On Your Feet! (Broadway)

"'On Your Feet!' is that rare bird, a musical that delivers on all levels…We start, therefore, with music that surpasses much of the music performed in musicals. With that as the basis of the show, the book, choreography and direction need to be just as good. Consider it done with two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell directing, with choreography by Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo and an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris." Full Review

"You will do as the title tells you and be 'On Your Feet' because this dazzling and delightful musical will lift you up like nobody’s business…Here the authors have let the music do the talking and the story follow in its footsteps. The result is a perfect 10. Fun, tears, greats songs and dancing…The warp and woof of story and music blend to make an evening that does justice to Estefan’s tale. This show does not pretend to be anything other than what it is." Full Review

"Alexander Dinelaris’ deftly written script and Jerry Mitchell’s wonderfully inventive direction pretty much overcome the by-the-numbers feel and laboured approach than can afflict biographical jukebox musicals. And even if they didn’t, the plentitude of rousing musical numbers, with Sergio Trujillo’s lusty choreography taking hip-swivelling to new levels of achievement, would certainly be enough to justify this show…A great – even inspiring – entertainment." Full Review

"This show not only met our expectations - it exceeded them! 'On Your Feet' will please the casual Gloria fan and also satisfy her most ardent admirers…The music really shines in this show! It may surprise you how many ballads and midtempo songs are featured - but the show ends with a bang, concert-style. Literally! There's a nearly 6 minute encore medley of uptempo hits to send you off on your way and raving to all your friends about how good 'On Your Feet' is!" Full Review

"Director Jerry Mitchell deftly helmed the production, keeping with the bright colors and sequins grounded with the heart-warming aspect of the importance of family. The audience was with the story every step of the way. Every laugh landed, lines got applause in the middle of the show, and there was plenty of cheering throughout...a bombastic, feel-good story with an amazing cast and fantastic music pulling everyone along for the ride. Do not miss out!" Full Review

"An engaging jukebox musical that depends heavily on the music of the Estefans and the Miami Sound Machine to tell the story of the iconic couple. The musical highlights several important themes and raises a considerable collection of rich and enduring questions...Under Jerry Mitchell’s able direction, the cast is uniformly brilliant…'On Your Feet!' will be around for some time. Enjoy the music and the story and be inspired." Full Review

"Songs are anchored by the dialogue - which fit seamlessly - rather than shoehorned in...Credit Alexander Dinelaris, who penned the book. While he chronicles Estefan's musical ascension, he also tackles family, immigration, the American Dream and the record industry - creating a touching, entertaining story. Combined with Jerry Mitchell's fast-paced direction and a hot orchestra, it's an on-your-feet tribute to the enormously hardworking duo." Full Review

" From the musicians to the dancers to the scene-change-ography and the fierce abuela, the Marquis Theatre is on fire! Jerry Mitchell squeezes every ounce of excitement out of the Estefans' music and Sergio Trujillo mirrors that with the spicy choreography...This show is equally effective in telling the story of the Estefans through their music...I did love this show though, and it's an extremely entertaining night at the theatre." Full Review

"A surefire audience pleaser...Newcomer Ana Villafane is a knockout in the leading role, the dazzling centerpiece of this flashy, splashy spectacle helmed by Jerry Mitchell...Structurally, the show builds to the full flowering of this Cuban-fusion sound, song after familiar song from the Estefan canon, mounted in full production numbers for Villafane’s dynamic voice, backed up by a robust singing-and-dancing chorus. It’s exhausting— but you can’t say it isn’t fun." Full Review

"'On Your Feet!' is every bit as propulsive as the music and the personalities it celebrates. It has the flaws of an authorized biography; it’s worshipful of the central couple...A star is surely born with the Gloria of Ana Villafañe… As story-telling, 'On Your Feet!' can be as clunkily generic as the title. But there’s a deep well of life in the music that comes across powerfully in the staging — especially in that central supernova performance by a young actress I hope we’ll be seeing a lot... Full Review

"In the course of the show's move from Chicago director Jerry Mitchell has greatly improved the storytelling and excised a few lingering cliches of the genre. In its final form, 'On Your Feet!' is at once a classy and populist entry into the Broadway season, offering enough of a musical entertainment to please those who danced to Estefan in the 1990s, and also has enough Latin flavor to appeal to an emerging audience usually ignored by Broadway." Full Review

"This big dance jukebox musical extravaganza that not only has you dancing in your seat but in the aisles...The hot Latin/Pop rhythms, choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, are outstanding, albeit somewhat repetitious…With a book by Alexander Dinelaris and direction by Jerry Mitchell, the beat and story make for a real impact…All in all, this hi-energy production will get you on your feet because the rhythm is gonna get you!" Full Review

"If you aren't humming a Gloria Estefan hit when you leave, it might be time to check your pulse. The infectious, earnest musical 'On Your Feet!' initially stutters out the gate and ends somewhat awkwardly, but has a fun, percussive middle, even as it skates perilously close to melodrama. It's saved by its genuine heart — and a list of great tunes, ones that nicely make the transition from radio to stage…’On Your Feet!’ is a fine addition to the ranks of jukebox musicals." Full Review

"There’s lots of dancing to keep the simple story moving at a brisk space and the always in motion cast even makes a couple of forays into the audience where they might snatch you out of your seat and have you join in the celebration...'On Your Feet' will most likely get you on your feet and that’s a good thing." Full Review

"Keeping the beat in upbeat, it’s the songs and the dancing, with a strong script, that are the big draw here. 'On Your Feet!' features many fabulous dance numbers, performed by the energetic and nimble corps, but none is more impressive than one danced in wooden sandals...'On Your Feet!' is a grand time for anyone who likes a good musical. 'On Your Feet!' is fortunate in having an intrinsically moving story for its wonderful cast to tell through its well-honed plot and exuberant music/dance." Full Review

"You don’t need to be a Gloria Estefan fan to enjoy 'On Your Feet' – but you’ll certainly be one after you leave the theater...The show acts as a high-energy concert of sorts, interlaced with an inspiring and touching story told in between the classic numbers. Featuring a detailed look at fame, family, and assimilation, 'On Your Feet' is the type of feel-good production that so many jukebox musicals strive to achieve but rarely actually do." Full Review

"Not everyone has a story worth telling, but that is just not the case with Gloria and Emilio Estefan...This is part musical, part concert, part love story and 100% pure inspiration...This show is bursting at the seams with many of Gloria Estefan’s hit songs played by an orchestra filled with original members of The Miami Sound Machine...There was keen attention to detail in selecting this amazing cast, and Segarra and Villafañe are a magical duo." Full Review

"As far as these things go, 'On Your Feet!' is better than most. It won't change the course of musical theater, but you will have a really good time seeing it…This two-hour-twenty-minute concert-with-plot pleasantly breezes by, held together by Alexander Dinelaris' smartly efficient book…'On Your Feet!' suffers from the same flaws inherent in any musical that attempts to employ a musician's catalogue to tell a somewhat whitewashed version of a his or her life." Full Review

"It’s a pleasure to welcome 'On Your Feet!,' the rare show that earns its exclamation mark...This biographical jukebox musical packages every showbiz cliché...Sergio Trujillo’s high-energy choreography propels the action, but the show belongs to its cast. Villafañe’s Gloria is sexy in an approachable, likable way, while Segarra’s Emilio is just as hot but also endearingly self-deprecating. Add a brass-heavy orchestra, and you have a hit." Full Review

"Alexander Dinelaris’s book is heavy on the Hollywoodian clichés, but it has its charming moments, too, and every other aspect of the production, directed by Jerry Mitchell, is slick and satisfying, starting with the smoking-hot choreography of Sergio Trujillo and the tear-it-up onstage band...Yes, I know, it’s just a jukebox musical, but I liked 'On Your Feet!' In fact, I liked it a lot—and I think you might, too." Full Review

"The book here by Alexander Dinelaris is hardly a model of robust dramatic construction…But the story is packed with heart, above all in its tender depiction of the couple's sustaining love.…Musical-theater purists will sniff, but audiences looking for entertainment with emotional uplift will get what they came for. Even at its most shameless it's impossible to deny the production's generosity of spirit." Full Review

"Shows like 'On Your Feet!,' so joyfully exuberant, manage to find that sweet spot for audiences and it is pointless to even try to pick it apart. So even if it's a formulaic jukebox musical that would be right at home in Vegas, 'On Your Feet!' is doing exactly what it promises, and fans are up on their feet and cheering…Director Jerry Mitchell does it again, exploiting the show's feel-good vibe. There's just enough heartfelt emotion to draw us in." Full Review

“The appropriate doses of delight are dispensed from the stage all through 'On Your Feet!'...The book by Alexander Dinelaris conveys vivaciously that theirs is a partnership in every sense…'On Your Feet!' now takes its place in the upper echelons of the jukebox genre… If the Estefans’ musical remains pretty much by-the-numbers, at least those numbers really rock.” Full Review

"As a jukebox musical, the narrative in 'On Your Feet!' is not as seamless as 'Jersey Boys' or even 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,' but it doesn’t matter. Broadway has never mounted a jukebox show with a Latin, salsa-tinged flavor until this, and the Estefans were indeed trailblazers...When the focus is on music and dancing, the show more than delivers...Jerry Mitchell directs everything nicely with his usual entertaining touches, making 'On Your Feet!' a 'Gloria-fied' hit." Full Review

"'On Your Feet' is a play in which good news always far outweighs the bad — both in its story and in the production. It’s a syrupy, feel-good bio-musical, sure, but a near-perfectly executed one, with great songs and amazing dancing…The band sounds great, Jerry Mitchell’s direction is unsurprisingly crisp and polished, and Sergio Trujillo’s exuberant, Latin-flavored choreography is ferociously fun to watch." Full Review