THE RINK (1984)

OPENING

In 1952, a young dancer, who had spent years training and performing ballet, wanted to do something different. So at the age of 19, she auditioned for musical theater and booked the national tour of Call Me Madam. After about a year on the road, she made her way to Broadway as a replacement dancer in the original productions of Guys and Dolls and Can-Can. But it was with her third Broadway show in 1955, the very short-lived Seventh Heaven, that she would finally originate a named role and begin using the stage name we all know and love: Chita Rivera.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1933, she was the daughter of a Puerto Rican clarinet and saxophone player, while her Scottish-American mother was a government clerk. And her birth name was: “Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero”

As a child she was full of personality and constantly in motion. But at just seven years old, her father passed away after a long illness, leaving her mother to raise five children on her own. Still, all that energy had to go somewhere, and before long she was leaping from sofa to sofa and leaving a trail of battered furniture in her wake. So her mother enrolled her in ballet classes, hoping dance might provide some discipline and direction for all that enthusiasm. And it was her late father’s saxophone and clarinet that were sold to pay for the tuition.

That began a decade of ballet training that developed the precise, athletic, and spirited movement that would become her trademark. And after transitioning to musical theater, she slowly began carving out her own place on Broadway—performing alongside Ethel Merman, Ricardo Montalbán, Sammy Davis Jr., and Elaine Stritch—just to name a few. But then came 1957.

A new musical called West Side Story opened, and introduced audiences to a fiery Puerto Rican woman named Anita. The role required singing, acting, and dancing at the highest level, and with Jerome Robbins as director and choreographer, he demanded nothing less from Rivera:

“Yes, it was tense at times, but when you did it right, it was amazingly exciting, and you felt it. And you felt yourself grow. You felt your, suddenly dancers weren’t just physical. They were thinking. They were using their own minds. And a lot of us came out of that, thanks to Jerry. You know, better actors, better dancers, better—understanding ourselves so much more, you know. So it was the most exciting time, I think, for dancers.” ~ Chita Rivera

Anita wasn't merely a supporting character. She was this funny, passionate, and unforgettable heartbeat of the show. And seemingly overnight, Chita Rivera became one of Broadway's brightest new stars.

Just three years later she was creating another iconic role: Rosie Alvarez in Bye Bye Birdie. That performance led to her first Tony nomination and solidified her reputation as one of the most exciting performers working in musical theater. And somewhere in the audience sat a young girl named Liza Minnelli, who years later said, "Chita was the first person I ever saw on Broadway, and in Bye Bye Birdie, she's the one who made me decide what I wanted to do.”

In the years that followed, both women found remarkable successes in their careers, with their paths crossing once again in 1975. Rivera was creating the role of Velma Kelly opposite Gwen Verdon in Chicago, and she earned another Tony nomination for her captivating performance. At one point during the run, though, Verdon was out for a few weeks to undergo throat surgery, and her replacement was none other than Liza Minnelli.

That little girl who had once watched Rivera from the audience had become one of the most famous entertainers in the world, with an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award to her name. And now, she was sharing the stage with the woman who had inspired her. Minnelli would continue to star in movies and musicals, earning another Tony Award as well as other nominations for her work.

As for Rivera little did she know that another project was quietly taking shape across town in 1978. The musical writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb had been working on a new musical that focused on an Italian-American mother operating a crumbling roller rink as the daughter comes back to town, and they wanted Rivera to star in their musical. They created a score and story build around her specific vocal and dramatic strengths.

“It's wonderful because the words are words, if you could’ve written it yourself. They know you so well that if it could have the ideal situation and the ideal person, they know exactly how to do it, and it's a wonderful feeling, and it makes it easier to do.” ~ Chita Rivera

As The Rink continued to evolve, Rivera pursued other shows that came her way, but unfortunately the early 1980s turned out to be a rough patch of struggles and frustration for her. The sequel musical, Bring Back Birdie closed after only four performances at the Martin Beck Theatre—and will be the subject of its own podcast episode later this season. After that came the magical and mystical musical of Merlin, that featured illusionist Doug Henning as well as future stars Nathan Lane and Christian Slater in the cast. But this elaborate spectacle of a production struggled during its 69 previews as well as after opening—lasting only a few months on Broadway.

Meanwhile, Kander and Ebb continued to refine their musical with the help of a book writer and director, who helped reshape fresh ideas into a full musical. But then came an unexpected development: Liza Minnelli wanted to be the show. Her arrival reunited the two performers and instantly transformed The Rink from a modest character piece into one of Broadway's most anticipated productions. And now, every creative decision carried greater scrutiny, every setback drew more attention, and expectations for the show grew almost impossibly high. When The Rink finally arrived at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1984, it wasn't just yet another a new musical—it was carrying the weight of a huge theatrical event.

—

“Welcome to Season 3 of Closing Night, a theater history podcast about famous and forgotten shows that closed too soon. I'm Patrick Oliver Jones, and I’ll be your guide this season as we focus on the Martin Beck Theatre—a home for serious plays, musical hits, and glorious flops—revealing just how unpredictable and unforgiving the path to Broadway can be.”

—

ORIGINS

After a string of hit musicals in the 1960s and 70s, John Kander and Fred Ebb were among Broadway's most successful songwriting teams. In fact, during the 1984 Tony Award ceremony, they paid special tribute to this duo:

Robert Preston (Tony Host): “That is from The Rink, which is the ninth musical on Broadway by Kander and Ebb. Now, these two are nothing if they're not versatile in their choice of subject matter, and the music is assertive and accessible. But there is a thread that runs through everything they write. The very positive fact that life is meant to be lived, not observed.”

The first success for Kander and Ebb, though, didn’t come from the stage. It actually came from the hit single “My Coloring Book” that charted in the top 20 in 1962 and was nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

Then, three years later, legendary producer Hal Prince suggested the two men write a musical together and then brought their debut effort to Broadway—Flora, the Red Menace—which was also the Broadway debut for Liza Minnelli. She would go on to win her first Tony Award for Best Actress, even though the show only lasted 87 performances. So Flora may have been a great star vehicle for Minnelli, but not so much for Kander and Ebb. It wasn’t until their next show, Cabaret, that these two really found the spotlight.

Directed by Hal Prince, Cabaret tackled dark, taboo subjects like anti-Semitism, abortion, and sexual ambiguity, and it gave the audience a deeply unhappy ending, which was virtually unthinkable at the time. It would go on to win 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Composer and Lyricist. Both Fred Ebb and John Kander were asked about what it’s like writing a musical together:

EBB: The fact is, the answer we give—and it's the truth—is that we work in the same room at the same time. Some writer once, writing about our work, he just said that they go into a room and what comes out is a purée of my words and John's music. And that's about right. We build a song together, lyrically and musically.

KANDER: "Writing, composing, is really a self-gratifying exercise, or at least it is for me. And the fun we had—and it is fun, no matter what anybody tells you—of sitting around with our collaborators. Hal was the captain of the collaboration, and Joe Masteroff and Fred and I playing 'what if.' … That’s really fun."

The movie version of Cabaret a few years later was an even bigger hit, and it made Kander and Ebb as well as Minnelli global sensations. She was no longer just Judy Garland’s daughter but a star performer in her own right. And Kander and Ebb were now the toast of the town, with more Tony nominations coming for their next two shows The Happy Time and Zorba. But it was Chicago that introduce them to Chita Rivera, and her pairing with Gwen Verdon made for one of the most talented duos on Broadway. That was followed up in 1977 with The Act, where they reunited with Minnelli, winning her second Tony for Best Actress.

So after this string of successful musicals, they were looking for a new project—specifically one that could put Chita Rivera front and center. But according to Ebb, there was a shortage of good librettists at the time, so he and Kander just began meeting with playwrights whose work they admired. One of those was a 29-year-old playwright named Albert Innaurato, who was attracting attention in New York theater circles thanks to his long-running Broadway debut play Gemini. He may have never written a musical before, but that didn't stop Kander and Ebb from inviting him into the conversation.

Once they landed on an idea that was vaguely based on Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt, Innaurato began piecing together a narrative. He frequently drew on his working-class, Italian-Catholic upbringing to shape the characters and settings of his plays, so his initial draft was all about an Italian family on New York's Lower East Side. The story revolved around a rundown roller-skating rink being converted into a modern disco. However, in a piece for the New York Times in December 1978, Ebb was adamant that this was not going to be a disco musical. Rather, only a song or two would use that style, with the heart of the piece relying on their signature musical theater sound.

But Innaurato quickly discovered that writing a musical required a different skill set than writing a play. That was because songs constantly interrupted the action, leaving only brief windows to move the story forward. But Kander never seemed too bothered by those challenges:

KANDER: ”I think whatever project we're working on, even when we're writing badly, which is a lot of the time, and we have to throw it away the next day, the process of working together is always fun. It sounds very shallow, but it's true."

To get their show off the ground, though, the creative team needed a producer, and Kander and Ebb reached out to a familiar partner. For their musical Chicago, Jules Fisher had been the lighting designer, and since then he'd expanded into producing as well, including Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ in 1978. So Fisher seemed a natural fit to guide their unconventional piece through its development phase.

The next step was to bring in a director, and Arthur Laurents was brought in to guide the show from the page to the stage. He had found enormous success as a book writer for West Side Story and Gypsy, but only moderate success as a director in shows like I Can Get It for You Wholesale, Anyone Can Whistle, and The Madwoman of Central Park West. And almost from the start, there were creative differences—with Innaurato writing a gritty and psychological family drama, yet Laurents aggressively pushing to make the piece more stylized, grand, and theatrical.

As the show evolved, Rivera would participate in readings and sing-throughs, while Innaurato and Laurents attempted to reshape the material. However, the two men fought constantly over the tone of the piece—to the point where they completely stopped seeing eye-to-eye on what the show was supposed to be. Ebb watched as the script slowly collapsed under the weight of their disagreement, a stark contrast to how he and Kander worked together:

EBB: “I think the mutual respect people have for each other, and that's what makes it click. If you respect your collaborators and they respect you, the piece is gonna be better than it might have been when there's no harmony, when there's disrespect, when there's friction.”

The constant artistic gridlock between the director and book writer ultimately forced the entire project to be completely halted, and rather than continuing to revise producer Fisher ultimately intervened, helping to ease tensions so that Laurents and Innaurato could part ways with the production and in so doing hopefully save the show. Kander and Ebb were left holding a poetic, nostalgia-fueled score with no script to support it. Nonetheless, Rivera remained steadfastly loyal to her musical team, as Fisher worked to restart the creative process.

However, he didn’t want to bring in a traditional musical script doctor to just fix the words. Instead, he along with Kander and Ebb looked for an outside-the-box writer who could integrate a rich new narrative into an already existing score that focused heavily on memory and regret. And in late 1979, Terrence McNally was chosen for the job. He was known blending sharp, biting humor with deep emotional trauma, and with his a highly collaborative working style. Now, he had written for only one Broadway musical before called Here’s Where We Belong, but it opened and closed on the same night and he’d asked to have his name removed from the show. So McNally was definitely looking for a second chance at a better experience. Plus, when it came to The Rink, he was fascinated by the concept of a decaying roller rink serving as a metaphor for a family's fractured relationship.

His first decision was to completely throw out the disco premise and pivot the character away from Innaurato's broad, stereotyped Italian housewife into more complex, resilient woman that Rivera could sink her teeth into. But the biggest shift he made was away from straightforward realism toward something memory-driven and theatrical—allowing the story to move fluidly between present-day confrontations and recollections of the past.

So with a new script taking shape, it was time once again to find a director. This time they went with a Tony-winning yet lesser-known director, A.J. Antoon. All six of his previous Broadway shows were plays, so this would be his first go at musical theater. Still, he was known for psychologically rich and actor-centered directing, which was well-suited to navigate the show's shifting timelines and memory sequences.

MOTHER-DAUGHTER DYNAMIC

But the development of The Rink was more of a long simmer than a quick boil. Work on the script and score faced constant pauses and delays, because nearly everyone involved was juggling major projects elsewhere. Kander and Ebb completed a new musical that opened in 1981 called Woman of the Year that was nominated for Best Musical and would win them their second Tony for Best Score. McNally was back and forth between New York and Hollywood, writing for television.

Meanwhile, Rivera endured the back-to-back disappointments of Bring Back Birdie and Merlin. Though both productions were savaged by critics, she did earn Tony nominations—but once again she went home empty-handed. So by 1983 she was eager for The Rink to finally become a reality. Around this time, Ebb was in London working with Liza Minnelli on her tour. And one day, he played her the early demo recordings of The Rink. Minnelli was completely enamored with the songs, especially the ballad "Colored Lights” sung by the daughter Angel. So she reached out to John Kander:

“And she called to tell me she wanted to do the part and I said, ‘But it’s not the lead, and it’s certainly not glamorous.’ She was playing a thirty-year-old woman who was really schlumpy. And she said something I will never forget. She said: ‘Johnny, I want to do it because it doesn’t have one spangle in it.’ And I knew what she meant.”

However, McNally was still retooling the script, so the role of Angel was still being fleshed out. So when Minnelli was back in New York, Rivera gave her a copy of the latest draft of the musical, and when the two met up for lunch, Minnelli once again made it clear that she wanted the role.

“I really liked the part. I read it as Chita told me to. And asked her questions about it. I said, ‘Well, is it—does the daughter have to be strong?’ And she said, ‘Oh yes. Is that alright?’ … I just got tired of putting on the eyelashes, you know what I mean, and the sequins.” ~ Liza Minnelli

For Minnelli, this was a chance to break the mold of her usual jazzy, flashy singer-dancer roles and immerse herself into an ordinary character with ordinary wants and struggles. But that lunch was more than just expressing a desire to work with Rivera again; it was also Minnelli asking Rivera for her blessing to play her daughter, to share the marquee—making sure her presence wouldn't overshadow Rivera’s starring vehicle. Rivera enthusiastically agreed.

“Both of the roles are very demanding. They’re very emotional … She really wanted to act. That’s what she wanted to do. And boy, am I glad she came this way.” ~ Chita Rivera

The moment Minnelli officially signed her six-month contract, the scale of this musical upgraded immediately. The Rink transformed from a modest musical written for Rivera into one of Broadway's most anticipated productions. And Fisher was squarely focused on the economics: “With two performers of Liza's and Chita's financial caliber, you can't make any money Off Broadway.” So he chose to bring this small musical with a cast of eleven to a much bigger and more lucrative stage.

As the show moved forward, its opening was pushed to the following February at the Beck Theatre. Fisher also decided against the usual out-of-town tryout. Instead, the company would workshop the material in New York and present it to potential investors. Part of the reason was practical—Minnelli's concert schedule left little room for a road engagement—but the other reason was financial. Taking the show to a regional theater would have added weeks of travel, tech, and performances as well as cost to the bottom line. But this also meant The Rink would arrive on Broadway without the safety net that many new musicals relied upon to solve problems before opening night.

WORKSHOPPING THE RINK

So the six-week workshop began in September, and Director Antoon spent that time blending and refining McNally’s rewritten script with the Kander and Ebb's already completed score. At its center now is an estranged daughter named Angel, who returns home to discover that her mother Anna has sold the family's once-beloved roller rink to a developer, who plans to tear it down. But Angel is determined to stop it, forcing her and Anna to confront years of resentment and unresolved pain between the two. This was no glitzy razzmatazz showbiz piece. It required substantial dramatic authenticity and emotional excavation.

Minnelli drew upon her experiences of growing up and dealing with complicated mother-daughter dynamics that often happened in public view. Rivera as well drew upon her experiences as a mother, particularly emotions she sometimes suppressed in real life. And Terrence McNally recalls that what both women brought to the roles was themselves, not their celebrity:

“Generations were at each other’s throats. it was very much the story of a struggle between a mother and a daughter, and their relationship together, the give-and-take between two supremely gifted actresses is wonderful.” ~Terrence McNally

As for the ensemble, it was comprised of six men called “The Wreckers” who were the demolition workers tearing down the rink. They also played more than 20 other incidental characters, both male and female, who would shift in and out of memory sequences and musical numbers. And the choreography for the show was placed in the capable hands of Graciela Daniele. Though married to producer Jules Fisher, she had built an impressive career of her own, having been a dancer in Chicago and choreographer on Zorba. So she was well-acquainted with the moving rhythms and melodies of Kander and Ebb.

Once the show was put together, this workshop presentation revealed something surprising. It was expected that the show's emotional themes would resonate primarily with women. Instead, Rivera recalled that many of the men watching the workshop were deeply affected by the material—reinforcing the creative team's belief that The Rink was not simply a mother-daughter story but a broader exploration of human relationships.

Though cheaper than going out of town, best estimates are that this workshop cost around $150,000. So Fisher was relying on the physical presence of Minnelli and Rivera in a small studio room to convince investors that this musical drama was worth investing in. Not that investors needed much convincing. Within those six weeks, Fisher easily secured the entire $2.5 million capitalization needed to move the show to Broadway.

So while Minnelli went off on tour, McNally and the creative team worked quickly to rewrite segments of the script based on notes from the workshop, attempting to smooth out transitions between the dialogue and musical numbers. After several weeks, the cast reassembled in late November 1983 to officially begin rehearsals. And despite the musical being titled THE RINK and centered around a roller-skating arena, the two leads kept their feet firmly planted on the stage floor. It was simply too much of a liability to have either of their leading ladies on skates. So while Rivera and Minnelli focused on music and scene work, the others had a more free-wheeling experience.

Antoon and Daniele chose to use the ensemble skaters during flashback sequences. For example, a young girl on skates would glide across the stage to represent a childhood memory of Angel. Overall, it was the ensemble that dealt with the bruises and falls as they incorporated sharp jazz choreography with their roller-skates. And among these Wreckers were ambitious young performers, including Jason Alexander (who had his own solo “Marry Me”), Rob Marshall (who was also the dance captain), and Scott Ellis (who played everything from street punks to female roles)—each of these guys years away from the famous careers they would have on screen and stage. And with such a small cast, the company became a pretty tight-knit group. And that sort of camaraderie really started from the top down, as Jason Alexander recalls:

“John and Fred adored each other. They adored the people they were working with. They made every show they were part of, whether it was going well or not going well, a joyous experience, just lovely guys.”

Rivera was also revered by the cast as a consummate, hyper-disciplined professional who looked out for the ensemble. Minnelli was brilliant too—when she was there. Unfortunately, she was dealing with her own personal struggles that resulted in sporadic attendance during rehearsals. That meant the cast was often rehearsing with her understudy, Lenora Nemetz—who had also been a cover for both Roxie and Velma in Chicago.

But regardless of her absences from rehearsals, it was going to be Minnelli’s name above the marquee, along with Rivera. And ironically, this proved to be one of the production's greatest challenges, when it came to advertising and publicity. With a show called The Rink and starring two of the most dynamic and sought-after stage performers, audiences would expect spectacle, glamour, and of course some roller-skating fun. But the actual show was darker, more intimate. So it was a bit of a balancing act to promote that star power while managing the expectations of what audiences would actually see.

>>> THE RINK Promo

So the question was: which version of The Rink would Broadway audiences embrace—the one they got, or the one they wished they had? The creative team and cast certainly believed they had built something unique. But as we’ll see after the break, the critics and theatergoers would have the final say.

THE RINK AT THE BECK

With no out-of-town run for The Rink, the all-important previews began at the Martin Beck Theatre on January 12, 1984. This is when Fisher and the creative team finally had a chance to see the show on a stage, in front of audiences—which would then allow them to rewrite scenes and adjust the score along the way. One of the most heavily re-worked sections was the opening sequence as they experimented with the placement of Angel’s song "Colored Lights" as well as the arrival of the wrecking crew, trying to find the right balance between launching the plot and establishing Angel's character. Also, McNally's script initially featured much denser, more repetitive dialogue during the memory sequences, so throughout January lines were trimmed frequently for pacing.

During these previews, the show was already proving to be a mixed bag—getting “ovations from many spectators while driving others early to the exits.” The creative team quickly realized that the first act in particular was coming across too tense and heavy. So in an effort to inject some much-needed levity, Kander and Ebb wrote an upbeat, show-stopping duo number for Rivera and Minnelli called “The Apple Doesn’t Fall.”

After years of development, personnel changes, workshops, and rewrites, The Rink finally opened on February 9, 1984 to a lot of fanfare and excitement. And big names wanted to be there. Marvin Hamlisch and Shirley MacLain were there that night, along with Truman Capote, Melba Moore, and even Michael Jackson. With so much buzz on opening night, the cast and creatives felt a lot of satisfaction in what they brought to the stage, feeling they had achieved something deeply profound, especially for Rivera. This was her showcase, and Kander and Ebb were thrilled to provide such a musical for her to display the range of her artistic talents.

And critics agreed, saying that she had “been a powerhouse performer for roughly three decades, and it's a pleasure to see that power unleashed again, its force undiminished by time.” And then there was the bond between the two leading ladies, of course, who loved performing together—their explosive onstage chemistry bringing audiences to their feet. And theater critic Jeffery Lyons certainly couldn’t get enough of it:

“It is creatively and intelligently staged by veteran AJ Antoon, making full use of a talented supporting cast. No, there's not too much choreography, it must be said, and The Rink has its emotional ups and downs, but let's face it, Liza and Chita on Broadway, and some of those songs will make this a smash, I think. The Rink: two belters in Broadway's best traditions uplifted and in the end it finally soars.”

In fact, almost every critic had high praise and adoration for Rivera. But unlike Lyons, they didn’t have much good to say about the rest of the show, and they didn’t mince words either. Here’s a sampling of how reviewers picked a part every facet with the show:

Dennis Cunningham: “The entire score of The Rink could be lifted bodily out of it and scattered throughout some new show and you'd never know the difference … And The Rink's really big and finally fatal problem is not the music. It is the story The Rink tells—a bleak and barren kitchen-sink drama in the middle of a vaudeville show.”

Katie Kelly: “With the exception of those two women, this is an all male show. They do multiple roles—that’s okay—including playing women. In my neighborhood that's called drag. Hey, why not have the women wearing suits? That doesn't make any sense either, but at least it's equal employment. And for a show set in a roller rink, there is only one skating number, and it is shameful.”

Joel Siegel: “But I really don't want to say this: the show they’re in The Rink is a hopeless wreck of a Broadway musical … The flashbacks are embarrassing. Liza Minnelli's character is called fat and ugly. She isn't. That reference shouldn't have survived the rewrite, but watching The Rink, one wonders if there was a rewrite.”

Now, though the show turned out to be a critical disappointment, Rivera and Minnelli gave it their all every night, and it was those two that kept the show booming through the spring. It was the hardcore theater lovers and devoted fans who rushed to get tickets anyway, ignoring those scathing reviews. They just wanted to witness Chita and Liza belting duets together. However, one of its problems was that audiences came hoping to see Liza in her usual glamorous Halston outfits, but as Angel she was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. As Rivera pointed out, fans were “disappointed to see Liza in overalls.” So the decision was made to adjust the wardrobe just for the curtain call. Halston was brought in to create red gowns for both Minnelli and Rivera as they bowed.

However, as the run continued, Minnelli was dealing with escalating health issues that caused her to miss intermittent performances. As a result, the standby Nemetz would fill in for her just as she had done during rehearsals. But under standard Broadway rules, when a star whose name is billed above the title of the show is absent, the theater is legally required to offer full refunds or ticket exchanges at the box office right up until curtain time. So when Minnelli was out, a massive percentage of ticket holders exercised their right to a refund. Though this show was created for Rivera, it became obvious who audiences were really there to see.

THE TONY AWARDS

But even with Minnelli’s occasional absences, The Rink still had a tremendous amount of energy and excitement around the show. So it was no surprise when Tony nominations came out in May that both leading ladies were up for Best Actress. And behind the table, Kander, Ebb, Daniele, and scenic designer Peter Larkin were also nominated. But come Tony night, only one would walk away with the prize:

“And the winner is…Chita Rivera!”

After more than twenty-five years of iconic Broadway performances and five nominations, Rivera was finally a Tony Award winner. The role she'd been waiting years to play finally brought her Broadway's highest honor. In fact, her near-misses at the Tonys had become such a running joke, Kander and Ebb wrote her a song called “Losing” that Rivera would perform in her nightclub act. Well, she would now have to find a new song to sing.

"Thank you very much. I am very happy that I bought the bottom of the dress this year. I've been coming for so many years and losing for so many years, and being quite happy about it, I decided, why buy the bottom of the dress? Nobody ever sees it. I would just like to say, first of all, thank you for this. What a wonderful honor … But I want to thank particularly those people who are responsible for my being here: Fred Ebb and John Kander, who promised me and gave me a wonderful show and a magnificent score, and I shall remember it till the day I die. Thank you … And besides that, that fantastic company of ours that was just absolutely magnificent. Thank you. This is actually dedicated to my mother, who never saw it. And Ma, you can relax now. Thank you very much." ~ Chita Rivera

The Rink now starred two Tony winners, and normally such a win would help ticket sales. But several days after the Tonys, it was announced that Minnelli’s limited contract would be coming to an end in mid-July, and that Stockard Channing, one of the stars in the movie musical Grease, would be taking her place. But even with Channing’s resume, she was no Liza. So advance ticket sales sharply declined beyond Minnelli's scheduled exit date. But unfortunately, her departure from the show came much sooner than expected.

MINNELLI LEAVES THE RINK

By early July, personal struggles had caught up with Minnelli as she finally came face to face with the reality of her drug and alcohol addictions. She had spent her childhood watching her own mother deal with such issues, and yet she was deeply convinced that her own recreational substance use was entirely different. After all, drug and alcohol use was just a normal part of the 1970s and '80s nightlife scene, so Minnelli believed she had it all under control. But it had become clear that she did not. Her sister Lorna Luft and close friend Elizabeth Taylor confronted her about this and said that she was going to die if she didn’t seek immediate help—they finally broke through decades of denial. And with that, Minnelli ended up leaving The Rink two weeks early and agreed to check herself into the Betty Ford Clinic for the first time.

"I was in trouble and I felt terrible. I thought I was dying. And I was tired. I was sick, and I was tired. I was tired of pretending to be alright when I really didn't feel alright. My self-esteem was shot to hell, you know. My faith was very shaky." ~ Liza Minnelli on GMA

It was on July 4, 1984, Minnelli called out of the show for the last time and with very late notice. The thing was Lenora Nemetz had recently left the show and the new standby for Angel, Mary Testa, hadn’t had much rehearsal. And Channing had had even less, because she was’t supposed to start for another two weeks. And a young 24-year-old Jason Alexander was there, witnessing the chaotic events that unfolded that night. As he tells the story, once the audience found out Minnelli wasn’t in the show, there was a mass exodus as almost everyone in the theater either got refunds and rebooked for another night. Only about 100 people stayed to watch the show. So stage management let Rivera decide if she wanted to perform.

“She said, 'Have the boys come down.' So we all went into her dressing room, and she said, 'Here's the story. We can walk away or we can do this. If we walk away, we're gonna lose one-eighth of your salary.' And I know, she knew we were all living on that salary. She said, 'So if you want to do it, let's go out and do it, and we'll have a great time. We know how to play in this show. We'll have fun. We'll have a blast. It'll be a nice sort of big put-in rehearsal for Mary Testa.' And she made it sound like it would be, you know, just a party to do. And as we were all going, ‘Ah…’ She said, 'But the hundred people that stayed, stayed. You give them the show. And if you can't do that, we don't do this.’ And I just went, ‘Who are you?’ … And she handled it with that kind of grace and dignity and professionalism, and I went, 'I want to be you when I grow up.' And she has never been topped for me in that regard." ~ Jason Alexander

Despite looking out into the empty, cavernous Beck Theatre, Testa delivered a wonderful performance, fiercely supported by Rivera and the ensemble. She held down the fort for two weeks, so that Channing could finish rehearsals and ultimately join the show on what was to have been Minnelli’s farewell weekend. Needless to say that final phase of rehearsals for Channing was at hyper-speed, and there were plenty of nerves going into that first performance.

Still, Channing made the role her own with no intention of imitating her predecessor. She brought a more subdued, grounded vulnerability to the character that made Terrence McNally's thorny, dark book feel more like a genuine family drama. And even Rivera found a new approach to her character:

"Stockard is wonderful. She is so different from Liza, which is very good, because it also changes things for me.… But most important, she's a brilliant actress. I've always been a great fan of Stockard's, you know … And I am learning a lot about acting from working with her.”

CLOSING THE SHOW

But those lessons would be short-lived. As capable as Channing was—and of course Rivera—audiences simply lost interest in The Rink, and as box office sales declined the writing was on the wall. Just three weeks after Channing joined the company, producers closed the show on August 4, 1984, finishing with 204 performances.

“I don't think you can sit down and say, 'This is gonna be a hit' or 'This is gonna be a showstopper.' I think you just do your work and, you know, the chips fall where they fall. I think there's some very good songs and shows of ours that have no life whatever, and some not-so-hot songs which are more or less more popular. I don't think there's any way of knowing. I think you just do what you do.” ~ Fred Ebb

The Rink never did become the hit that Kander, Ebb, McNally, or Fisher had hoped for. But for Rivera, the show accomplished something equally important. After years of Tony nominations, Broadway triumphs and disappointments, The Rink gave her a starring role worthy of her talents, and it led to her first Tony Award. And then the show's legacy extended beyond that six-month run. Because a decade later, Kander, Ebb, McNally, and Rivera all reunited for Kiss of the Spider Woman, a collaboration that earned Rivera her second Tony Award and created one of the most celebrated performances of her career. So while The Rink may have faded into Broadway lore, for Chita Rivera it marked the beginning of a remarkable new chapter in her career.

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“For a transcript and list of the references and resources used in this episode, check out my blog, and you’ll find a link to that in the show notes. Closing Night is a production of WINMI Media, with me Patrick Oliver Jones as executive producer and host, with Dan Delgado as co-producer and editor. Theme music is by Blake Stadnik. Be sure to join me next time as another show makes its way to closing night.”

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Bonus Outro: OBSESSED with Seth Rudetsky

Rudetsky: Now, Mary Testa, how long did you go on for?

Testa: Two weeks.

Rudetsky: When you were doing the rink. Were you the same way? Were you like, I'm free wheeling, doing my own thing?

Testa: Well, a little bit. I was much younger then too. So I was really not as savvy as I am now.

Rudetsky: But was Chita—

Testa: Chita is a machine. She's fabulous, but she's a machine. I would change things up and and she would keep things the same. And one night she did something different in reaction to me, and I said, I got you. And she said, yes. And it didn't work.