This lady never falters. Her latest act at 54 Below is largely songs and stories from Rivera’s epic Broadway career. She opens with a snippet of “Nowadays” (which she gives a fuller reading later on) before lauching full force into “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Then it’s dancing Chita – still incredibly limber at 86 – for “A Lot of Living to Do.” The song wasn’t hers in Bye Bye Birdie but boy does she make it her own.

Chita was always at her best playing “existential musical comedy” and thus became the muse for people with that aesthetic, first Bob Fosse, but then, more deeply, Fred Ebb and John Kander. No shock then that the majority of songs in the show come from a collaboration with either Fosse or Kander & Ebb.

Rivera has tons of razzle dazzle that amplifies her already great theatrical presence. She holds nothing back in this act. This diva is cutting loose as only she can. When she sings “Where Am Going” from Sweet Charity, she sheds new light not only on that song, but on all of Sweet Charity. She plays it as a philosophical awakening for an already worldly woman, making the song as profound as the Fellini film that inspired the musical.

She almost launches into “All That Jazz,” the most spectacular of her many signature Kander & Ebb numbers, at the top of the show. When she finally does it as her finale, it’s more than satisfying, it’s positively gratifying. Highly recommended.

For tickets, click here.

To learn about Jonathan Warman’s directing work, see jonathanwarman.com.