Chita Rivera makes ‘The Visit’ worth the trip

CHITA RIVERA, GIVING ONE OF HER BEST PERFORMANCES EVER: (left to right) Tom Nelis, Chita Rivera, Chris Newcomer & Matthew Deming in ‘The Visit.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

THE VISIT
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Based on the play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Directed by John Doyle
Choreography by Graciela Daniele
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.thevisitmusical.com

By David NouNou

She enters from the rear of stage right in a beautiful white, fur clad-coat and cane in hand and the applause begins. She has a long, slow walk to center stage and halts and the ovation is genuine and rapturous and it doesn’t stop. Chita Rivera: Broadway legend and one of two remaining superstars who can command the stage and elicit an ovation upon an entrance. I promised myself that I wouldn’t start my review by gushing over her, but how can one not? After all, we have come to praise Chita. Her roles are indelible and immortal by now: Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Anyanka in Bajour, Velma Kelly in Chicago. The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman earned her two Tony Awards, and she received Tony nominations in a recent revival of Nine and her one-woman show Chita Rivera: A Dancer’s Life; and she was in the 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She now adds to this roster Claire Zachanassian, which ranks among her greatest performances.

The play The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt is a compelling drama unto itself, and it is very difficult to musicalize. I know it is tempting for Kander and Ebb to reach for the dark subject matters in shows and try to make them more enthralling by adding a score; it certainly worked in Cabaret and Chicago, but there was also humor there that could be tapped into. However, in The Visit there is no room for musical numbers; they distract from the drama and weaken it. Sure, there are some melodies that are reminiscent of both musicals, but these don’t linger.

Set in the desolate and impoverished town of Bracken, somewhere in Europe after World War II, Claire returns to her hometown with her ominous black bags, and there are lots of them, and her valet and two eunuchs. Why is she back after many years of ostracism to this bleak, desolate wasteland? We learn that when she was young, she gave herself to Anton Schell (Roger Rees) who went on to marry Matilde Schell (Mary Beth Peil) because her father owned a store and he could better himself. In a mock trial, Claire was thrust out as a whore with a child. After leaving Bracken, Claire married many men who died on her and left her lots of money, making her the richest woman in the world.

She has not forgotten how badly she was treated by the citizens, but she is willing to strike a deal with them. She will pay 10 billion marks for the city to rebuild and each person in it gets an additional two million apiece for the life of Anton Schell. At first everyone is appalled by such an offer, but slowly greed and the taste of the finer things start creeping into the lives of Anton’s friends and even his family. One asks oneself how much is a person’s life actually worth when it comes to revenge and to what lengths would one go to get their pound of flesh?

Durrenmatt’s story is a gorgeous morality play. It’s a pity it hasn’t been revived since 1973. Terrence McNally has written a book that plays to Ms. Rivera’s strengths and the score tries to have a sentimental lilt about it. However, John Doyle’s gloomy direction sucks up everything. Even having young counterparts/shadows of the younger Claire and Anton (a device lifted from young counterparts in Follies) is not very original. John Riddle and Michelle Veintimilla are gorgeous together, and you can see the passion there, but they add very little to the story after a while. Roger Rees, as the older Anton, is a hollow shell of a man now and seems quite uncomfortable in his part and in his singing. One even wonders why Clare wastes all that money on him. Oh, venomous revenge is never sweet.

And so we are back to Chita Rivera. Her singing voice has gotten slower and raspier; she doesn’t do her immortal high kick steps anymore, but good God, can the woman act and still break our hearts. In truth, Ms. Rivera is now 82, and another magnificent role like Claire Zachanassian will be hard to come by. Any theatergoer who cherishes a great performance from a legend must go to the Lyceum Theatre and marvel at the beauty and craftsmanship of the diva La Rivera. In years to come, I know I will be thrilled to say that I was there to see her giving one of her finest performances ever.

VIEW OF ‘THE VISIT’: The superb Chita Rivera & the cast. Photo: Thom Kaine

DANCING WITH HERSELF: Chita Rivera dances with her younger self, Michelle Veintimilla, in ‘The Visit,.’ Photo: Thom Kaine

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY: Townspeople sing of their greed in ‘The Visit.’ Photo: Thom Kaine

TOWN WITHOUT PITY (left to right) Roger Rees, John Riddle, Michelle Veintimilla & Chita Rivera in ‘The Visit,’ about a woman seeking revenge on the man & town that ostracized her decades ago. Photo: Joan Marcus

KANDER & EBB’S LAST MUSICAL’: Michelle Veintimilla, Matthew Deming, Rogers Rees, Chita Rivera, Chris Newcomer & cast of ‘The Visit’. Photo: Thom Kaine

LA DIVA RIVERA &
‘THE EUNUCHS’: Chita Rivera & cast members in ‘The Visit.’ Photo: Thom Kaine

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 29, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on April 28, 2015