Opening night this Thursday, Nov. 5th — “I laughed, I cried, I conga-ed!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAaI72bLxCA

By Dennis Kucherawy, Corktown Correspondent

After its sizzling hot out-of-town engagement at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre this summer, the much-anticipated new Gloria and Emilio Estefan bio-musical “On Your Feet” is setting Broadway ablaze in previews.

It has already broken the weekly $1 million ticket sales mark in only its third week. (The show sold 11,825 tickets for a weekly gross of $1,096,202.)

The part Broadway/part thrilling concert opens this Thursday, Nov. 5th at the Marquis Theatre.

A key to the success of this Latin/salsa dance fiesta is Toronto’s own Sergio Trujillo. The Chicago reviews were love letters: “Sensational” (Chicago Sun Times). “Spectacular choreography!” (Time Out Chicago).

The Chicago Tribute raved “Here is what surprises, and what should sustain the show once it opens on Broadway in the fall,…choreographer Sergio Trujillo and director Jerry Mitchell (`Kinky Boots’) have…created a show with a strikingly high amount of emotional intimacy.”

“On Your Feet” is more than a “jukebox musical.” It tells the story of how the Estefans escaped from Cuba and worked tirelessly to convince people in the American music industry there was room for Latin music performed by their band Miami Sound Machine. (They had their first hit 30 years ago with “Conga.”)

The show is especially moving when it portrays Gloria’s near fatal accident that fractured her spine in 1990. The tour bus was hit by a semi truck on a wintry Pennsylvania highway.

With a pair of eight-inch titanium rods inserted in her body to stabilize her spine, she underwent painful rehabilitation for a year. She returned to the stage triumphantly in 1991 to the American Music Awards performing her inspirational song “Coming Out of the Dark.”

Other songs include “Reach,” “Rhythm’s Gonna Get Ya,” and, of course, “Conga,” which ends the first act. (In Chicago, the dancers shimmied into the audience, inviting audience members to shake their groove thing. A “Chiquita” pulled me out of my seat for a minute or two. Aye carumba!)

“What you have is a story about tradition, heritage, love and family, book writer Alexander Dinelaris told the Miami Herald. (He won an Oscar as a co-writer of the acclaimed movie “Birdman.”)”

This past weekend, the New York Times called the show Sergio Trujillo’s most personal yet, gushing “More than any show Mr. Trujillo has worked on. “On Your Feet!” throbs with movement. The rapid-fire salsa steps that anchor musical numbers and seamlessly link scenes match the brassy energy of Ms. Estefan’s hit songs. The intimacy of salsa partnering likewise reflects the warmth of the Estefans’ Cuban culture and the easy intimacy they share as a couple.”

“This is his best work to date, I think, because of the authenticity,” director Mitchell told the New York Times.

This has been quite a year for Trujillo. In addition to “On Your Feet, this past April he became only the second Canadian to win the UK’s distinguished Olivier Award for the West End production of “Memphis: The Musical.”

He maintains his connection with Toronto where he is an honorary patron of the Randolph Academy for Performing Arts. George Randolph, the school’s founder and president, gave Sergio his first-ever jazz dance class when he was 19.

On June 22nd, only five days after the Chicago world premiere of the Estefan musical, he returned to Toronto as a VIP presenter at the 2015 Dora Mavor Moore Awards. On behalf of Mayor John Tory, Councilor Gary Crawford (Ward 360-Scarborough Southwest) presented Sergio with a congratulatory scroll acknowledging and recognizing his many achievements in the performing arts and contributions to the city of Toronto.

Mr. Trujillo, 52, was born in Cali, Colombia. His family left for Toronto in 1976 to escape a drug cartel’s increasingly powerful rule. He was the first in his family to attend college, enrolling in the University of Toronto. Then, he had his first dance lesson.

“Once I discovered it, I just fell in love with it,” Mr. Trujillo said. “And I made the decision pretty early that if I was going to leave school and dance, I had to do it with the best,” he told the New York Times.

Today, he is an internationally recognized choreographer whose work has been seen throughout North America, Europe and Asia. His credits include “Jersey Boy’s,” “Memphis-The Musical,” “The Addams Family,” “Next To Normal,” “Guys and Dolls” and “All Shook Up.”

Although “Jersey Boys” (now celebrating its 10th anniversary on Broadway) and “Memphis” won Tony Awards, Mr. Trujillo has yet to receive one for his choreography.

For tickets to “On Your Feet: The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan and more information about the musical, visit the show’s site at onyourfeet.com.