Broadway legend Chita Rivera will tell the story of her life and career in a new memoir.
HarperOne will publish Rivera’s book in early 2023, the HarperCollins imprint announced in a news release. The memoir, as yet untitled, will be co-written with arts journalist Patrick Pacheco.
Rivera first gained the notice of American theatergoers in 1956 when she originated the role of Anita in West Side Story. Three years later, she earned a Tony nomination for her role in Bye Bye Birdie; she would go on to earn nine more Tony nods, winning twice, for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Last year, she made a cameo in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film tick, tick…BOOM! along with other Broadway luminaries including Joel Grey, Bebe Neuwirth, and Brian Stokes Mitchell.
“Fueled by a desire to pass on her extraordinary breadth of experience to a new generation, Chita puts you in the room with Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Hal Prince, Gower Champion, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Jerry Herman, and other titans of the Broadway world,” HarperOne said of the memoir.
In a statement, Rivera said, “I’ve long considered writing my memoirs, but I’ve never been one to look back…until now. Now it feels right and with Patrick Pacheco, I couldn’t be more pleased to pass on my experience to a new generation. I hope my words and thoughts about my life and career resonate and readers just might discover some things about me they never knew.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
