With the first ever Manila staging of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan musical, 9Works Theatrical hopes to further level up the production with the inclusion of Cuban-American actor Jason Canela who flew to Manila to join the cast for rehearsals earlier this month. A graduate of The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York City, the Miami-based actor had been active in TV and film projects in the US before making his theatrical debut in the first staging of On Your Feet! held in Chicago in 2022 where he first played the role of Grammy multi-award winning musician and producer Emilio Estefan.
During the presscon for the jukebox musical celebrating the life of the popular Latin Pop music couple, Jason shared some insights as a real-life friend of the couple.
“First off, thank you for receiving me, for allowing me to be a part of this production. I had the blessing of getting to tell this story a few years back in Miami with an incredible group of people. I cannot tell you guys how much this story means to me. I’ve known Gloria and Emilio for a long time. She’s an extremely resilient, strong individual that has had to overcome so much to achieve what she has been able to achieve, obviously, alongside her incredible partner in Emilio, which I feel so blessed to get to play.
"These two people, they had dreams that they themselves thought were impossible. However, they did not take no for an answer. They were told no time and time again and in their mind, every no was one step closer to the yes they needed. And they really did not stop until they got it. And Gloria, to this day, is still going strong. As is Emilio. And Gloria and Emilio are both really excited about telling their story here in Manila. A story about making dreams come true and I couldn’t be more excited to be telling it alongside this wonderful cast,” he said.
The On Your Feet! musical star also shared his experience so far working with an all-Pinoy cast for the first time and coming to the Philippines for the production.
“First off, your food is incredible. I’ve only been here for a little bit over a week, I gained 19 pounds (laughs). It’s funny because I’m very far away from home. But you all have really made me feel at home from the first moment that I arrived here. Every mean that I’ve had feels like my mother cooked it. Our cultures really are similar. As different or as far away as we are from each other, I realized very quickly, comparing it to my experience of being in a room with Cubans in Miami, to being in a room with FIlipinos here in Manila, you couldn’t tell the difference, whether it was a room full of Cubans or a room full of Filipinos. We really are similar,” he shared.
Jason also shared the similarities between working on the US cast of the musical four years ago with his current production.
“Just yesterday we were rehearsing a part of the show and I was just in complete awe at the incredible talent of each individual here. I told them, ‘Guys, I wish I could just like stand on stage and watch you and not have to perform’ because it really is that much of a joy to just watch. In comparison to my experience with the cast in Miami, it’s very similar in a sense that I was also blessed to be alongside a group of wonderful artists. I feel like I learned a lot getting to show up everyday and enjoy that blessing. I’m very much looking forward to the next two months. I’ll never get tired of saying thank you for receiving me and making me feel at homeThis is a beginning of a lifelong friendship. Thank you to 9Works Theatrical and for allowing me to be a part of this,” he said.
READ: Cast for 9 Works Theatrical's 'On Your Feet!' announced
The Cuban-American actor also gave some insight on how he views each project that he accepts and how thankful he is to be able to perform in Manila this year.
“I just feel that every time I get to walk into any production, whether it’s on a set or on a stage, I truly am grateful to God for putting me in rooms with people who love what they do and that are grateful to be doing it. You know, we’re in this industry where the reality is, this is not the work.The work is not to be on stage, the work is not to be on TV. The work is the journey that nobody sees. It’s the auditions, it’s the workshops, it’s the classes, it’s the research on characters.
"And I always say there’s a big misconception on what it means to be working in our industry. To me, there’s work and there’s a blessing. And every single person that is here on stage and is a part of putting this up has been working so long for this blessing. We’re not working actors in this moment, we are blessed actors. I’m just so grateful being able to experience this blessing alongside such a wonderful group of artists,” he explained.
Watch Jason Canela as Emilio Estefan, Kayla Rivera and Molly Langley who will alternate in the role of Latin pop icon Gloria Estefan, along with cast members Ayen Laurel as Gloria's mother, Gloria Fajardo; Pinky Marquez as her grandmother, Consuelo Garcia; John Joven Uy as her father, Jose Fajardo; Vien King as Young Jose Fajardo; Jani Magadia as her sister, Rebecca Fajardo; and Anyah de Guzman as Rebecca Fajardo.
Directed by Robbie Guevara, with musical direction by Daniel Bartolome and choreography by Nunoy van den Burgh, tickets for On Your Feet! are now available on TicketWorld outlets and online, and at the Power Plant Mall Cinema.