Chita rises again in 'The Visit'

NEW YORK — Late in the new Broadway production of The Visit (*** out of four stars), two women occupy center stage, one in her 80s and the other in her 20s. The younger one, Michelle Veintimilla, is lovely and dances vividly. But we can't take our eyes off the older woman, whose smallest gestures sparkle with sureness and poise.

She is the one and only Chita Rivera, playing Claire Zachanassian, an oft-married (and widowed), extremely wealthy woman who has returned to the European town she fled as a teenager. Claire has come back to find an old love, and to have vengeance. She sings to her younger self, played by Veintimilla: "Every fond hello ends in goodbye/What seems certain to live will die."

The song, Love and Love Alone, is a poignant highlight of this musical, which opened Thursday at the Lyceum Theatre, and pretty much sums up its bleak spirit. Based on Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play, as adapted by Maurice Valency, Visit marks the final collaboration of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb, the team behind such darkly glittering classics as Chicago and Cabaret.

Kander's melodies and Ebb's lyrics are even chillier here, nodding more directly than ever to their predecessors Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. (The suitably stringent book is by Terrence McNally, who previously teamed with Kander and Ebb, and Rivera, on Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Rink.) Yet there is also an oddly sentimental streak in this Visit, which calls for another pair of actors to play Anton Schell, the man who loved and betrayed the youthful Claire.

The excellent Roger Rees gives a nuanced, moving performance as the older Anton, and John Riddle embodies masculine grace playing him as a young man. But as Riddle and Veintimilla watch and shadow the more mature stars — dancing and sometimes singing — the mood becomes one of melancholy longing, bordering on melodrama. This seems at odds with the Brechtian vibe established by the severe-looking townsfolk surrounding them.

Though new to Broadway, Visit premiered in 2001 and has had several productions since. The current incarnation, which premiered at last year's Williamstown Theatre Fesitival, has been revamped and streamlined by John Doyle, a director widely praised for his minimalist interpretations of Stephen Sondheim musicals. In 100 minutes, Doyle thoughtfully touches on a range of subjects: mortality, bigotry, greed, revenge, regret. Scott Pask's scenic design and Ann Hould-Ward's costumes generally strike a stark, somber tone, though there are mischievous, ultimately sinister flashes of neon yellow.

Ultimately, the show's most valuable asset is Rivera. Walking with a cane, the 82-year-old powerhouse expertly conveys her character's fragility and acerbic wit. Yet even while playing a woman who has been broken by bitterness, Rivera can't help but be a transcendent force. Her presence alone makes The Visit worth the trip.