Lin-Manuel Miranda is taking the time to say goodbye to a legend.
On January 30, Broadway fans were devastated to learn Chita Rivera passed away at the age of 91. According to her publicist, she died "peacefully" after battling a brief illness, per CNN. Famous for starring in multiple Broadway productions, she's famous for originating the role of Anita in the stage adaptation of West Side Story, and working alongside Dick Van Dyke in the theater version of Bye Bye Birdie.
Shortly after the news broke of Chita's death, Lin-Manuel went on Instagram to pay tribute to the Tony Award-nominated actress. Sharing behind-the-scenes moments of the duo working on the 2021 film Tick, Tick ... Boom!, he told a never-before-heard story of how he got Chita to make a cameo in Lin-Manuel's directorial debut.
"When we filmed the diner scene in [Tick, Tick ... Boom!], she wasn’t available for the shoot dates, so I left a chair empty in the diner for those three days. The whole shoot, people kept trying to move the chair or clear space and I’d have to say 'No, we’re GOING to get Chita, I don’t know how but we’re going to do it.' 8 months later on our reshoots, she joined us and held court all day. It remains one of the all time joys of my life. She was magnificent. She IS magnificent, not ready for the past tense just yet."
"My heart is with everyone in Chita’s galaxy of family and friends," he added. "We’ll be blasting [West Side Story] and Bye Bye Birdie and Chicago and SO MUCH MUSIC, because she left us so much. Gracias, Chita. Alabanza."
When fans saw Lin-Manuel honored Chita with a sentimental memory on social media, they immediately commented with words of condolences.
"Sending so much love to you and all missing this truly incredible woman💕🙏🏽 Grateful for the art and light she left," one person wrote on Instagram. "A Latin treasure! RIP Ms. Chita ❤️," another replied. "I can't believe I'm just now hearing of her passing. We've lost a living legend," a different follower replied.
Chita will certainly be missed.
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
