Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune in Chita & Tune at Mayo Performing Arts Center, New Jersey. Picture: Joseph Sinnott, Thirteen Productions LLC, Peter Glebo
Chita & Tune: Just in Time at Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, New Jersey.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
After two weeks of solo performances at 54 Below, Chita Rivera joined forces with song and dance man, director/choreographer Tommy Tune for their touring production of Just in Time.
Although the chemistry between the two musical theatre icons is obvious, they have worked together only once before on a benefit concert for Broadway Cares titled Chita – A Legendary Celebration in 2013.
Rivera and Tune reprised their duet to ‘Rosie’, this time with the acting scene from Bye Bye Birdie, the musical which they have both performed in – Rivera in the original Broadway production and Tune with Ann Reinking on a tour years later.
Opening with the Julie Styne/Betty Comden/Adolph Green song ‘Just in Time’ (Bells Are Ringing) which gave the show its title, the evening was pure joy from beginning to end.
Rivera’s first solo performance was a selection from the show that made her famous 60 years ago, West Side Story, re-creating some of the songs and moves from the character that she created, Anita, which she unfortunately did not get to portray in the film.
Tune’s first solo turns included ‘Let’s Get Lost’ and ‘Sand in My Shoes’ which showed off his debonair charm and crystal clear precision taps. Rivera followed this with ‘Chief Cook and Bottle Washer’ from Kander and Ebb’s The Rink, soon to be revived in London at the Southwark Playhouse.
Together, the pair then offered their take on ‘A Couple of Swells’ from Easter Parade as a tribute to another legendary team, Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, followed by a medley of old songs, some small talk and a duet to ‘Baby, Dream Your Dream’ from Sweet Charity (a show Rivera performed in onstage and in the movie, although this great song belonging to the character of Nickie was sadly not used in the film).
Other highlights were Rivera’s spine-tingling renditions of ‘Love and Love Alone’ from her last Broadway musical The Visit and ‘Carousel’ from Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.
After another Astaire tribute from Tune, ‘They Can’t Take That Away From Me’, the climax of the evening was, of course, a selection from Chicago with Rivera re-creating her immortal opening number ‘All That Jazz’ leading to a showstopping finale with the duo’s ‘Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag’.
A mash-up of ‘When You’re Smiling’ with title tune ‘Just in Time’ was an apt encore to an unforgettable evening devised by the great Graciela Daniele and expertly accompanied by musical directors Michael Biagi for Tune and Michael Croiter for Rivera.
We need more of Rivera and Tune – this tour featuring these two living legends deserves to be booked on Broadway and in the West End.
Patrick Honoré
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