For over three decades, Gloria Estefan has been making some of the catchiest pop records in the planet; from her seminal “Conga”, to “Rhythm is Gonna Get You”, she became the first Latin artist to “crossover” in the United States, and at the height of her popularity she was commanding the industry in a way no other female artist did, “Madonna doesn’t have this kind of contract…” says a shocked producer upon discovering he has to give in to the whims of the newly crowned pop diva. Estefan’s crossover story is just one of the elements at the center of convoluted Broadway musical On Your Feet!, which chronicles Gloria’s life from her humble beginnings in Havana, to the 1990 accident that almost killed her.
While Gloria Estefan is clearly a woman who contains multitudes, the book by Alexander Dinelaris lacks focus and precision, often reducing some of the most significant moments of her life to mere footnotes (she goes from accepting Emilio Estefan’s proposal, to having a toddler in a matter of minutes, without any explanations, also excluded are the deaths of her father and grandmother, who the show has otherwise suggested were extremely important to Gloria), or worse, significant events are used as sensationalist teasers. For example, from the moment the show opens and we see Gloria (Ana Villafañe) explain how tired she is, and how she has a bad feeling about getting back on the tour bus, we know precisely where Dinelaris wants to take us, and yet it takes an act and a half to get to the terrible car crash. If there’s a storytelling cliché available, Dinelaris made sure to use it in the book; from soap opera-esque foreshadowing, to language puns and double entendres, On Your Feet! has a structure that aimed for fractured cinematic-ness, but ends up merely just being confused. Neither of these issues are improved by Jerry Mitchell’s “more is more” approach to directing either.
Fortunately the show has the music to fall onto, and with songs like “Mi Tierra” (beautifully performed by Andrea Burns as Gloria’s mother) and “Reach” (which is a gorgeous little song, in spite of the cringe worthy setting it’s given in the show), audience members should have a fine time regardless. Needless to say so, the show becomes absolutely alive during “Conga”, in which Mitchell, for once, recurs to storytelling economy to convey the song’s journey from being “too gringo” for Hispanics, and “too ethnic” for Americans, to show it for what it is: perhaps the most fun wedding song of all time.
Even though the show leaves much to be desired, the one element that stands above everything else is Villafañe’s star-is-born performance. Channeling Estefan’s fiery personality, compassion and intelligence, Villafañe has an incomparable stage presence. You simply can not look away when she’s onstage, whether she’s flashing a huge smile, dancing like no one’s watching, or singing heart wrenching ballads that seem to be emanating from her very soul, this is a performance that demands attention, Villafañe’s beat certainly gets you.
