Chita Rivera, John Kander, and Liza Minnelli
Earlier this week, my friends at the Dramatists Guild Fund honored legendary Tony-winning composer John Kander at their 50th anniversary gala in New York’s Mandarin Oriental. Hosted by Jon Cryer, whose mother Gretchen Cryer is president of the fund’s board of directors, the evening featured music from Chicago, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Curtains, The Scottsboro Boys and more in performances and tributes from Christie Brinkley, Stockard Channing, Rita Gardner, Joel Grey, Joshua Henry, Howard McGillin, Debra Monk, Bebe Neuwirth, and Karen Ziemba.
The highlights of the evening were a pair of showstopping performances from Chita Rivera, who offered a selection of songs from Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Liza Minnelli, who closed the evening with a medley from Cabaret. As an encore, all of the evening’s performers joined Liza onstage for “New York, New York,” which brought the audience to their feet as John Kander took the stage for a final bow.