Broadway Legend Chita Rivera to Release Memoir in 2023

Broadway legend Chita Rivera is working on a memoir. The book, scheduled for release in 2023 from HarperOne, is co-authored with journalist Patrick Pacheco, according to The New York Times. Though the memoir's title has yet to be determined, it has already been announced that it will be released simultaneously in English and Spanish.

The book will dive into the life and path to stardom of Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson, Rivera's given name. Expect chronicles of her experiences working with Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Bob Fosse, Hal Prince, John Kander and Fred Ebb as well as her experiences with stars like Elaine Stritch, Dick Van Dyke, Liza Minnelli and Sammy Davis Jr.

Rivera is a two-time Tony winner and the recipient of the 2018 Special Tony Award For Lifetime Achievement. She is perhaps best known for portraying iconic theater roles such as Anita in the original production of West Side Story, Rose in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma Kelly in Chicago and Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. She is also the inspiration behind the Chita Rivera Awards, which honor superb achievement in dance and choreographic excellence. This will be Rivera's first book. The musical revue Chita Rivera:The Dancer’s Life, which opened on Broadway in 2005, offered retrospective of her illustrious career.