On Your Feet! The Emilio & Gloria Estefan Broadway Musical
Book by Alexander Dinelaris
Featuring Music Produced and Recorded by Emilio & Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
Directed by Jerry Mitchell
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
The Fox Theatre
November 7, 2017
Mauricio Martinez, Christie Prades
Photo by Matthew Murphy
On Your Feet! National Tour
The latest national tour at the Fox is a tuneful crowd-pleaser. On Your Feet! is another in the growing genre of “jukebox bio-musicals”, in the vein of Jersey Boys, Beautiful, and more. This time, the subject is the music and life of Latin-pop music icons Gloria and Emilio Estefan, following their story and featuring many of their well-known hits. With a great cast and an excellent soundtrack, this national tour of the recent Broadway production is an entertaining tribute and a compelling story.
While it’s billed as “The Emilio and Gloria Estefan Broadway Musical”, the focus of the story here is primarily on Gloria (Christie Prades), as well as her personal and professional relationship with musician, producer, and her eventual husband Emilio (Mauricio Martinez). The story follows Gloria as a young child growing up in Miami, where she and her family immigrated from Cuba. Her relationships with her father, Jose Fajardo (Jason Martinez), her grandmother Consuelo (Alma Cuervo), and her mother, also named Gloria (Nancy Ticotin). The young Gloria (Amaris Sanchez and Carmen Sanchez, alternating in the role) starts out playing songs on her guitar, and then grows up taking care of her father as he suffers the progressive effects of MS. She’s not intending a career in music at first, but her grandmother contacts Emilio, who is part of a popular local act called the Miami Latin Boys, and Gloria and her younger sister Rebecca (Claudia Yanez) go to his house for an audition. Eventually, Gloria becomes the lead singer of the band, which gains fame under its new name, Miami Sound Machine, in various countries and crossing over from the Latin market to the Pop market. The show, punctuated with hits like “Anything for You”, “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” and the rousing “Conga”, follows the couple’s rise to international fame as well as personal challenges in relationships with Gloria’s family, and Gloria’s fight to regain her health after a devastating tour bus crash, culminating in her celebrated “comeback” performance of “Coming Out of the Dark” on the American Music Awards broadcast in 1991.
This is a well-produced show, with strong production values including David Rockwell’s versatile set, Emilio Sosa’s detailed costumes, Kenneth Posner’s dazzling lighting, and striking projection design by Darrel Maloney. There’s also vibrant, energetic choreography by Sergio Trujillo, and an engaging book by Alexander Dinelaris that emphasizes the importance of family history and relationships in the Estefans’ lives. The music is the main attraction, with hit after hit well-performed by this excellent cast, but it’s not just a concert. There’s a compelling story here, as well.
The cast is uniformly strong, led by the dynamic, strong-voiced Prades as Gloria, who is well-matched by Martinez in a solid, amiable performance as Emilio. The strength of their relationship is an important part of this story, and both of these two make that relationship work with their excellent chemistry. There are also memorable performances from Cuervo as Gloria’s supportive, persistent grandmother Consuelo, Ticotin as the loving but sometimes overprotective mother Gloria Fajardo, and Jason Martinez as Gloria’s father Jose. The whole cast is strong in support, as well, with an excellent singing and dancing ensemble, helping to bring this story, and the music from the chart-topping hits to lesser-known songs, to life with energy and style.
Although On Your Feet! is going to appeal especially to fans of the Estefans and Miami Sound Machine, the story and music are compelling enough to entertain even those who may not be as familiar with the music. There’s an energetic “Megamix” finale that lives up to the title, as well, bringing the audience member to their feet. It’s a crowd-pleaser in the best sense of that term.
Cast of On Your Feet!
Photo by Matthew Murphy
On Your Feet! National Tour
The National Tour of On Your Feet! The Emilio & Gloria Estefan Broadway Musical is running at the Fox Theatre until November 19, 2017.
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