UCA News

Reynolds Performance Hall To Present Rita Moreno

Conway Institute of Music

By Dylan T. Kinkade, College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office

CONWAY– Legendary actor, dancer and singer Rita Moreno will visit the Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas on Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Morenoโ€™s career spans over 70 years, and she is one of only 12 living performers to have won entertainmentโ€™s grand slam of awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, dubbing her what is referred to as an EGOT.

10/3/2013 Los Angeles, CA TNT Rita Moreno 2014 SAG Life Achievement Award recipient Photo: Mark Hill
10/3/2013
Los Angeles, CA
TNT
Rita Moreno
2014 SAG Life Achievement Award recipient
Photo: Mark Hill

โ€œWhat an honor and a privilege to have someone such as Rita Moreno here in Conway,โ€ said Amanda Horton, director of Reynolds Performance Hall. โ€œI believe this will be the first time we have ever welcomed an EGOT to the Reynolds stage.โ€

Moreno has won two Emmys, the first for her 1977 variety appearance onย The Muppet Showย and the following year for her work onย The Rockford Files. She was awarded a Grammy for her 1972 performance onย The Electric Companyย album,ย based on the long-running childrenโ€™s television show. Morenoโ€™s Oscar came in 1962 when she starred as the Latina spitfire, Anita, inย West Side Story.ย The performance alsoย earned her a Golden Globe. Her Tony win was in 1975 for her comedic role as Googie Gomez in Broadwayโ€™sย The Ritz.

Born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Moreno moved to New York City with her mother at the age of 5. She soon began dance lessons and made her Broadway debut inย Skydriftย at 13. It was there that a talent scout noticed her and arranged a meeting with MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, who then signed her to a film contract.

Her Hollywood career placed her in numerous films with notable stars including Marlon Brando, Esther Williams, Susan Hayward and Gary Cooper. She appeared inย Singinโ€™ in the Rainย starring Gene Kelly and also worked with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr in the classicย The King and I.ย She has also taken the stage in London where she appeared in Hal Princeโ€™s 1962 production ofย She Loves Meย and in the 1997 West End run ofย Sunset Boulevard.

Moreno currently stars in the critically acclaimed Latino remake of Norman Learโ€™s classic sitcom,ย One Day at a Timeย on Netflix. Prior to that, she has guest starred on a variety of other series includingย Jane The Virgin, Greyโ€™s Anatomyย andย Grace and Frankie.

Tickets for the event are $15 and are available online atย uca.edu/reynolds, or visit the Reynolds Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to purchase by phone call UCA Ticket Central at (501) 450-3265, or toll-free from anywhere in Arkansas at 1-866-810-0012.

For more information, contact Horton at (501) 450-3682 orย ahorton@uca.edu.

The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. The collegeโ€™s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visitย www.uca.edu/cfacย or call (501) 450-3293.

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