On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan, Bill Hanney's North Shore Music Theatre, Beverly, through June 14. 978-232-7200 or nsmt.org

Are you looking to escape the heat of early summer? For a truly cool alternative, head over to North Shore Music Theatre for a refreshingly torrid season opener — namely "On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan." If the Boston tour (2018) of this hit Broadway musical (2015, nominated for a Tony Award for its choreography) seemed somewhat lukewarm to Estefan fans like this critic, the theatrical heat at NSMT should have audience members dancing in their seats and ready to move at the close of the second act. Thanks to talented director-choreographer Marcos Santana and a high-energy NSMT ensemble, this remarkable revival should reach all theatergoers with its infectious rhythm.

A savvy double threat, Santana clearly knows that jukebox musicals can be a very tricky genre. The book for "On Your Feet!" by Alexander Dinelaris focuses on the early musical history of the collaborating Estefans — who have been honored over the years with 26 Grammys — with the kind of bio script that may call to mind the early development of Carole King's talent in "Beautiful." In fact, in both musicals, the respective singer-songwriters deal with demanding record label executives. With Gloria Estefan, conflicts not only involve convincing executive Phil that she and Emilio can succeed with English songs as well as Spanish ones but also gaining respect from her mother Gloria Fajardo regarding her career. Fajardo — a strong-voiced diva in her own right — eventually reveals that her father objected to her becoming the voice of the Spanish Shirley Temple for Twentieth Century Fox. After a severe bus crash that requires spinal surgery, Dinelaris' somewhat conventional script has Gloria's distant mother rushing to the hospital and later the recovered singer making an actual special appearance at the American Music Awards.

Santana's fired-up cast and musicians truly take center stage in the round at NSMT — so much so that they capture the spirit and soulfulness of the Estefans even when the musical's book needs to be more insightful. Kendall Rivera has all of Young Gloria's sweetness and insecurity even as she appears reluctant to perform. Isabel Leoni — a 2025 graduate of the Boston Conservatory — makes a thrilling debut as the grownup Gloria. She proves very persuasive moving from budding performer to self-assured headliner. Marcello Audino captures Emilio's strong self-esteem as a Cuban American and his striking caring at all moments for Gloria. Leoni and Audino possess real chemistry in moments of stress as well as tenderness — particularly on the romantic duet "Here We Are." Karmine Alers is a vocal standout as Gloria Fajardo — most notably on the very spirited "Mi Tierra." Sydia Cedeno-Genat is a proper scene stealer as Gloria's mentoring grandmother Consuelo Garcia. Jason Cohen makes the most of Phil's evolving attitude about the crossover musical intentions of the Estefans.

Music director-keyboardist Jose Delgado — a veteran of a wide variety of shows in the Hub and beyond — and an exuberant eight-person orchestra rousingly capture the Cuban fusion pop music of the Miami Sound Machine as well as the evolving 1980's musical styles of the Estefans. From start to finish, the production's high-stepping dancers fully embrace the beat and the ongoing excitement and feeling of Santana's inspired choreography. Look for a sharply paced trio of dance sequences — involving a bar mitzvah, an Italian wedding and a Shriner's convention — as Gloria and Emilio attempt to bring executive Phil to hear their latest song. Emilio Sosa's very colorful costumes complement the vitality of Cuban culture in Miami's Little Havana and at all of the Estefans' locations.

At a time when asylum seekers face uncertain futures in the United States, "On Your Feet!" resonates with new immediacy — particularly as Emilio stresses the fact that Cuban Americans are truly part of the American experiment. Make no mistake, this revival is a visual and vocal must-see. Musical lovers should make a conga line to the dance sensation at the North Shore Music Theatre.