Video Flashback: THE RINK Opens on Broadway Starring Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli

Today we flashback to the musical that brought a group of theatrical titans and a story about a mother, a daughter, and a roller rink to the Broadway stage.

THE RINK originally premiered on Broadway on February 9. 1984, at the Martin Beck Theater, starring Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli. The production was directed by A.J. Antoon and featured choreography by Graciela Danielle, set design by Peter Larkin, costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge, lighting design by Marc B. Weiss, sound design by Otts Munderloh, and musical direction by Paul Gemignani.

The musical centers on Anna, an Italian housewife who runs a roller-skating rink on the Eastern seaboard. She is on the verge of selling the rink to developers until her estranged daughter, Angel, returns after a long absence, hoping to save the rink and patch things up with her mother.

Despite a book by Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally (Ragtime, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Master Class), a score by dynamic songwriting duo, John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret), and the presence of two of the biggest stars of their day, the show only ran for 29 previews and 200 regular performances.

Despite the show's short-lived turn on Broadway, however, it went on to receive five Tony Award nominations and Rivera took home both Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance.

Let's flashback to this under-appreciated musical, with a performance from Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli at the 1984 Tony Awards.