Let’s start with a hot take: Gloria Estefan is an underrated and underappreciated artist.
Yes, the first Latina to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the seller of over 100 million records, winner of eight Grammys, possessor of a Presidential Medal of Freedom, breaker of glass ceilings – among many other accomplishments – is undervalued. It’s the only explanation for the relatively sparse crowd at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on opening night of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan. It’s a shame because somewhere in a musical theater dictionary, there’s a photo from this show next to crowd-pleaser.
On the bright side, it gave the folks in the theater more room to dance in their seats.
The biographical jukebox musical, brought to town by Theatre Under the Stars, traces the life of Gloria Estefan, from a young girl growing up in Miami with a talent for music to her meeting with Emilio Estefan, at the time the leader of a local band Miami Latin Boys. Of course, after hearing her sing, Gloria was invited to join the band, which got a new name: Miami Sound Machine. Despite finding success in Latin markets, the couple got pushback after expressing an interest in recording in English and crossing over. They set out to prove the disbelieving exec wrong, resulting in a truly inspired set piece that finds Gloria taking their latest song, “Conga,” from a bar mitzvah to an Italian wedding and then a Shiner’s convention in Vegas.
The 1985 song was a hit, as you probably know if you’ve ever attended any function that included a dance floor. The song climbs the charts and the success is immediate and intense, leading to two years of non-stop touring. Gloria struggles with the schedule (a “gypsy” lifestyle her mother calls it disparagingly) and an eventual estrangement from her mother. It all comes to a halt, however, in 1990, when a semi-truck crashed into the Estefans’ tour bus on the way to a show. The accident resulted in a broken vertebra, fears she might never walk again, a surgery where two titanium rods were put into her spine, and a long recovery. The musical concludes with her return to the stage at the American American Music Awards in 1991.
The book by Alexander Dinelaris doesn’t exactly go out of its way to reinvent the wheel, and it doesn’t have to. It’s a biographical jukebox musical, and one of the better ones at incorporating the Estefans’ music to serve the story. And that story is a feel-good story and a story about the American dream, but at its heart, it’s really a love story, as Gloria’s journey is inexorably intertwined with her husband’s. The heart of the story thumps to a toe-tapping rhythm under the spectacle director/choreographer Luis Salgado helms, buoyed by equally sparkling performances.
Gaby Albo is youthful exuberance and charm as Gloria, her likability unmatched but by herself when she sings. She channels the spirit of Gloria Estefan every second she’s on stage, and Albo is pretty much a constant on stage, with no hiccup in her energy to be seen. No song led by Albo disappoints, but special props go to an earnest and increasingly profound rendition of “Anything for You,” an exhilarating “1-2-3” (that feels as close to a movie montage as it possible can on a stage), and an inspirational “Coming Out of the Dark.” Albo holds her own within a landscape of characters with equally (if not more) intriguing backstories, her brightness preventing Gloria Estefan’s story to dim by comparison.
Briefly, for example, we see Emilio who fled Cuba as a child with his father, leaving his mother behind. We hear about “no Cubans” signs when he arrived in Florida. And Samuel Garnica expresses that history in Emilio’s unwavering belief in his wife and his adamant insistence on his place in America in the face of others that would push back on it. Garnica impressively delivers a gut-punch line, declaring his “the face of America,” with no cringe whatsoever, deserving of the applause it garners. Garnica’s chemistry with Albo is endearing and, of course, there’s his voice, a knockout on songs like “Don’t Wanna Lose You.”
Kristen Tarragó is rigid and stern as Gloria’s mother, Gloria Fajardo, who herself was once a talent offered a one-way ticket to Hollywood and the chance to be the Spanish-speaking voice of Shirley Temple only to be forbidden from following that dream by her father. Tarragó beautifully contrasts that severity with the glimpse we get of her on stage and in her element during a flashback to 1950s Havana and a stirring rendition of “Mi Tierra,” and later, during a heartrending duet on “If I Never Got to Tell You” (a song so perfect for the moment it’s worth mentioning that it is the one and only composed by the Estefans specifically for the show).
As Gloria’s father, a Vietnam vet with multiple sclerosis, Max Cervantes also gets the opportunity to turn in a particularly moving performance during “When Someone Comes Into Your Life.” Sophia Yacap brings a serene sweetness to the show as a young Gloria, Adela Romero is a fan favorite as supportive grandmother Consuelo, there’s the cartoonishly broad Jake Dylan as Phil, and an unbelievably talented ensemble. They show off their dancing pretty much from start to finish, and look no further than their performance of “Reach” for proof of their vocal prowess.
Clifton Chadick’s scenic designs perfectly evoke Miami and Havana, flashily and vividly lit by Ryan J. O’Gara with a strong assist from projection designer Patrick W. Lord. And speaking of flashy and vivid, Jeannette Christensen’s costumes varied from bold, sweeping skirts to track jackets that scream the 1980s, with plenty of glitz and ruffles in between. Diego Garzon’s sound design leaned toward teeth-rattling at times, but certainly made the whole show feel more like a concert.
On the less positive side, plenty of lines were lost during the first act, sometimes because the actors spoke too fast and sometimes under the music. But those are things that can be easily corrected going forward.
In one episode of Friends, Joey enters the girls’ apartment dancing, leading Phoebe to guess that he got a job. Chandler then jokes something along the lines of, “Yeah, either that or Gloria Estefan was right. Eventually, the rhythm is going to get you.” Turns out that the implied threat in that hit song is, in fact, a threat and one that you will find impossible to resist. On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan is as irresistible as the percussive, Latin-infused, earworm-y music its built around. You will want to dance, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes because you will get the chance to get up and groove and you won’t want to miss it.
Performances will continue at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through February 11 at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby. For more information, call 713-558-8887 or visit tuts.com. $25-$139.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
