Although I have seen this show advertised a little, I have not read or heard much about it. I also don’t really know the music of Gloria Estefan (or, rather, I didn’t think that I did) or anything about her life or her story. But, when I friend recommended this show and said that they would like to see it again, I jumped at the chance to go to the theatre and see something new.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from this show. Actually, to be honest, I didn’t really have high hopes for it. However, it really is great! This is Gloria Estefan’s story through her music, and is basically another Tina Turner musical.
Like Tina, the leading lady in this show is absolutely fantastic. Christie Prades is a triple threat, and is completely endearing and inspiring as Gloria. In fact, everyone in this show is brilliant - Madalena Alberto (Gloria Fajardo) is wonderful and has such a good voice (she was superb in Evita at the Dominion in 2014); Karen Mann almost steals the show as Consuelo; and George Ioannides is a complete and utter gentleman as Emilio, and has a great voice. He also has some of the best lines in the show - they are so fiery and on point politically that they get a round of applause from the audience. The ensemble and musicians are also incredible.
The set is a series of simple set pieces (sofa, table, chairs etc.) and sliding panels, simply painted as shutters, which allows the action to move seamlessly between various locations. They also allow for some impressively quick costume changes by Prades. You don’t really get a sense of any particular location, but that doesn’t really matter for this production as you’re still taken on a journey.
I’m not sure, however, that the London Coliseum is necessarily the right venue for this show. The ENO is trying to open its doors to a wider audience by putting on musicals and other productions, but a pop/dance musical seems a little far off the norm for the ENO and, as such, doesn’t seem to be reaching the number of people required to fill the theatre night after night. Don’t get me wrong: the London Coliseum is a beautiful venue, and this show fits perfectly into the space. But I don’t think that the ENO’s marketing, mainstream theatre presence, accessibility or affordability is such that it yet goes sufficiently beyond its usual audiences in order to attract the audience for this show. Productions like Sweeney Todd, Hairspray and Chess sell out at the London Coliseum, but there you have Bryn Terfel and Michael Ball leading the casts, and those productions appeal to the usual ENO audience and most musical theatre fans alike. On Your Feet doesn’t have such headliners drawing an audience, and I honestly don’t know how popular Gloria Estefan is/was in the UK. Tina, on the other hand, was huge here, and so that show seems to have a wider fan base to begin with from which to draw its audiences. It also helps that the Aldwych is somewhat smaller than the London Coliseum! It’s sad that this show isn’t getting the audience numbers and publicity that it deserves because it is a fun, feel-good, inspiring show full of incredibly talented performers.
If you want a good night out with some great, uplifting music, then go and see this show before it ends at the end of the month.