Rosie Perez Nervous About Broadway Outing in "The Ritz"

Rosie Perez admits she's nervous as she's getting ready to star in the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally's "The Ritz" -- especially when it comes to dancing in the musical, despite her background as a choreographer. "If I may say so myself, I'm an excellent choreographer. I have a lot of room to grow, but I think I'm very good with vision in regard to dance.

Rosie Perez Nervous About Broadway Outing in "The Ritz"

However, I've never been a good dancer," declares a candid Perez, who will play the role that won Rita Moreno a 1975 Tony, an entertainer in a gay bathhouse where a man is hiding out from the mob. The revival starts previews Sept. 14 with an October opening set.

"People who've seen 'Do the Right Thing' say, 'Oh, my gosh, you're an amazing dancer!' But if you talk to a true hip-hop dancer from back in the day, they'd say, 'She's all right.' That's the reason why I never really put myself out there, because I understood my limitations," she adds. Perez is making the most of the time she has to prepare for the role. "I have to take voice and dance lessons. It's going to be a challenge, and plus, this is Broadway, so it's a whole new medium for me."

Joe Mantello, who has directed such hits as "Wicked" and "Assassins," is directing the politically incorrect play. He also directed Perez in "Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune." "There are no boundaries in this musical," Rosie claims. "Everybody is going way over the top, and it's just a barrel of laughs."

A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE: Speaking of Rita Moreno, the esteemed performer -- who's an Oscar, Emmy and Grammy winner in addition to having her Tony -- tells this column she had to make sure her role in CBS's upcoming "Cane" drama would be worth her while. "When you do a pilot, there are so many things to cover -- I'm barely there," says Rita, who plays the matriarch in the series that also stars Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo. "So I said (to the producers), 'I'm coming to see you because I'm so interested in this vehicle, you have to absolutely guarantee that I'll have a lot more to do.' And they said, 'Oh, absolutely.'"

Moreno says she was compelled to join the "Cane" troupe because "there are a lot of firsts in this. It's about a successful and wealthy and educated Hispanic family, and you've never seen that on TV before. That right away was immensely appealing to me. We've got a gorgeous-looking cast, a lot of astonishing dramatic arcs." She also found appealing the fact that "Cane" is "a multi-generational show. You have the teenagers, the 20-year-olds, then you have the generation of Jimmy Smits and Paola Turbay(cq), and Hector and I, yet another generation."

She says she and Elizondo have wanted to work together for years. "I was cast first and he told me he came aboard when he heard I was going to be playing the wife, which was very sweet. We really admire each other's work." She adds, "Hector is a dream dancer. He really can dance, and he and I dance fabulously together."

GETTING INTO CHARACTER: Rebecca Romijn tells us that her "Ugly Betty" role as transsexual Alexis Meade turned into more than she first anticipated -- that she initially thought of Alexis as "a lot of fun" to play, but has come to feel a sense of responsibility to the character as well as to the real-life transgender community. With "Betty" back in production, Romijn says, "There are definitely surprises ahead in the new season -- of course. It's a telenovela." She also lets us know that she and groom Jerry O'Connell, who has his own "Carpoolers" series coming up on ABC this fall, are still finding plenty of newlywed time. "The schedule is one of the great things about being in an ensemble cast."