Bernadette Peters Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at 2024 Chita Rivera Awards May 20

The 2024 Chita Rivera Awards are presented May 20 at 7:30 PM at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Jared Grimes (Funny Girl) hosts.

Named for the late Broadway icon, the awards celebrate dance and choreographic excellence: past, present, and future. Through education and scholarships, the Chita Rivera Awards are also committed to nurturing future generations, as well as preserving notable dance history.

Performers and presenters for the starry evening include Wayne Brady (The Wiz), Huey Lewis (The Heart of Rock and Roll), Norm Lewis (Phantom of the Opera), Joe Morton (Scandal), Debbie Allen (Sweet Charity), Shoshana Bean (Hell’s Kitchen), Corbin Bleu (Little Shop of Horrors), Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked), Anthony Crivello (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Bebe Neuwirth (Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club), Kenny Ortega (High School Musical), David Hyde Pierce (Here We Are), Brooke Shields (The Addams Family), and Ben Vereen (Pippin). Attendees will also enjoy performances from the casts of Broadway's The Heart of Rock and Roll and The Who’s Tommy.

As previously announced, the Chita Rivera Awards will honor three-time Tony recipient Bernadette Peters with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey, who shared the stage with Peters in Broadway's George M!, will present the Broadway favorite with her award.

Mayte Natalio (Suffs, How to Dance in Ohio) will receive the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award, recognizing outstanding work that falls outside the framework of the original categories; and Phil LaDuca will receive the Vanguard Award for his outstanding contribution to the international dance community.

Tony winner and current Tony nominee Neuwirth, back on Broadway in the revival of Cabaret, announced the nominees for the 2024 Chita Rivera Awards April 29. The complete list of nominees follows:

Broadway

Outstanding Choreography in a Broadway Show
Camille A. Brown, Hell’s Kitchen
Julia Cheng, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Rick and Jeff Kuperman, The Outsiders
Lorin Latarro, The Heart of Rock and Roll / The Who’s Tommy
Justin Peck, Illinoise
Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, Water for Elephants

Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway Show
Antoine Boissereau, Water for Elephants
Ben Cook, Illinoise
Chloe Davis, Hell’s Kitchen
Gaby Diaz, Illinoise
Tilly Evans-Krueger, The Outsiders
Rachel Lockhart, Illinoise
Phillip Johnson Richardson, The Wiz
Byron Tittle, Illinoise
Ricky Ubeda, Illinoise
Avery Wilson, The Wiz

Outstanding Ensemble in a Broadway Show
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Hell’s Kitchen
Illinoise
The Heart of Rock and Roll
The Outsiders
Water for Elephants

Film

Outstanding Choreography in a Theatrical Release
Jennifer White, Barbie
Benjamin Millepied and Marina Tamayo, Carmen
Fatima Robinson, The Color Purple
Kyle Hanagami and Casey Nicholaw, Mean Girls
Christopher Gattelli, Wonka

Outstanding Direction of a Dance Documentary
Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, Daughters
Benjamin Cantu and Matt Lambert, Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate
David Petersen, Lift
Marc Saltarelli, Studio One Forever
Chelsea McMullan, Swan Song

All proceeds of the Chita Rivera Awards benefit the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation Scholarship Program. This year, all funding and proceeds will support the creation of a new Chita Rivera Training Scholarship.

The Chita Rivera Awards are produced by Joe Lanteri, founder and executive director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc., in conjunction with Patricia Watt.

For more information and tickets, visit ChitaRiveraAwards.com.

Look back at last year's nominee reception below: