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Metro.Style Exclusive: Kayla Rivera and Molly Langley on 'On Your Feet!'

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<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783417461231kayla rivera molly langley on your feet proscenium theater.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Molly Langley and Kayla Rivera star as Gloria Estefan in Rockwell and 9 Works Theatrical&#x27;s &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; | Photos from @prosceniumtheater</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p><strong>Rockwell </strong>and <strong>9 Works Theatrical </strong>b<strong></strong>ring to Filipino audiences the inspiring and heartwarming story of one of music&#x27;s power couples, <strong>Gloria</strong> and <strong>Emilio</strong> <strong>Estefan</strong>, this July. In the Manila production of &quot;<strong>On Your Feet!</strong>&quot; musical, <strong>Kayla Rivera </strong>and <strong>Molly Langley</strong> alternate as Gloria, sharing the stage with Cuban-American actor <strong>Jason Canela</strong>, who reprises his role as Emilio Estefan. &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; in Manila is directed by <strong>Robbie Guevara</strong>, with musical direction by <strong>Daniel Bartolome</strong>.</p><p style="text-align:left">The jukebox musical chronicles the couple’s journey from Gloria’s humble beginnings in Little Havana, Miami, to her and Emilio&#x27;s meteoric rise as international superstars. It explores their &quot;crossover&quot; success, detailing the struggles they faced in convincing a skeptical American music industry that their unique blend of Latin rhythms and English lyrics could achieve mainstream popularity.</p><p style="text-align:left">Clearly, beyond the music, the dance numbers, and the vibrant outfits is an inspiring, moving true story about the power of music, heritage, and the unconditional love of family. </p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZmaTfBJWes/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A1818753.200000003%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="857" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>&quot;In this production, it really goes through a span—from her earliest days up until the 90s,&quot; Kayla told <strong>Metro.Style</strong>. &quot;So it&#x27;s an honor and privilege for us to step into Gloria&#x27;s shoes—the whole process of it, of learning more about her, her music. They [Gloria and Emilio] got so many nos along the way—that their music was too Latin, but then it was also too American. But they really held their ground. They believed in their music. She had Emilio, her husband, at her side, who was also very passionate and driven. And they&#x27;re just such a power couple. And such an inspiration, both of them.&quot; </p><p>In more ways than one, both Kayla and Molly relate to Gloria&#x27;s personality, whether it be her being an introvert or her showing the world how strong she can be in the face of challenges. Every phase of Gloria&#x27;s life offers something to be inspired by. </p><p>Molly highlighted how much of a fan she is of Gloria as a songwriter. In sheer admiration of the iconic music figure, Molly gushed, &quot;There&#x27;s always a meaning behind all of her songs. I was watching an interview that she had, and she said that she&#x27;s quite an introvert. And she doesn&#x27;t show all of her emotions. But actually, she puts all of her emotions into her songs. So her songs are just so emotional, powerful, moving... You&#x27;d be surprised to find out that, &#x27;Oh, this is one of her hits as well&#x27;... She wrote a lot of songs for people.&quot; </p><p>With songs ranging from emotional tracks that never fail to make people cry to groovy hits that just always get people on their feet, Gloria is indeed a master at putting out compositions that not only move people to tears but also get them to move and dance. </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaSpLaRjyzF/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A2484813.799999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1269" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Now, here comes the difficult part—we asked Kayla and Molly, &quot;What is your favorite song by Gloria?&quot;</p><p>As expected, Kayla said, &quot;That is hard!&quot; </p><p>&quot;They&#x27;re all so good,&quot; added Molly. </p><p>Both paused to think about their answers and share what they specifically love about their picks. </p><p>&quot;I said &#x27;<strong>Conga</strong>&#x27; last time, but actually, I think I like &#x27;<strong>Oye Mi Canto</strong>&#x27; better,&quot; Molly replied. &quot;I just love the groove... love singing it. I think it&#x27;s like, as a singer, when you sing something, it just feels like it&#x27;s flowing through you. It&#x27;s really something that you enjoy.&quot;  </p><p>She then proceeded to sing a few lines from the song: &quot;I believe in love but with no conditions / And giving in sometimes doesn&#x27;t make it submission / Hate is so common, it&#x27;s almost tradition / Come on and leave it behind and make that transition.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DaNjnsNj99w/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=810&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A3834207.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="1289" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Kayla, too, found herself changing her answer to the question. Initially, she said it was &quot;<strong>1-2-3</strong>.&quot; &quot;I mean, it&#x27;s the song that we all know, we all dance to,&quot; Kayla said, adding that she wanted to share another pick that tugs at the heartstrings. </p><p>She shared, &quot;&#x27;<strong>Coming Out of the Dark</strong>,&#x27; because that was like such a conquering moment in her career, in her personal life, that she overcame such difficulty. And I mean, it was after her bus accident, where, you know, she broke her back. And that meant, you know, could she even come back to performing?... And it&#x27;s just such a beautiful song. And I think it&#x27;s just so inspiring. You know, anytime that we&#x27;re going through a difficult period in our lives, you know, we are gonna come out of the dark. And I mean, look at her, she&#x27;s still performing. She&#x27;s still so inspiring after all these years.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="925" height="525" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c55vVm_HMT8?si=KbfhjDXyWDfdVuzD" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><em>Catch &quot;On Your Feet!&quot; this July 2026 at the Proscenium at Rockwell! Get your tickets now at <a href="https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/show.aspx?sh=ONYRFEET26" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ticketworld</a>.</em></strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><br/></div>

<p>Clearly, beyond the music, the dance numbers, and the vibrant outfits in "On Your Feet!" lies an inspiring, moving true story about the power of music, heritage, and the unconditional love of family. Here, Kayla Rivera and Molly Langley share what they admire most about Gloria Estefan.</p>

Clearly, beyond the music, the dance numbers, and the vibrant outfits in "On Your Feet!" lies an inspiring, moving true story about the power of music, heritage, and the unconditional love of family. Here, Kayla Rivera and Molly Langley share what they admire most about Gloria Estefan.

Molly Langley and Kayla Rivera on What They Find Inspiring About the Story of 'On Your Feet!'

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Molly Langley and Kayla Rivera on What They Find Inspiring About the Story of 'On Your Feet!'

Metro.Style

Published July 08, 2026 07:00 AM PHT

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Updated July 08, 2026 09:27 AM PHT

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Kayla Rivera

Molly Langley

On Your Feet

Proscenium Theater

Rockwell

9 Works Theatrical

Gloria Estefan

Emilio Estefan

Jason Canela

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