Entertaining 'On Your Feet!' needs some tweaks
"On Your Feet!" - the new bio-musical about Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan and her producer/composer husband Emilio - has its audience dancing in the aisles. Literally.
During the first act finale at Wednesday's opening, actors pulled audience members to their feet for "Conga," the 1985 hit that launched the Estefans and their band The Miami Sound Machine into pop culture's stratosphere.
The brassy, percussive "Conga" marked the first of Estefan's 38 No. 1 hits, which spurred sales of 100 million albums worldwide and made her the most successful Latin crossover artist in pop music history.
The Broadway-bound "On Your Feet!" chronicles the Miami couple's career as well as their endearing, enduring romance, which is among the highlights of the show directed by Jerry Mitchell with a book by Academy Award-winner Alexander Dinelaris ("Birdman"). The music consists of irresistible up-tempo tunes pairing Latin rhythms and intonation with dance-pop sensibility, along with lush ballads showcasing Gloria Estefan's rich, ample alto. And all of them are zestfully played by conductor Lon Hoyt's onstage orchestra, which comprises Miami Sound Machine members.
The songs serve more as soundtrack as opposed to a proper score, where songs amplify characters and advance the plot. Sweetly sentimental and told with straightforward simplicity, the lightweight "On Your Feet!" unfolds like a Lifetime movie.
Pretty, talented teenager Gloria (Ana Villafañe), daughter of Cuban immigrants, meets handsome musician Emilio (Josh Segarra) and joins his band. They make music and fall in love over the objections of Gloria's disapproving mother (a purposeful, sensitive Andréa Burns).
Embraced by the Latin community, Gloria and Emilio reject efforts to pigeonhole them and insist on crossing into the mainstream over the objections of record executive Phil (Lee Zarrett). They persist and prevail until a 1990 tour bus accident fractures Gloria's back, jeopardizing her life and career.
The exuberant cast flawlessly performs Sergio Trujillo's striking, sexy choreography. And while there isn't much depth to the characters, the winsome Villafañe has enormous appeal and first-rate vocal chops, although she lacks Estefan's warmth and resonance. Segarra charms, but singing isn't his strong suit. Vocally, he's the weak link. But the show's biggest laughs come from his well-delivered malapropisms, and the biggest applause comes from him telling off a label exec who doubts their mainstream appeal.
The most poignant moment rises from a duet between Segarra and Burns as their characters prepare for Gloria's surgery, each fearing "the last goodbye." Another memorable scene unfolds with Gloria seeking advice that her ailing father (Eliseo Roman) can no longer provide in "When Someone Comes into Your Life." The thing is, we're not invested enough in the characters for the scenes to pack the emotional wallop they intend.
That's not the only problem. Some staging needs rethinking. The plantation shutter backdrops sliding in and out are distracting, as is the dancing in the fantasy sequence that unfolds during surgery to repair Gloria's fractured spine. Lovely as it is, the dancing gets in the way of the song about a woman reaching out spiritually to those she loves.
Lastly, a reference late in the show to Emilio's flight from Cuba comes out of nowhere, highlighting the show's failure to address the immigrant experience, an issue hinted at but never fully explored. It's a missed opportunity for a show that has potential.
“On Your Feet!”
★ ★ ½
Location: Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or
broadwayinchicago.comShowtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through July 5. No 7:30 p.m. show June 28, no 8 p.m. show July 4Running time: About two hours, 10 minutes, with intermissionTickets: $33-$100Parking: Nearby parking garages and metered street parkingRating: For most audiences