Philanthropy Technology & The Performing Arts

I’ve had the great privilege and joy to have seen Rita Moreno strut her stuff in perhaps more expressions of performance virtuosity than any other show business legend and no one does it better than this unique multi talented Star. Aside from her recent success in the cable show Oz, the feature film Pinero, her outstanding co-starring role with Vickie Lawrence and Marga Gomez in the brilliant Eve Ensler blockbuster ‘Vagina Monologues, several intimate and sexy shows for eager audiences at that chic and classy San Francisco club, The Plush Room and a few gratis performances in support of worthy causes and people, she’s a housewife, grandmother, gardener, collector and volunteer for a variety of things that rock her boat. This petite and gorgeous woman of a certain age has been performing since the beginning of the great depression, and has won every major and minor performing artist award known including an Oscar for West Side Story, an Emmy or two, a Tony, a Grammy, the Joseph Jefferson Award and countless lesser known recognitions for great talent and artistry. Born in Humacao, Puerto Tico December 11, 1932 and immigrating with her Mother to New York in the early depression with only a proud and honest Mother to encourage her to succeed in a place where the language was foreign to her, the child Rosita performed for the first time in a Greenwich Village nightclub at seven. She was a hit from the beginning but felt the silent pain of prejudice and discrimination and was treated like a second-class citizen for many years to come, which was the fuel that eventually drove Rita to becoming an open and outspoken champion of all oppressed people. As a teenager young Rita learned dance, won her first role on Broadway and was a regular nightclub performer. An MGM talent scout discovered her and a contract soon materialized that put her in minor roles and as her talent was noticed, Louis B. Mayer decided she would have to change her name and Rita Moreno came into being. West Side Story in 1961 led to her Oscar, and
work with Hal Prince in London’s West End to rave reviews, marriage to Dr. Lenny Gordon in 1964 that continues in force, her only child in 1967 and 1972 her first Grammy for “The Electric Company”, a Tony in 1975 for her performance in “The Ritz”, in 1977 an Emmy for work on “The Muppets”, and in 1978 another Emmy for her work on “The Rockford Files”. In 1979, she was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the only performer to win all four to p entertainment awards. Rita and Lenny Gordon remain together, in love, with Lenny managing her career and Rita still does an amazing amount of television, stage, movie, concert and nightclub performance as well as giving of herself to causes she supports. Rita Moreno has developed a close relationship with Berkeley Repertory Theater and was a smash as Maria Callas last year and will be joining with them again this season. This ‘Star’ is the real thing and is perhaps the most diverse, dynamic, durable and estimable actor in America today

My favorite way to see Rita Moreno is to see her in a beautiful club like the Plush Room where she appears on a regular basis and performs a wide range of blockbuster interpretations of standards like “If Swing Goes, I Go Too”, “On The Sunny Side of the Street”, “Happiness is a Thing Called Joe”, “If I Loved You”, “Lost in His Arms”, “Guess Who I Saw Today”, “New York City Blues”, “El Mar” and “Brazil” in her native tongue and an encore of “Before The Parade Passes By”. Ms. Moreno looks half her age, and dresses like a contemporary fashion model and dances like a teenager. Her voice is powerful and she has the range and intuition to brand many of the songs she performs as hers. She doesn’t do as much of the work that chronicles her career as I would like, but this pin up beautiful, stylish and sexy siren is one of the best all around singing hoofers nightclub audiences will ever get a chance to see live. Get off your ass, and buy tickets the minute you hear she’s playing near you.