Rivera Wins Drama League Award for Her Performance in “The Visit”

Chita Rivera is this year’s Drama League darling…

The 82-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress, dancer and singer, the first Hispanic woman and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award, picked up the Distinguished Performance Award at the 2015 Drama League Awards for her role in The Visit.

Chita Rivera in The Visit

Rivera was named the winner during the Drama League’s annual luncheon ceremony May 15. The Broadway favorite and current Tony Awards nominee, beat out the likes of Helen Mirren, Bradley Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal, among many others.

American in Paris bested its Tony Awards competition Fun Home, Something Rotten! and The Visit, along with a number of Off Broadway titles, in the new musical category, while Curious Incident came out on top in a race for the new play trophy that included fellow Tony nominees Hand to God and Wolf Hall.

The full list of 2015 Drama League Awards winners follows:

Distinguished Production of a Musical: “An American in Paris”
Distinguished Production of a Play: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”
Distinguished Revival of a Musical: “The King and I”
Distinguished Revival of a Play: “You Can’t Take It With You”
Distinguished Performance Award: Chita Rivera, “The Visit”
Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theater: Joel Grey
Unique Contribution to the Theater: WNET (Neal Shapiro, David Horn)
Founders Award for Excellence in Directing: Stephen Daldry

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