Tony Award-winning Broadway star Chita Rivera will make a special guest appearance at the November 19 gala screening of the musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The event is a benefit for the Movies at the Palace series at the restored United Palace cinema in upper Manhattan,
The event will begin with a 2 PM VIP Reception. Doors will open to the public at 3 PM, followed by Rivera’s talk and other pre-show entertainment. The screening is scheduled to begin at 4:45 PM.
Though Rivera did not appear in the film, she will speak about her friendship with several of the film’s principals, including her Bye Bye Birdie co-star Dick Van Dyke and choreographer Dee Dee Wood. Rivera has played major roles on Broadway in each of the last seven decades, including the original production of West Side Story. She won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical twice, for Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Rink.
In the film, Van Dyke plays the inventor of a magical car named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which takes him on a series of adventures. With a musical score by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman, the film was adapted as a Broadway stage musical in 2005. A replica of the car will be displayed at the gala.
The pre-show entertainment close with a performance by Broadway Performing Arts Center to honor the Broadway version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The United Palace is located at 4140 Broadway at 175th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Restoring the vintage cinema has been a pet project of Hamilton author Lin-Manuel Miranda, who grew up in the neighborhood and donated a high-tech projector as part of the theatre’s restoration.
Tickets for the gala cost $300 for a meet-and-greet with Rivera and a photo with the car; and $200 for the VIP reception. Tickets to the pre-show entertainment and film cost $15 to $50 for adults and $5 to $25 for children age 12 and under.
Rivera was a special guest performer on Playbill’s Broadway on the High Seas cruise to the Italian Riviera. Tickets are also now on sale for Playbill’s Broadway on the High Seas July 2018 cruise to Iceland, accompanied by Judy Kuhn, Christine Ebersole, Rob McClure, Jarrod Spector, Carmen Cusack, and Sierra Boggess.
Visit PlaybillTravel.com for booking and information.
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