Posted: 8/19/17 at 11:47pm
Finally got to see it on its closing week. Loved First Act. Second Act - not so much. But wish it big audiences on tour.
Also: is this its first tour?
Posted: 8/19/17 at 11:49pm
From a late May 2017 article that announces its closing:
"The production, which hasn’t yet recouped its initial investment, will stick around on Broadway through the tourism-fueled weeks of the summer in order to pull in as much Broadway revenue as it can before it shutters."
And yes, this will be the show's first national tour.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 1:07am
Skip23 said: "Loved First Act. Second Act - not so much. But wish it big audiences on tour. "
Interesting. I felt very strongly the exact opposite. I thought the show was only redeemed because of the last 30-or-so minutes of act 2. To each their own, I guess!
Posted: 8/20/17 at 1:11am
I just don't think her music lends itself to a Broadway show. It's not telling a story, and her life isn't that interesting. I think they tried, but it's just wasn't that exciting. I'd have preferred a musical using her music w/o her life story.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 11:22am
I agree. Her story wasnt interesting. And all that stuff about the accident (and gym rehab!) sunk it for me. They shoulda made Abuela Mia.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 11:25am
I was born and raised in Miami, so a lot of the show touched home for me. During the 80s, Miami changed dramatically due to the migration of the Cubans. So I did have a greater appreciation of the musical. That said, I was disappointed with it as I thought they could have done so much more. The best part of the show was the last 30 minutes. They should have played more of her hits throughout the show.
Even with that, I never thought the material could sustain a long running show on Broadway. It actually lasted much longer than I expected. The target audience for this show is Hispanic. Yet, Hispanics make up a small percentage of Broadway audiences. The formula and material for this show couldn't sustain its self on Broadway. The same applies to the tour. Other than in cities with a large Hispanic population, I can't imagine it doing well.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 11:42am
I had so much fun at this show. I think this will do very well on the road.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 12:40pm
I also was born and raised in Miami and Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine was a very present figure to anyone living there during the late 70s and witnessing their global success in the 1980s, 90s, etc. We saw this one time hometown persona: Gloria Estefan, become one of many pop icons and her and The Miami Sound Machine having these hits through the years. It was unexpected, really.
Now, after saying all that, I also didn't think the musical would last more than a few months. When it was first announced, I cringed. I thought to myself, here is another musical group going after the MAMMA MIA! brass ring. We had LENNON, GOOD VIBRATIONS, RING OF FIRE that all tried and with a great catalogue of hits as well. The Estefan's life story? Really?
Anyway, I did see the show and as I expected, it was candy coated to save its life. It was the story the Estefans wanted to tell. They definitely allowed LOTS of liberty in its inaccuracies that made anyone who knew their true story, quite dizzying. Just the simple fact that ON YOUR FEET! has Gloria sporting long curly hair throughout the entire musical shows you how Gloria presented her character the way SHE wanted. A simple Google search you will see she sported short haircut up until the mid-80s.
Also, her sister was NEVER part of the group. The Miami Sound Machine began with 2 girl singers, Gloria being one of them and her cousin the other. In true DREAMGIRLS fashion, her cousin (along with her husband) was let go from the band to focus on Gloria as the sole singer of the band. None of this is told nor mentioned in ON YOUR FEET!
I could go on but you get the picture. An unauthorized ON YOUR FEET! would have made one amazing musical. The famous bus accident being just one of the MANY dramatic plot points - not the ONLY one.
The ORIGINAL Miami Sound Machine (yes, that's Gloria with the boy haircut - no long curly hair, folks!):
Posted: 8/20/17 at 2:01pm
BrodyFosse, I agree and disagree. Could the story been better? Absolutely. While true lots of facts were left out and sugarcoated, would it have made the show anymore successful to put the real facts in? Probably not. Other than hard core fans or people that lived in Miami during that time period, no one really cares. Certainly not the typical theater goer.
At the end of the day, it is a jukebox musical. Jersey Boys and Beautful were both written and authorized by the artists. Both Jersey Boys and Beautiful left out significant facts and the facts put in were sugarcoated. What makes Jersey Boys and Beautiful different is the demographic that appreciates the music and material makes up a large percentage of Broadway audiences. The demographic that appreciates Gloria Estefan's music makes up a small percentage of Broadway audiences.
Can it also be said that it might have been too early for a jukebox musical on Gloria Estefan? Probably.
Where I think On Your Feet missed the mark was it tried too hard to create a story, instead of embracing that it was nothing more than a jukebox musical. They should have focused more on the music. Other than Conga (which I feel could have been done so much better) and the last few minutes of the Mega Mix, it was too slow and boring. I wished the show focused more on the development of their songs. All of the songs in the Mega Mix should have been played throughout the show in their entirety. Instead many of their hits are crammed into 4 minutes. I think the show could have been more fun by playing more of their hits. For me, I only saw the show once. Most shows I like, I see at least 2-3 times. I just don't think there is a lot of support for the show as I think it missed the mark.
Updated On: 8/20/17 at 02:01 PM
Posted: 8/20/17 at 2:33pm
Here are The Miami Sound Machine in one of their first television appearances on the Puerto Rican television variety show, "Noche de Gala". In it you will see the original configuration of the group with Gloria and her cousin Merci Murciano as co-lead singers.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 2:36pm
This will do fabulously on tour. It was truly horribly written and structured theatre (in my opinion), but it's bursting with explosive fun, and I think nationwide audiences will head to it.
Posted: 8/20/17 at 2:42pm
It will definitely do great on the road. On a separate note Merci and her husband Raul were not ousted from the group. Raul left and Merci left with him because they not only disagreed with the way Emilio was running the group but that he was pushing Gloria more and more into the forefront. Several other band members would leave the group because of this. Sadly Merci passed away at the age of 50 after a bout with pneumonia.
Updated On: 8/20/17 at 02:42 PM
Posted: 8/20/17 at 3:00pm
It seems to be the challenge of a musical story of a life. How much of that life do you include if it's not a very interesting life - i.e., if the career is the most interesting thing about it. And how do you integrate the songs of a musician's life into the history.
The first act of OYF accomplishes the challenges admirably - and entertains the hell out of the audience. We were buzzing at the Act break. But the second act, focusing heavily on many aspects of the bus accident and Gloria's recuperation, slows down fatally. We lose interest - and the low energy shoe horned songs do nothing to boost the proceedings. I agree with the other post-er - the creators needed another way to tell the story.
But oh, that first act!
Posted: 8/20/17 at 3:28pm
I'm very meh about On Your Feet but I do remember it being fun, especially the Conga at the end of Act 1 and the megamix at the end of the show. I also think Ana Villafane gave an underrated performance. I actually would have nominated her for a Tony over Philippa Soo as sacrilegious as that sounds. It had a nice run on Broadway and I think will do quite well on tour.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 12:12am
I have to say, as a Miami native, Ana's Miami accent was wonderful to hear on Broadway (regardless of how good the show actually was). I'm not a Gloria expert by any means, but growing up in Miami to Cuban parents of a certain generation means you're going to hear her albums. I'm also really enjoying the actual behind the scenes stories not featured in the show. If anyone has anything else they'd like to add (including any website/book or other source that lays their story out), I would love to read it.
Was trying to see what the tour cast looked like and it looks like they got another Miami Cuban native to play Gloria while the Emilio is Mexican. Here's the Gloria singing Mi Tierra a couple years ago. Hoping to see what they all sound like singing actual OYF songs soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEAJL0MVyf4
One of my biggest hopes for the tour is for singers who can do justice to Con los años que me quedan, which is probably my favorite Gloria song next to Mi tierra. The lead on the song on Broadway, well, he tried.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6LjNOYvhMk
