Hurricane Rita

Marking her first
Los Angeles stage appearance in 25 years, Rita Moreno
will bring her acclaimed one-woman cabaret act Little
Tributes to the Conga Room for a single night on
February 19. One of a very short list of performers to win
an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy, the Puerto
Rico–born, New York–bred spitfire has
also won generations of fans with her portrayal of Anita in
the 1961 film version of West Side Story, plus
her work on PBS’s The Electric Company and
HBO’s Oz. Still sassy at 77, Moreno told
Advocate.com why she’s been cruising with the gay
community since her role as a bathhouse betty in
The Ritz.

Advocate.com: You most recently performed Little
Tributes at San Francisco’s Rrazz Room. Did
gay fans come out to show their support?Rita Moreno: They did, and it was great to see
them again. I played Norma Desmond in Sunset
Boulevard in London, so I do a big chunk from that in
the show, and of course gay people just love it -- gay
men, especially, but I get a lot of gay women at my
show too.

What will you be wearing at the Conga Room? Something you will want on your body but
can’t have. [Laughs] For starters, I
wear spectacular shoes. I get on top of the piano a lot, so
the shoes are on full display. And I have some beautiful
gowns. I’ve stopped wearing separates now, so I
have a burnt-orange silk velvet cowl-neck dress that
goes down to the floor, and that one’s a big hit
with the gay crowd. Oh, they go mad! Another is a Diane von
Furstenberg black-and-white print that fits like a
sausage skin -- they all do, actually. But gay men and
women seem to particularly love that I go bare-armed,
which at 77 is a bit of a feat.

Do you have a multitude of gay stylists? Oh, no, it’s all me, a team of one. I am
a multitude. Glamour is my middle name, and you barely
see it anymore -- especially in cabaret. So I go out
there dressed to fuckin’ kill, my dear.

Your show celebrates some unexpected and
underappreciated musical gems from Broadway classics.
Likewise, is there a lower-profile role on your
résumé that’s worthy of more attention? Yes, as a matter of fact. I played Vince
D’Onofrio’s mother in Law and Order:
Criminal Intent in three episodes and died in
the final one. It was a marvelous part. She's dying of
cancer, and she’s schizophrenic, so I look like the
wrath of God in it. After the first day of makeup, I
said, “Do not bring a mirror to me. I do not
want to see myself.”

Have you ever played a lesbian role? No. Isn’t that ridiculous?

Not even your guest spot as Coach Stone on The Nanny? [Laughs] Oh, you remember that one, huh?
She could’ve been. She was more dykey than
anything else. That woman was a guy!