On Your Feet! is at the Durham Performing Arts Center for a brief two-day run, like a ray of sunshine in this spell of cold weather. The jukebox musical uses the music of Gloria Estefan to bring her story to life, from her successes as a musician to her relationship with her husband, Emilio. By the end, you’ll be ready to jump to your feet and sing and dance along. (Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to during the bows!) 

The jukebox musical opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre in 2015 and has since appeared in many countries around the world. The book written by Alexander Dinelaris Jr. does a good job of weaving popular songs like “Conga,” “1-2-3,” and “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” into the story of Gloria’s life. There’s even an original song added, “If I Never Got to Tell You,” written by Gloria and her daughter, Emily Estefan. 

On Your Feet! is a story not just about Gloria’s career or her and Emilio’s love, but also about their experience as immigrants from Cuba to Miami and about the Estefan family. With the help of a short projection screen that moves up and down to create different settings, we follow the family across several countries and decades.  

We first meet Gloria as a little girl, sending recordings of her music to her father who is at war in Vietnam. When he returns debilitatingly ill from Agent Orange exposure, Gloria and her mother must continue to work hard to take care of him, Gloria’s grandmother, and her younger sister Rebecca. Gloria’s mother, also named Gloria, would rather her pursue a career in psychology. Despite getting a psychology degree, Gloria decides to chase her music dreams, with the encouragement of her grandmother and sister, after being discovered by Emilio Estefan and she’s asked to join his band. 

Emilio helps Gloria through her stage fright and her mother’s disapproval, and eventually, the Miami Sound Machine starts booking gigs. They have to fight against music labels and stations that would rather keep them firmly in the Latin market than let them crossover into the mainstream. It’s a testament to Emilio and Gloria’s drive (and stubbornness) that they kept fighting against the odds to reach great success. They also reflect upon how their parents’ fleeing Cuba has impacted their need to succeed in the United States. 

The show ends by depicting Gloria’s struggle to regain her strength and her will to perform after a bus accident left her with a fractured spine that required intensive surgery to fix. Making a show like this about the life of someone still living and thriving always presents an issue of where to end. By focusing on her return to performing after the accident, the audience leaves thinking about Gloria’s resilience and how close the world came to losing her far too soon. 

The highlights of the show are surely the Latin-inspired dancing, which brightened each number, and the talented cast. Kristen Tarragó is fantastic as Gloria, with a killer voice and great stage presence. It’s no easy task to play someone like Gloria Estefan and she does a beautiful job. Samuel Garnica is more than her match as Emilio, with great comedic timing and a lovely voice. The pair’s chemistry helps sell the romance that is at the center of the story. 

(For anyone else who might have wondered like I did, the real Gloria and Emilio are only four years apart in age, so meeting when she was 17 years old is not a red flag, thankfully.) 

Camila Aldet is properly icy as Gloria’s mother, while Adela Romero is lovely and warm as her grandmother. The fact that she reminded me of my own grandmother certainly contributed to my tears during the show. 

Whether you’re a Gloria Estefan superfan or don’t think you know any of her music (I promise you, you actually do), On Your Feet! is an enjoyable watch. While it doesn’t transcend the biopic jukebox musical genre, it also is one of the stronger entries using the formula. 

You can find tickets and more information about the show on DPAC’s website. 

Photo Credit: DJ Corey and Doug Hinebaugh