Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, and Bette Midler do AMERICA

[dontwanna2ndguess]

damn look at chita werkin it

[popazz1]

Those two 'old broads' put the Divine Ms M to shame,and I am a HUGE fan of Bette's! Not just that she momentarily forgot the lyrics but she made absolutely no effort with the dance routine.Bad day,Ms Midler?!

[wendyverdades]

Okay so Bette is a lot like Ethel Merman when it comes to dancing. But tell me who are you going to get to go with Chita and Rita. Come on. They are phenomenal dancers from a fantastic period in dance. Bette hoofed it pretty good.

[tuxguys]

I happened on this by accident... but, obviously iconic talents aside...

...Although a hetero male, I owned a condo in Boston's South End for 20 years, so I have, at least, a vague idea of how momentous the three of them together on one stage is...

"...very big deal in AMERICA."

[mzmiller52]

miss m is the perfect example of what happens when great talents believe the hype and lose the intensity that got us so stirred up to begin with. i miss you miss m.

[Excalibear1]

Now I know where 'Forbidden Broadway' got the idea for their number "Chita and Rita"

[Buckleigh]

@Excalibear1 My name is Rita and not Chita !

[elrota]

Check out legs on Rita! She's still FINE even today!!!

[BrownStarChick15]

Chita and Rita are PERFECTION.

[paul51]

Bette was out of her element here . . . sorry. Would have loved to have seen Rita and Chita do this . .  ONLY.

[coolsweetgroovy]

Rita and Chita are awesome I love both of them, but really Bette Mider is awful here sorry

[JohnnyGNV]

INTERESTING to see....I like Bette Midler and you're right she's a little rusty on the lyrics here and there but this was great to see.

[Hazelnutcake]

All 3 divas are great, but as usual Miss M stole the show with her Divine campy talent!

[lepetitthimble]

@Hazelnutcake are you kidding? i mean i love bette but shes a mess in this. from her lack of commitment to her sleeve.

[jkfromcincty]

Loved it. Why do heterosexual, American men hate musical theatre? Because they are closeted homosexuals.

[RGN07]

Wow! Check out Rita Moreno's legs... gorgeous!!!

[VONRITT]

It doesn't get gayer!!!

[grai]

Bette was meant to sing

Hundreds of flowers in full bloom

And Rita was meant to sing

Hundreds of people in each room

But Bette sang Hundreds of people in each....BLEAH!! and stopped herself then Rita (correctly) repeated it and Bette said "thank you"

[etraig]

that was cute, what fun!

it reminds me of the "chita and Rita" spoof from "forbidden Broadway".

instead of bette, debbie allen would have made it a true "anita" trio.

saw her in the 1980 revival.

[tigandmouse]

which one is which??

[klwewf]

What is Bette's history w/ West Side Story?? - if any. I know about the other 2 ladies - who are still superfine, by the way.

[jojolovejoy]

this combo is a gay man's wet dream!!

it rivals the cher show with guests elton john and bette midler and the snl episode of coffee talk that had mike myers, rosanne barr, madonna and barbara streisand

thanks for posting

[ScottJayMillerNY]

@jojolovejoy speak for yourself.

[TheMsdiva777]

does anyone know what year this was?

[bettylegsdiamond]

Oh dear...Rita your out of time! Bette out classed, Chita! get the hell out, your soooo much better!!!

[rockylover3000]

okay.. to everyone who is getting this confused:

CHITA was the original anita in the broadway musical of West Side Story (the broadway version was before the movie) RITA was the 'original' anita, as in the one in the movie.

[glenmcneish]

Well, that's your loss!!!

[MewPudding]

Bette Middler...totally not needed.

[dudewheresmydignity]

but fun.

[powerfulpowerzz]

chita sounds just like she did on the original cast album!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Feneva]

Sorry can any1 tell who the one in red is pls.......she is brilliant!!

I mean they r all amazing but she stood out for me

[emor3000]

the one in the red is chita rivera

[jtr10014]

Chita Rivera is in the red

[onlyonfriday05]

Well if I wasn't gay before I sure as hell am now!

[andrewtarekrussell]

WTF????? This is crazy awesome!

BTW Chita was the original Anita ;-)

[gothywonder]

Which one is the original Anita?

[Mamasan41]

Chita! in red dress!!!

[danthrplgst]

Rita Moreno was the original Anita

[bwayfanatic94]

no. she was the film anita. chita rivera was the original broadway.

[danthrplgst]

Whoops...my bad. Thanks for the correction.

[uncletibs]

so chita can dance . hi lola at dannys !

[Mamasan41]

Glorious!!!!

[jj313]

That was so good. I loved it!!

[EmanuelBoricua]

Its not about who did best, is that they are all GREAT!!!!!!

Chita Rivera was born (1933) Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, D.C. to a Puerto Rican father, and a mother of Scottish and Italian descent.

Rita Moreno was born (1931) Rosita Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico. She is the first and only Hispanic female and one of nine performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.

Bette Midler was born (1945) in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii (at the time).

[Museleaders]

Chita is old, but still has the body of a 20 year old!!!!! I ALSO luv it when they are in the dance break and Rita and Chita are dancing the musical's moves, and Bette is just standing there moving her hips cause she wasn't it in the musical, ha they all rock!

[Buck61]

Hot Damn! To have been in that audience!!!

[Museleaders]

I luv it when Chita says:

"How you get all of them inside?"

Its so CUTEEE and so her! She is amazing, I prefer her over Rita, but they are very close!

[yieldyieldyield]

Lol so funny to see the little yenta from Hawaii singing with these two!

[greygardens79]

this is heaven

[mhss0001]

chita was the best dancer

[cocoapuppy12]

nvm

[DannyHiggs]

Look at the gams on Chita and Rita. They are two forces to be reckoned with.

[Elphaboy]

i know it's why she can wear the dress she is wearing and not look awful. she is amazing!

[markt0292]

chita is in red and rita is in the white. I loved performin this song.

[disneychickoobleck32]

i cant tell which is rita moreno

and which one did the broadway ??

[Gracie287]

Chita did Broadway, Rita did the movie.

[JWatsL]

Chita and Rita, The greatest!!!

Bette, what is she doing there?

[JustAnneMarie111]

rita is the BEST!

[broadwayadict]

even though they are all amazing it was obvious that chita dominated the other two and personally bette midler looked dumb to me just sortof walking around the stage but thats just me

[Wickedv143]

My three idols all on one stage doing my favorite number i've ever done on stage (playing bette's part)... who could ask for more? ;)

[Museleaders]

did Bette mess up??? IT seemed like it but it was funny, and a great preformsnce

[LunaCullen6]

She did mess up...and rita said her part, that's why she said 'thank you'.

it was hilarious...i had to pause the video cause I'm just like 'whoa whoa whoa'. What the hell was that?

[cocoapuppy12]

when did she mess up?

[LunaCullen6]

when rita said something about the houses...i haven't seen the vid since i posted this...but she did mess up.

[tourguidegal]

It doesn't get much better than for sheer fun!!

[oceansgal]

haha bette is so random.

[problem49]

You can take the girl out of the show, but you can't take the show out of the girl.

[SJMillerinSFCA]

Bravo Ladies !!!

[tisgemuh]

LMAO! Bette Midler is so funny. They're all so theatrical.

[muffinman4500]

hahahhahaha i love this [:

[LovelyLady1988]

What's funny is, and no disrespect meant, you can tell who really did movie and theatre :) Especially Chita.

[lilgerry]

actually all three "really" did movie and theatre

[Xeria]

tks for posting

[Buck61]

what a Gay wet dream!!

[midlerfan69]

This is great. Never saw it before and love it!

[kmontana123]

oh nvm i was half right... she was dubbed only "A Boy Like That" she sang everything... i just checked it

[kmontana123]

I thought Rita Moreno didn't sing in the movie? If you put the CD in, it says that Betty Wand did the voice of Anita

[ethelannrocks]

"She looks older than the movie"? Uh... you understand DECADES have been gone by? Rita is still *gawgeous!* This video is awesome but suffers from fairly crappy lighting, FWIW.

[kingRaybear]

Two Divas from puerto rico and my favorite diva from usa,whats much better can be.Bravo

[lmpiccolo]

Although Chita Rivera is puerto rican, she was born in the usa. But i agree that nothing can get better then these three together.

[reallyharried]

Puerto Rico IS in the U.S.A.!

[lmpiccolo]

Chita was born in Washington, D.C.

[reallyharried]

So she's Washitonian of Puerto Rican extraction... ????

[digital2500]

My mother went to high school with Chita! This is incredible video.

[pgharett]

Thanks for the video. I love watching Rita sing and dance. That outfit looks like the same one she's wearing in "Rita Moreno 1999 Memorial Day Concert" that I posted (2 clips). I love where she hikes up her skirt toward the end-great legs!!

[BestMusicalMoments]

Umm i'm sorry, but which one is Rita?

[virgirle]

The third one entering the stage.

[kingRaybear]

the one have more awards than anibody in USA,and she is puerto rican too.

[tubbyhead]

how old is chita in this?

[kingRaybear]

chita is running around 75 years,and she dance like the firts time.Bravo for her.

[cserannie]

awesome clip but what is bette doing there really??? I love her but without her the scene would be so much better...

[ccbloom123]

Great to see something we have never seen before. It was fun to watch

[njs2311]

bette: great voice but no hip-action! :-)

[reallyharried]

less than Rita and Chita; the contrast is good ... and telling. Hip isn't her thing.

[johnnycher2]

i only like Bette here...

[Cance251]

@johnnycher2 Are you serious? I found it kind of awkward watching Bette Midler in this performance.

[audig4]

wow what a treat! 3 forever divas. thanks for posting

[Bdwaybuff]

How fun! Think it really might have been better without Bette (God I never thought I'd say that) but lots of fun

[reallyharried]

I thought it was really cute when she flubbed and Rita said the line, and Bette thanked her... that's good show biz... that's live entertainment by real people, highly accomplished, but real people!

[reallyharried]

I mean Chita said the line....

[LBVIC]

I think this was a SHANTI fundraiser in the 90s.

I forgot all about this night. There used to be so many events back then.

[missmluva]

haha Bette disaster with the lyrics! and the top sliding down! shame still an awesome video!

[rubenfiero]

SUPER!!SUPER!!

[geyser]

Thanks so much!

[justabroadwaybay91]

3 of my faves all in one video!! life is good :)

[jonnbristow]

Simply A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

[rekkha]

chita and rita..i see the connection with west side story...bette? she just lost me there...