USA: Rosie Perez takes to the Broadway stage in "The Ritz."

Record ID: 601142

  • Title: USA: Rosie Perez takes to the Broadway stage in "The Ritz."
  • Date: 18th October 2007
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROSIE PEREZ SAYING: "It is really big shoes to fill. Rita Moreno won a Tony for it. But the way that I approach it is that I have to take that and throw it out of my head. I gave Rita a call and asked her for her blessing, and she was like, 'oh honey, you don't need my blessing. You're going to be fabulous.' Just be Googie Gomez but also bring what I can bring to it as well."
  • Embargoed: 2nd November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVAM6OU27HDJTCWBJH8S4QJI57K
  • Story Text: Rosie Perez revives the role of Googie Gomez in Broadway's "The Ritz." Perez says the slapstick, gay-centric farce is just as funny as it was in 1975.
    Actress Rosie Perez is summoning her inner diva in the Broadway revival of "The Ritz." Opening on Thursday (October 11), "The Ritz" features Perez as Googie Gomez, the resident songstress of a 1970's gay bathhouse.
    The play, written more than 30 years ago by Terrence McNally, is a slapstick comedy which follows a man who hides out in "The Ritz"
    bathhouse to escape the mafia. The man is mistaken by the star-struck Gomez for a producer; he assumes she is a drag queen.
    Perez said the classic story of mistaken identity is timeless.
    "It completely has the same effect and power that it did 30 years ago because it's a farce. It's a comedic farce and a true blue farce will always stand the test of time. I think that it's as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. It's funny. It's so funny. It's so much fun. It's going to be good."
    Gomez was originally played in 1975 by Broadway veteran Rita Moreno, who won a Tony Award for her role. Although Perez said she knew she had big shoes to fill, she got some comfort after speaking with Moreno.

    "I gave Rita a call and asked her for her blessing, and she was like, 'oh honey, you don't need my blessing. You're going to be fabulous.' Just be Googie Gomez but also bring what I can bring to it as well," said Perez.
    Perez, who received an Oscar nomination for her role in 1993's "Fearless," is no stranger to the stage. She starred in Broadway's "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" in 2003.
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