On Your Feet!

On Your Feet! is the popular stage musical based on the lives of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, whose partnership in the Miami Sound Machine lead to worldwide success and broke new ground for Latin artists on the Billboard Hot 100.  My father in law and his girlfriend invited us for a Saturday matinee at the lovely Miracle Theater in Coral Gables late last month as part of a celebration of my wife's birthday.  I was a teen when Gloria's tunes set the charts afire,  when I was highly receptive to pop music.  Songs like "Rhythm is Gonna Get You" and "Conga" hit with welcome nostalgia, but I think even if I heard them for the first time now I would appreciate their energy and positive vibes.

 

The show played on Broadway for a few years and has since gone international.  My expectations were neutral, but I was quickly swept up in the choreography (by Natalie Caruncho) and sincerity of its telling of the Fajardo family, Cuban immigrants who settled in the Little Havana section of Miami.  Gloria's mother once had the opportunity to be the Spanish voice of Shirley Temple, but had to decline due to her father's objections.  She thus is reluctant to let Gloria pursue her showbiz dream, steering her to get a doctorate in psychology instead (she would ultimately do both). Gloria also spent years tending to her father, who suffered the mental and physical ravages of MS after serving in Vietnam.  It would be her abuela who motivated the shy young girl to sing for her future husband Emilio, member of the Miami Latin Boys.  The rest is, you know...

On Your Feet!, a real crowd pleaser that perfectly balances frivolity and tragedy, also nicely weaves in and out of flashbacks, giving us a well paced history of events and perfectly timed numbers.  All the hits are there, with the addition of  the new tune "If I Never Got to Tell You", co-written by Gloria and her daughter Emily.  There's also plenty of jazz influence and Cuban salsa.  Claudia Yanez and Jason Canela, both from Miami, fill out the lead roles quite naturally.   And Eduardo Hernandez, who plays young Emilio, just tears it up with his dance moves.  Kid is amazing......