Ariana DeBose Tributes The Late Chita Rivera During The Tony Awards With A ‘West Side Story’ Performance

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Ariana DeBose brought the house down at the 2024 Tony Awards on Sunday night (June 16) in New York City with a tribute that was part heartfelt homage and part dance-off extravaganza for the late, great Chita Rivera.

The 33-year-old actress, who pulled double duty as the evening’s host, decided to time-travel back to 1957 and recreate a snippet of the legendary โ€œAmericaโ€ dance from West Side Story. You know, the role that snagged her an Oscar in 2022. Because why not honor a legend by literally dancing in her footsteps?

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For those who might have been living under a Broadway rock, Chita Rivera was the original Anita, making waves and breaking hearts in the 1957 Broadway debut of the musical. She set the bar so high itโ€™s still up in the stratosphere somewhere.

With a tear and a twirl, Ariana declared, โ€œI literally would not be here without Chita blazinโ€™ the trail for all who follow. Because of her, I am. Chita, from all of us, we will always love you.โ€ And with that, she broke into dance mode, sending sequins and emotions flying everywhere, and officially closing out the tribute with a bang (and probably a few sore muscles).

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But Ariana wasnโ€™t the only one belting out praises and doing jazz hands for Chita. The tribute turned into a full-on Tony winner reunion, with the likes of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bebe Neuwirth, and Audra McDonald all taking their turns to wax lyrical about Chitaโ€™s career and her ability to make everyone else look like they were just winging it. It was a star-studded, jazz-handed, high-kicking love fest for a Broadway icon.

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