saori Mine (Billy Flynn) and Hikaru Asami (Roxie Hart).

.@Chita_Rivera, the original Velma Kelly, paid a visit to #Takarazuka CHICAGO last night! #LCFestival pic.twitter.com/71bljKvrtT

- Lincoln Center (@LincolnCenter) July 21, 2016

The legendary stars who thrilled audiences for years as part of Japan's famous musical theater troupe, the Takarazuka Revue, deliver a gorgeous production of the Tony Award-winning musical complete with Kander & Ebb's classic songs-sung in Japanese-and Bob Fosse's iconic choreography.

Experience the show-stopping glamour, eye-catching costumes, and gender-bending fun that draws 2.5 million audience members annually to performances by Japan's Takarazuka Revue. Started by a railway magnate in 1914 to attract tourists to the hot springs town of Takarazuka, the all-female Takarazuka Revue has grown into a true cultural phenomenon, with a devoted fan base that clamors for the company's sparkling adaptations of classic Western and Japanese stories, movies, and plays, and a cultural influence that extends into the realms of anime and manga.

Some fans consider Takarazuka-with its rigorous training, strict performance guidelines, and subversion of gender roles-as one of the vital Japanese dramatic art forms. For others, it's simply wonderful, eccentric entertainment, with each performance-no matter the subject-ending in an epic, Las Vegas-style production number.