Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff – until 26 October 2019
Reviewed by Rhys Payne
3***
On Your Feet is a new musical which landed in the Wales Millennium Centre, which shines a spotlight on the life and journey to fame of Latin superstar Gloria Estefan – who is someone who I don’t know a lot about. It is a high energy, family-friendly and fun show that everyone can find something to enjoy from the nostalgia to the vibrant routines to the emotional story run constantly throughout the show.
The iconic role of Gloria Estefan was played by Philippa Stefani who showed a physicalised tribute to Gloria in an accurate and respectful way. She was fun and bouncy in the numbers where required, was reflective when needed and showed realistic determination when facing troubles. Philippa took on this role and excelled in every aspect of it which goes to showcase her experience in the business as well as her pure talent for musical theatre. In my opinion, Gloria had many of the best outfits in the entire show which shows the costume designers must have thought carefully about balancing the fame/money side of Gloria’s character alongside the area she lived it, her star quality and nature of the show among other things. This is an incredibly difficult task and so to see this balanced perfectly is a great testament to the team behind the curtains.
Gloria’s mum (Gloria Fajardo) in this production was played by Madelena Alberto who filled this role perfectly. The character is supposed to be cynical of the newfound fame but at the same time protective over her family which is a very realistic depiction of any families mother. Although she is shown as one of the more ‘bad’ characters in this show it is incredible to dislike Gloria Fajardo as she is doing what any mother would do. This again shows the talent of Madelena as she can keep the audience’s sympathy while doing some questionable things which is a very difficult thing to do. The development of this character continues even after the narrative finishes as she is given a solo during the ‘mega-mix’ section at the end of the show. The directorial team thought carefully about the progression of the character when distributing these solos which were great to see but also made sense from a story perspective which is great. Gloria Estefan’s grandmother (Gloria Farajados mother) also appears in this show and my opinion was one of the most entertaining characters. This very stereotypical Nan was played excellently by Karen Mann who delivered many of the more comical lines which had the audience laughing.
I was expecting a big, over-the-top, almost carnival feel to this musical which at certain points it was with massive dance routines and crazy lights but a lot of the numbers in this show was a lot timider than I had anticipated. Upon reflection, however, I believe this was done intentionally to dispel some pre-convinced ideas of Latin communities. In real life its not always a big celebration and the story in this show could not make it this any. The reason not every number is over-the-top is to be a true reflection of people’s whose lives are, like Gloria Estefan where they face serious issues. However when they did, strategically, try to make the party feel it was done excellently. Especially during the club scene which ended act one where dancers came down into the audience and danced with the viewers which was a nice touch.
One scene which will be etched into my brain forever is a scene involving a car when the backdrop of the stage was lit up like a truck/car and the rest of the lights were dim. This was an intense scene where even I in the audience felt scared which is exactly what this effect was supposed to do. The lights and staging for this scene was amazing although what wasn’t was the flailing arms that could be the scene on the lights. I understood what this was supposed to represent but surely they could have thought of a more skilful way to depict it which was on the same level as the fanatic lights and staging in the same scene. The whole show ended with a mega-mix which was made up of Gloria Estefan’s songs which made me realise that I knew a lot more of her songs than I thought. This section involved great choreography and singing which also encouraged the audience to get up and dance. By the end of the mega-mix the entire audience were on their feet which means the songs did what they needed to.
This is an incredibly fun show that will fill your brain with catchy dance music for a long time after the show. It also educated me on Gloria Estefan’s life which is the most basic purpose of the show. I do believe that I may have missed some of the nostalgia of this Jukebox musical but I still left with a happy soul. I would rate this show 3 out of 5 stars.