Last year Gloria Estefan sang for the President and First Lady at the White House. This year she has her sights set on the Great White Way. Yesterday the "Anything for You" singer told the Daily News that her bilingual musical On Your Feet will debut in 2015. Three actresses chosen via a TV reality show will play the seven-time Grammy winner at different ages.
While some may sigh, "Another Broadway season, another jukebox musical," Gloria Estefan's life has had its share of drama, so there's a story to tell. In 1990, the Cuban-born singer and songwriter was riding a crest of pop chart success (and touring to support an album that included the single "Get On Your Feet") when a collision between her tour bus and a truck fractured her spine. Only after terrible pain and lengthy physical therapy was she able to return to performing. People always love a story of recovery and triumphant comeback.
Estefan and the producers will use the reality show to search the world for performers who can act, sing, and glow brightly enough with charisma to play the singer during her early Miami years and, later, her long recovery from her injury.
On Your Feet won't be Estefan's first brush with Broadway. But it'll be a much broader one than when she appeared for a single day in the short play I Think You'll Love This One, part of a "24-Hour Plays" benefit series back in 2010. At the time, her director called her an "anchor of sanity." Joked the singer, "This was my kind of play, opening and closing in one night, no reviews." On Your Feet promises to be an entirely different kind of animal. Even thought she won't be physically on stage this time, she'll need all her sanity, and all her legendary energy.
Trivia note: Gloria Estefan has a co-writing credit on Shakira's monster hit "Whenever, Wherever."
