This interview ran in OutSmart magazine, April 15, 1996.
Actress/singer/dancer Chita Rivera is 63 years old [1996], but that's irrelevant—she's still acting, singing, and dancing as if age has nothing to do with emotional, vocal, and physical workouts. In Kiss of the Spider Woman, for which she won 1993's Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a Musical (as well as numerous other awards), she delivers all three workouts with the ease and experience of a pro who has been kicking up her heels for 40 years. I talked with Rivera by phone right before a matinee performance.
Blase DiStefano: You're in California now, right?
Chita Rivera: Yes, beautiful Southern California.
Is Houston your next stop?
Yeah, then we're going to Dallas and then we go to Puerto Rico, where we're gonna close. And we're so excited, we can't see straight. It really means a lot, because my family is from there, and we're honoring Raul Julia—he was in the movie—who passed away last year. The island misses him. And I think it'll be a nice tribute.
Have you been to Houston before?
You know, I can't remember, Blase. I don't think I've ever played Houston.
Well, I hope it'll be a good experience for you.
So do I. You know, it's a little nervous-making, our subject matter. I don't know what Texas is all about. We kinda make jokes about it, like being run out of town. But we're brave enough to face it.
Good, because Houston has this...
homophobic...
Well, Houston has a reputation for being a hick town, but there is some intelligence here.
Well, there must be, otherwise, we wouldn't be going. What do you think they're gonna be like with our subject matter?
I think it's gonna be okay. Hey, look, you're in it, what more do you need?
Yeah, but I can't stop those boys from kissing at the end! [Laughter from both]
You're not THAT good, are you?
I ain't THAT good. I must say, we were taking collections for people with AIDS in New York around Easter, and the boys go out with baskets. This woman puts some money in one of the baskets and says to one of the boys, "Tell me, when he kisses her at the end, does he go straight?" I said, "You should have given her her money back and turned her little butt around and escorted her out of there." She totally missed it. But, hey, listen, she stayed for the whole show. You never know, as long as they stay, something goes in their minds. And that's what we want—we want people to sit and listen and understand and learn something.
That's all we can hope for.
I'm really proud to be part of this show. Otherwise, I would have never done it this long. And the company we've got now is brilliant.
Juan Chioran, who plays Molina, said in an interview, "Even in New York sometimes you would start out the evening, and just feel this wave of homophobia in the audience.... And after about 15 minutes, you feel that you're winning them over and they come with you...." Since you've probably had more experience than anybody else, having been with Kiss of the Spider Woman since 1992, would you agree with Chioran?
Well, of course the boys would feel that much more than I. They really know what they're talking about when they make a statement like that.
Have you ever felt any discrimination personally because you've played in this musical?
You can feel whether an audience is tightened up and pulled back. And of course the opposite is an audience like we've been having here in L.A., which is fabulous. By the way, San Francisco shocked the heck out of us.
Like how?
They never showed up.
What!?
Absolutely. We couldn't wait to get to San Francisco, couldn't wait. But we did not do well in San Francisco, which has just blown us all away. And I also understand Angels in America didn't do well there. But Southern California, which we never expected to do well—they have been amazing. They're totally with us and ready for us. And Juan is so adorable—as big as he is—and so sweet and so funny and so tender that he wins them over.
There's one line when Valentin and Molina are just about to kiss, and Valentin says, "You don't have to speak." And Molina immediately says, "I've got so many things I want to tell you," and he starts to ramble like that—it is so darling that the audience laughs at that point, which is great writing because it's a scary moment for those people in the audience who are afraid of what's about to happen—you know what I'm saying—the homophobic people.
But going back to the original question, we can feel it, we know when we've got an uphill battle. It's harder for the boys than it is for me.
I hope it won't be hard for you when you come here.
We'll be flying on a wonderful crest from L.A. I do have to say that when I was about to come on the road, somebody said, "Well, why are you going on the road?" I said because I think I'd like to get the word out there, the word has got to be spread. I think Texas and Alabama and the Southern cities really should hear this. The beauty of the show and the beauty of the people and the differences in all of us that are so beautiful—this show really explores that. And here we are, going to Texas.
And we're very glad.
I'm really glad, too.
Have you kept track of how many awards you've won?
No.
There's no way, right?
Well, it's not that I've won so many, but the best part is truly being part of a great show. But I can tell you where my Tonys are.
Okay, let's go with that: Where do you keep your Tonys?
They're in a beautiful place in my living room, in a glass cabinet. Mine are not doorstops and not in the bathroom—I'm an old-fashioned girl.