Forget all of this gloomy ice and snow and get ready to conga. The Wharton Center will be heating up this week with the arrival of “On Your Feet!,” the jukebox musical based on the music and history of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. The Broadway musical, currently on its first national tour, arrives just in time for Valentine’s Day; the show runs February 13-18.
Jason Martinez plays José Fajardo, Gloria’s father, in “On Your Feet.” Martinez has previously appeared on television and film (“General Hospital,” “Boston Legal,” “The Other Guys”), on stage with Paul Simon, Marc Anthony, and Frankie Valli, as well as performed on Broadway (“Million Dollar Quartet,” “Jersey Boys”).
I spoke with Jason about his family’s history of performing, his role as a father both on stage and off, and the timeliness of the message of acceptance in “On Your Feet!”
Stefanie Pohl: Your bio says that you come from four generations of entertainers. Can you tell me about your family’s history, and when it clicked for you that you wanted to be a performer?
Jason Martinez: Yes, my family history goes back to vaudeville. As a kid, I was always put in front of people to sing. My dad would play guitar, and he taught us songs. The youngest age I can remember was when I was three and singing in front of family members with my brother. My dad would also be playing in clubs around town, and he would bring us up on stage to sing. Then I kind of started rebelling from it. I had done plays and school musicals, but when I got into high school, I rebelled from it. I wanted to do a normal job — my grandfather was a layman — but at the same time I still played the guitar and wrote songs for myself. Then my brother called me out of the blue and said they were auditioning for something. I ended up reluctantly going and then from that moment on, I was back in the business. That’s all I’ve been doing for twenty-something years.
Pohl: Do you remember what was your very first role on stage as a kid?
Martinez: I remember in school, gosh when I was in second or third grade, I did a French musical — I can’t remember the name. It was all in French, and I was a French chef. That’s my first memory of doing something like that.
Pohl: You’ve appeared in jukebox musicals “Million Dollar Quartet” and “Jersey Boys,” and now you’re in “On Your Feet!” What do you think is making this particular genre of musicals so popular recently? What has been enjoyable about performing in this type of musical?
Martinez: I think those types of musicals reach a different audience with the music. There’s the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical — that genre of music is very particular. All the rules are being broken right now. You have anyone from Gloria Estefan to Green Day, and I feel like Paul Simon started it with “The Capeman,” which was my first Broadway show. I feel like that music reaches another audience and brings them into the fold of musical theater. It’s been a serious resurgence in the arts, and a whole new generation of audiences. It’s really fun to bring that kind of music on stage, folded into a good book for a show.
Pohl: If you could either take part in or see a musical made about a particular artist that hasn’t been on Broadway yet, who would you want that to be?
Martinez: At one point, I heard that Prince and Spike Lee were actually working on a musical. Prince wrote and released a song that was supposed to be in it. This was awhile ago, and nothing ever came of it, but that would have been really cool to have a musical with the music from Prince, maybe the book by someone incredible, and directed by Spike Lee. That would have been amazing.
Pohl: When did you first hear Gloria Estefan’s music, and are there things you learned about her when you joined this show?
Martinez: It’s the 80s for me. I loved the 80s. My father was a recording artist, and his whole thing was trying to do a Latin crossover blend like Gloria did. I grew up immersed in the musicality of that. And then of course all of those wonderful high school moments with her music. Something I didn’t know about Gloria… I really didn’t know the story of her father. Because I’m portraying her father, I had the chance to sit down with her and chat with her at length. I found out amazing things that I don’t think anyone really would know unless they came and saw the show. Even in the show, you only get a glimpse of the history of her father. I think you could do an entire show about him, or an incredible straight play. It’s very cool to have been able to meet her and learn about her, and to be able to play her father.
Pohl: How cool to be able to actually talk to her about him. In that sense, is there an added pressure of wanting to do justice to this man in her life?
Martinez: Oh yeah. When they called me for the audition, I had to send in a video. The first thing I asked the assistant director was, in one word, who is this person? He said regal. So I try to inject that and use that as the umbrella of this character. I really questioned Gloria at length about whether he had a funny laugh, did he have -isms, physical things that he did. I wanted to know the most detailed things she could tell me that I could inject into this character. I wanted to do her father justice in this piece. My goal when I leave the stage is to have the audience say wait, I want to know more about him.
Pohl: You are a father and you are playing a father. What is that like?
Martinez: It kind of parallels my life a little bit. I have a 6 and a 4-year-old at home, and being away from them is tough. At the beginning of the show, you open on Captain José Fajardo in Vietnam, listening to a recording of his daughter playing guitar and singing. This is what they did: before he left [for Vietnam] they bought two reel-to-reel recorders and they would record reels and send them to each other. That’s how they corresponded, which was so sweet because he was able to hear her voice and feel he was close to her. It parallels my life because I can do one better where I can Skype with my kids, which I do every day. When it comes to things like that in the show, it’s not that hard to inject myself into that and have it take on a deeper meaning.
Pohl: What message do you hope audiences take away from Gloria’s story?
Martinez: At the heart of the show, it’s a beautiful love story between Gloria and Emilio. And not just the love for each other, which is incredible, but also the love that they have for showing the world more of their culture. It’s a very timely issue right now as well. Being able to be a part of this show that highlights the Latin culture and being of Latin descent myself is extremely important. There’s a very good line in the show where Gloria and Emilio are experiencing some oppression; Emilio says, “this is what an American looks like.” It’s such a timely thing for this show to be out and going across the country, highlighting this culture and preaching acceptance. I think that’s one of the most important messages people should walk away with. We need to accept everybody as who they are and for their passions, not judging based on what we think they are. The responses we’re getting, especially in certain moments of the show, are proving that something is happening. It’s an awesome thing to be a part of.
See Jason Martinez and the cast of “On Your Feet!” at the Wharton Center this week, February 13-18. Click here for show and ticket information.