2022 Chita Rivera Winners

Monday

Jul182022

Monday, July 18, 2022 at 4:56PM

We told you back in May that the Chita Rivera Awards, which hadn't been held since 2019, would be back for 2022. The nominations were a mix of both the 2020 and 2022 Broadway seasons as well as the 2021 film year. In short, COVID-19 really did a number on all awards shows, no matter how niche! After the jump the winners (and nominees) of this prize honoring dancers and choreographers in movies and on stage.

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY FOR A THEATRICAL RELEASE

Cinderella - Ashley Wallen
Everyone's Talking About Jamie -Kate Prince
In the Heights -Christopher Scott
★ tick tick BOOM! -Ryan Heffington
West Side Story -Justin Peck

A surprising result here since tick, tick BOOM was not a dance-heavy movie musical.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DOCUMENTARY RELEASE

Ballerina Boys: The Trocaderos - Chana Gazit and Martie Barylick
Can You Bring It: Bill T Jones and D-Man in the Waters - Tom Hurwitz and Rosalynde LeBlanc
Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker - Oliver Bokelberg
★ First Try - Josh Prince
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back - John Carluccio

IMDb has no listing at all for the documentary First Try but it does have its own website and it's currently streaming on the service Broadway On Demand. Josh Prince is the choreographer of Trevor the Musical which is streaming on Disney+ and inspired by the Oscar winning 1994 short Trevor. He founded "Dance Lab New York" and the documentary is on that experience as well as the journeys of three other choreographers: Tilly Evans-Kruger, Ja'Malik, and Ariel Rivka.

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY OF A BROADWAY SHOW

for colored girls - Camille A Brown
The Music Man - Warren Carlyle
★ Paradise Square - Bill T Jones, Garrett Coleman, Jason Oremus
American Utopia - Annie-B Parsons
Moulin Rouge - Sonya Tayeh
MJ The Musical -Christopher Wheeldon

It's interesting that both the 2020 Tony winner (Moulin Rouge) and the 2022 Tony winner (MJ the Musical) lost this choreography prize.

OUTSTANDING MALE DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW [TIE]

Jared Grimes in 'Funny Girl'

Sidney Dupont, Paradise Square (2022 Tony Nominee, Featured Actor)
★ Myles Frost, MJ The Musical
★ Jared Grimes, Funny Girl
Hugh Jackman, The Music Man (2022 Tony Nominee, Lead Actor)
AJ Shively, Paradise Square (2022 Tony Nominee, Featured Actor)
Tony Yazbeck, Flying Over Sunset

Myles Frost, playing Michael Jackson, won the Tony for Best Actor in a Musical. Jared Grimes was nominated in Featured Actor in a Musical, which proved to be the lone nomination for the troubled production of Funny Girl that's still making headlines.

OUTSTANDING FEMALE DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW

Tendi Kuumba in "for colored girls..." Image: Marc J Franklin

Sutton Foster, The Music Man (2022 Tony Nominee Best Actress in a Musical)
Robyn Hurder, Moulin Rouge (she plays the supporting role of "Nini" the role played by Caroline O'Connor in the movie)
★ Tendayi Kuumba, for colored girls... (she plays "Lady in Brown", the role played by Kimberly Elise in the film version)
Heather Lang, Jagged Litttle Pill (supporting role/chorus member)
Adrienne Warren, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (2020 Tony Winner Best Actress in a Musical)

Though for colored girls is not a musical, the critically acclaimed revival also managed a Tony nomination in the Choreography category, which is fairly rare for a straight play.

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW