Chita Rivera

What better way to celebrate Backstage Babble's 50th Episode than an in-depth conversation with Broadway icon Chita Rivera, who discussed creating her leading roles in such shows as West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, and more. The stories abound: why she thought "The Telephone Hour" would never work, how Jerome Robbins stopped a standing ovation, sitting on the floor with Judy Garland, why she ended up thanking Liza Minnelli every night, almost being killed by a panther during Merlin, the way Carol Channing opened oysters, the advice Gwen Verdon gave her, and stories about Bob Fosse, George Burns, Jerry Herman, Dorothy Loudon, Elaine Stritch, Tommy Tune, Fred Ebb, Antonio Banderas, and many more! Plus, she takes us behind the scenes of some of her 9 tony nominations, a number which makes her the most Tony-Nominated actress in history.