In the presence of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, a fully Dutch cast performed the musical for the first time in Utrecht, Netherlands on October 17, 2017. International tours and sit down productions have also been announced for Germany, Italy, Mexico, Japan and France.
[5] The musical had its world premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago from June 2, 2015 – July 5, 2015 (directed by Jerry Mitchell and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo).
Designers include David Rockwell (sets), Emilio "Esosa" Sosa (costumes) and Kenneth Posner (lighting).
In a flashback, Gloria is younger, playing the guitar and singing to send a recording to her father, José Fajardo, who is stationed in Vietnam.
As time progresses, Gloria is introduced by her grandmother to Emilio Estefan, who is a part of a group, then called the Miami Latin Boys.
Gloria, who is studying to be a psychologist and spending most of her extra time caring for her father through his battle with multiple sclerosis, is initially resistant to the idea of performing.
Gloria Fajardo was offered a contract with Twentieth Century Fox to be the Spanish voice of Shirley Temple, but her father forbade it.
("Mi Tierra") Later, Gloria and Emilio propose a new song to Phil, a record label executive, but he refuses to publish it because it is in English.
Gloria initially performs her new song at a Bar Mitzvah for a boy named Jeremy, and Phil refuses to attend.
During her surgery, Gloria imagines seeing her late father José and her grandmother Consuelo, who had passed away a couple of months before ("Wrapped").
Jeshian van Doorn, Luca Orlando, Roemer Vonk, Ricardo Willems Jonathan Naranjo, Alejandro Puentes Motato.
In his review for The New York Times, Charles Isherwood wrote that "the recipe may be familiar, but the flavor is fresh in this undeniably crowd-pleasing musical."
"Starring a vibrant Ana Villafañe as Ms. Estefan and a commanding Josh Segarra as her husband and musical collaborator, the musical neatly showcases the boppy dance-floor hits and swoony ballads that made Ms. Estefan and the band Miami Sound Machine a radio and MTV staple in the 1980s... On Your Feet!
"[23] David Rooney, in his review for The Hollywood Reporter, wrote, "Just try keeping the grin off your face when two massive human chains—of cast and audience members—flood the aisles of the Marquis Theatre... Charting the rise to international superstardom of Gloria Estefan, and her triumphant re-emergence after near-tragedy struck, On Your Feet!
is an infectious account of the lives and careers of the Latin music crossover sensations... featuring a star-making lead performance from radiant newcomer Ana Villafañe.
It's impossible to deny the production's generosity of spirit.... the story is packed with heart, above all in its tender depiction of the couple's sustaining love.
"[24] Peter Marks, in his review for The Washington Post wrote "The buoyant Estefan songs... are rolled out with carbonated flair by director Jerry Mitchell and choreographer Sergio Trujillo.
In the guise, too, of actor-singers Ana Villafañe and Josh Segarra, the redoubtable Estefans are evoked here with the requisite sexiness and effervescence; the book by Alexander Dinelaris...conveys vivaciously that theirs is a partnership in every sense....takes its place in the upper echelons of the jukebox genre..."[25] Before the Dutch version even started performing, the casting already faced some criticism.
People found the casting of Dutch born Caucasian musical actors in the major roles of Gloria, Emilio and Consuelo "white washing".
"[3] In December, the newspaper followed up with a report that the show was continuing to flourish at the box office in spite of a divisive presidential election season, "Immigration may be polarizing as a political issue, but on Broadway the immigrant stories are doing quite well...On Your Feet!, the new musical about Gloria and Emilio Estefan's journey from anonymity in Cuba to stardom in the United States, had its strongest showing yet last week, grossing $1,331,812.
which won good reviews last week, saw a leap of $123,518 and played to houses that were at 96% capacity..."[28] On April 24, 2024, it was announced that a film adaptation is in early development at Sony Pictures and Davis Entertainment.