Following is a long stream-of-consciousness kinda post:
I didn't see THE DANCER'S LIFE on Broadway, I saw it on tour so I imagine there were a few changes. The only reference Chita made to Rita Moreno was a line that went something like "when Rita Moreno got cast over me in the WEST SIDE STORY movie, I wanted to kill myself, when Rita Moreno won an Oscar for WEST SIDE STORY, I wanted to kill Rita Moreno." It was funny and there didn't seem to be any real resentment towards Moreno. In fact, I doubt there's any real bad blood between the two, as if Moreno hadn't been cast as Anita, then another actress would have.
I also doubt that Chita Rivera would resent Karen Olivo for winning a Tony. Why would she? Chita has two Tony Awards, a bunch of nods, and is considered a Broadway legend. She doesn't need Karen Olivo to lose a Tony to feel any sort of validation. I don't get why people are trying to create a drama over this when there isn't any to speak of.
On to the clips. The actress playing Anita in the "America" clip is clearly a dancer, Olivo isn't, that's not really up to discussion I think. It's obvious the woman moves like a dancer and that Olivo moves like a performer who moves to the choreography, there's a difference. Now, to say that just because of that, Olivo is not a great actress is pretty absurd. The woman playing Anita in the clip can dance, yes, but I don't think she's any better than the other girls in a way that say Debbie Allen was the clear stand out when she performed the number. And for what is worth, I think Olivo--while clearly the least adept dancer among the girls--always managed to keep the spotlight on her (I'm strictly speaking of "America" by the way, "Dance at the Gym" is another story). Olivo has the "it" factor, that is why she got cast as Anita in the first place, she's a great actress, she has a powerhouse voice, and she owns the stage in ways that the woman on the clip just doesn't. This is why Olivo won the Tony, this is why some of us think she's a great performer.
And it's funny that people are bringing up the fact that McNeely is the one to blame for Olivo's lackluster dancing. I mentioned this in my review of the show. Olivo has the ability to dance the part better, anyone who saw her in IN THE HEIGHTS channeling Rita Moreno during the night club scene knows that her dancing was anything but lackluster, I'm aware that that choreography is a lot less complicated than Robbins' but still. Karen danced that scene with a confidence that I didn't see in her when I saw her as Anita. McNeely should have done better.
Somewhere Olivo is quoting Alice Ripley right now saying: "you can kiss my sweet (Tony-winning) ass."
"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"
