It's so dumb to think that Chita Rivera's age impedes her ability to perform. If anything, I think most actors (not all, but most) get better with age as they accumulate more experiences, begin to understand themselves better, and know more about the craft. Rivera may not have O'Hara's angelic soprano voice, but she sure knows how to deliver a song like the best of them since she is the best of them. If you look at the quality of the performances that are considered top tier this season (Chenoweth, O'Hara, and Rivera), it's an embarrassment of riches, and I assume anyone could make a case for one of the three ladies taking the award home.
And seriously, do people who say someone who's older has less value than someone who is younger not realize that they will be older one day? Or do they hope to die before hitting a certain age? Oh, and please don't write "Kelly," everyone knows it's Kelli, have some self-respect.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"