Broadway Stars Chita Rivera, Ramin Karimloo, and Jessie Mueller Join The Parker Series in Fort Lauderdale in Winter 2023

The Broadway Concert Series presented by Mark Cortale returns to The Parker in late January. The series, co-presented by the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, delivers three intimate evenings of incredible music and hilarious conversations hosted and music directed by Sirius XM Radio star Seth Rudetsky.

The series features three of Broadway's most critically-acclaimed, award-winning, powerhouse talents: Living legend Chita Rivera, the two-time Tony Award winner who originated the Broadway roles of Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and appeared in the original casts of Guys and Dolls, Can Can, Jerry's Girls and many others, makes her Parker series debut on January 29; Ramin Karimloo, currently starring as Nicky Arnstein opposite Lea Michele in the smash hit Broadway revival of Funny Girl and Tony Award nominated as Valjean in the recent Broadway revival of Les Misérables, makes his Parker series debut on February 26; and Jessie Mueller, Tony Award winner for her starring role as Carole King in Beautiful-The Carole King Musical, and Tony-nominated for Carousel on Broadway and for composer-lyricist Sara Bareilles' hit Broadway musical Waitress on Broadway, making her Parker series bow on March 18.

For tickets and information, please visit ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at The Parker box office at 707 N.E. Eighth Street in Fort Lauderdale.

Chita Rivera is a living Broadway legend and a two-time Tony winner for Best Leading Actress in a Musical as Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman and Anna in The Rink. She originated the Broadway roles of Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and appeared in the original casts of Guys and Dolls, Can Can, Seventh Heaven, Mr. Wonderful, Jerry's Girls, and many others. An accomplished and versatile actress/singer/dancer, aside from her two Tony Awards, she has received seven additional Tony nominations, including most recently for her 2015 performance in The Visit. And in recent years has starred in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood on Broadway and in the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer's Life, a dazzling new musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele. She recreated her starring role in The Visit, the new Kander/Ebb/McNally musical, at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA (originally done at The Goodman Theatre, Chicago in 2001). She also starred in the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. Chita originally trained as a ballerina from age 11 before receiving a scholarship to the American School of Ballet from legendary George Balanchine. Her first appearance, at age 17, was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. On tour, Chita has been seen in: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, and Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama on August 12, 2009. She received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in Washington, DC in December, 2002 and is the first Hispanic ever chosen to receive this award. Chita's current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing. On October 7, 2013 she was honored with a star-studded concert on Broadway Chita: A Legendary Celebration to Benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer / dancer / choreographer Lisa Mordente.

Ramin Karimloo is an Olivier and Tony Award nominee who is currently starring as Nicky Arnstein in the Broadway production of Funny Girl. He made his name in some of the West End's most enduring productions, most notably Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables. Karimloo originated the role of the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies in 2010 before making his Broadway debut in the 2014 revival of Les Misérables. He was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Valjean. Over the next couple of years, he performed in the world premiere of The Prince of Broadway, directed by the late Hal Prince, played Che in Evita (Vancouver and Japan), Tom in the U.K. premier of Murder Ballad (London), Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (Japan), and Anatoly in Chess (Kennedy Center and Japan), Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden (Lincoln Center). Ramin also originated the role of Gleb Vaganov in the Broadway premiere of Anastasia. Film/TV: Tomorrow Morning, Holby City, Jesus: His Life, Nativity Rocks, Life's Too Short, Blue Bloods, The Spa.

Jessie Mueller most recently appeared on Broadway in Tracy Letts' new play The Minutes. She received a Tony nomination and Drama Desk Award for her performance as Julie Jordan in the revival of Carousel opposite Joshua Henry and Renee Fleming. Prior to that she originated the role of Jenna Hunterson in composer-lyricist Sara Bareilles' hit Broadway musical Waitress for which she was nominated for a Tony, Drama Desk and Grammy award. She earned all three awards for her starring role as Carole King in Beautiful-The Carole King Musical. She recently starred as Marian in The Music Man with Norm Lewis and Rosie O'Donnell at The Kennedy Center. Other major Broadway credits include Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (Drama Desk nomination), and her Broadway debut as Melinda in On A Clear Day You Can See Forever opposite Harry Connick, Jr. (Tony and Drama Desk nominations). She portrayed Carrie Pipperidge in the New York Philharmonic's staged concert production of Carousel at Lincoln Center, and was a part of Carnegie Hall's family concert series, Take the Stage with Broadway Stars. She returned to the Kennedy Center this past Fall in Guys And Dolls. TV/film: Patsy & Loretta, Madam Secretary, Blue Bloods, Evil, Candy, Chicago Voices (Chicago Emmy nomination), A Good Person, Secret Headquarters and Steven Spielberg's The Post.

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