Chita's Opening Night at Feinstein's

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 2/22/05 at 10:59pm

We were putty in her hands. A performance in my top 10 for life. Chita positivly had me weeping like a baby by the end of "Where Am I going?" I was too mesmerized to jot down a song list but a few other highlights that I can remember: Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville in English with words by Fred Ebb, a song fr the Visit. One of her encores was "All That Jazz."

Some of the members of the star-studded audience included:

John Kander
Bobby Short
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Liza
Marty Richards

I always want to remember tonight.

Milla

P.S. The shoes Chita wore were exquisite!

[do_re_milla]

Posted: 2/23/05 at 4:48pm

I've linked pics fr Theatermania.com that shows somewhat the outfit Chita wore, a form fitting suit that shows all her curves.

I'm quite fuzzy on the song list o/s what I wrote last night. She included several medlies.

I Won't Dance was the opener with another song. At some point, she & Mark did a looong medley in which she sang songs traditionally sung by men & Mark sang songs traditionally sung by women....a sort of a "anything you can do," etc.

Love & Love Alone was done ala Kurt Weill ala 3 Penny Opera & it was very moving & very knowingly. Chita reminised about how Larry Kert talked her into jumping off the top of a 2 story building into a swimming pool. About how she went out to LA & did a few Dick VanDyke shows. She played a neighbor. In one of them she had a short scene with him where she "spoke only three words: Dick, Dick, Dick." Chita went on in a sort of Meisner-esq repetition of "Dick, Dick, Dick" in a myriad of tones, tempos, octaves. Well, you can just imagine. It ran from hysterical comedy to down right dirty. The audience was rolling in the aisles. She said she finally stopped when she realized she'd spent an hour just doing that. She said, "I decided it was definitely time to return to NY! Where you see everyday people in the streets & study characters, etc." Of course I'm paraphrasing everything.

She didn't do America/Big Spender. I have to congratulate Chita on her singing. Many women at her time of life have a huuuuge wobble. Chita & Mark Hummel (her m.d.) chose keys & arrangement wisely. Wobbles were avoided by shorting note lengths & at 1 point by intelligent vocal technique.

She talked about getting a phone call from Gwen & Bobby asking her to do a tour of "Charity." Her bags were packed 10 mins later. That's when she sang "Where Am I Going" so movingly.

She had us in her pocket the entire night. Liza got a standing ovation when she entered the room before the show, as did Chita when she entered. Later on in the show, Chita intro'd some of the stars in the audience & saved Liza for last saying something like "Liza, girl you have no right to look more beautiful than me on my night!" The audience roared with laughter.

I wish I had a song list so I could expound more but alas. If I think of anything else, I'll post.

Milla
Chita Sings!

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 2/23/05 at 4:57pm

dang how i'd love to have been there! she's great live...loved NINE and even the Rockette tour of CAN CAN back in the day...