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Why families should see On Your Feet!
We sent Minimasters Poppy and Gracie to see the hit West End musical in London
Based on the true story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s rise to fame at the top of the charts, On Your Feet! uses their esteemed back catalogue of hits to stunning effect – ensuring audiences are treated to a high dose of nostalgia and pop, and, by the end, are well and truly on their feet.
Spanning the highs and lows of the couple’s rise to superstardom, On You Feet! takes you from the streets of Little Havana to the top of the music charts, with Christie Prades and George Ioannides in the starring roles.
We sent ballet, netball and Maths loving sisters – 12-year-old aspiring doctor Poppy and 9-year-old Jamie Oliver-lover baker in the making Gracie – to the musical earlier this month and asked them why families should see the show.
Take a look at what Poppy and Gracie thought of the show below.
What happens in On Your Feet!?
“The show is about Gloria and Emilio Estefan and starts with Gloria as a little girl singing to her dad in the army. She has quite a troubled start in life, having to care for her dad after the war before he dies. Her luck changes when she meets Emilio and he encourages her to sing with his band, The Miami Sound Machine. They work really well together, and manage to make a career as a band, with Gloria becoming the star.
The show is packed with their songs from the ‘80s like Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, 1-2-3, Conga and On Your Feet! It’s a lot of fun!
There’s a really sad bit when the family are involved in a bus crash, when we didn’t know had happened in real life. It looks like Gloria’s career is over, but she manages to overcome the odds and get better so that she can perform again the American Music Awards.”
Why did you like the show?
“We loved all the songs, and it was a really surprising because we didn’t know who Gloria and Emilio Estefan were before the show. We thought their story was really interesting and it was super inspiring – it made us think that anything is possible if you work hard enough at what you loved.
The dancing in On Your Feet! was incredible too – and it was really fun joining in both in our seats, and at the end when everyone came back on stage to do the Conga. We all stood up then and had a proper dance – it was fun!
Our seats were amazing, too – we had such a good view of the stage. The theatre was so nice and looked very posh, so it felt very special waiting for the show to start.”
What were your favourite moments from the show?
“We really liked Gloria’s grandmother – she had loads of really funny bits and kept making everyone laugh.
Another amazing bit was when Gloria first started playing with the band. It was really clever because while she didn’t really know what she was doing, Emilio helped her to get it right and it really sparked this moment of amazing music and what they could achieve.”
On Your Feet! is running until 31 August at the London Coliseum followed by select tour dates – get your tickets through Ticketmaster.co.uk.
