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“Chilean award-winning Tapia possesses a stunningly emotive voice, quickly evidenced in the show’s first number “Evita, Evita,” when near death Eva bravely addresses the needy crowd whom she endearingly calls her descamisados (the very poor).”
“Over about 14 years as a displaced dead body and beyond, Tapia’s Eva embodies the spirit of Argentina’s millions, the common people. They return the dedication: Candles are lit. Prayers are offered. Intercession is sought. Life goes on, but Eva isn’t easily forgotten.”
“Fran Tapia embodies the bigger-than-life, ambitious, and quixotic Eva. The singer-actress, like the character she plays, is indeed a ghost returned, for she first came to GALA as the company’s Paso Nuevo Education Director, only to be snatched up and cast in the Gloria Estefan bio-musical, On Your Feet!, for which she won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer and went on to do a national tour…”
“...In so many ways, this singer-actress is magnificent in the role, captivating us even when she stands, eyes closed, as a mummified statue. But you can’t keep this one in a closet! She flutters her eyes, tangos, flirts, and holds out her arms to embrace the world. She is most affecting taking us through the emotions of each song… no doubt this talented and hard-working professional will continue to shoot meteor-like and become an even more remarkable, much-in-demand superstar.”
“Dead Evita (Fran Tapia) provides a through line — narrating, looking mummified and sometimes reacting to the action like an offended ghost. Dressed in the obligatory white ball gown, Tapia exudes apt intensity.”
“a cast unafraid to push through and roll with it. GALA has assembled just such a cast. The polish and give-and-take between the actors make the inherent fantasy come alive. As Evita, Fran Tapia shines even in the character’s more decomposed states.”
“Also an actor and singer in real life, Evita (played with gusto by Chilean actor Fran Tapia) dances tango and sings on stage as her mummified body travels from one side of the world to the other hidden in a trunk.”
“At the center of this entertaining madness is winning out actor Fran Tapia as Eva, a corpse sporting a ball gown and the trademark platinum blonde chignon, standing stiffly in a closet, more a mobile cabinet actually. In death, she realizes a silent dignity with flashes of an unyielding passion for social justice.”
“Fran Tapia bears an uncanny likeness to Evita, who is joined by the excellent ensemble who dance the night away in near perfect choreography by Valeria Cossu, easily evoking the presence of the millions who stood and watched her funeral when Evita died in Buenos Aires. Whether acting alive or dead, Fran Tapia was splendid in the dual Evita roles, so good that at times, I wondered if the “dead” Evita was a wax figure. Costumer Becca Janney dressed her in a beautiful white strapless evening gown with a diamond necklace and long diamond earrings copied after the original, and glamorized by Tapia as Peron’s second wife.”
“The new “Mummy in the Closet” is a sure-handed version of the earlier work, with Fran Tapia from GALA’s “On Your Feet” glittering in the title role in an array of white gowns (by Becca Janney). That trademark, arms up pose that indicates her grandeur as leader of the people is never diminished, even as we hear of the embalming, abuse, disfiguring and deterioration of the corpse in its travels (It helps theatrically that she stands in a cabinet rather than lies in a casket) as evil swirls around her.”
“With the intimacy of GALA and the dedication of all involved — it’s like a family, with the starring Tapia taking a curtain call on opening night in a Hugo Medrano T-shirt. For that and all that it portends to the present day, I think I prefer this “Mummy in the Closet” to, say, “Evita” that spawned Perón’s entry to musical theatre.”
“Tapia is a powerhouse of talent in flashbacks of her career before leaving Cuba. The mature mother persona steps aside for a glimpse of a woman who had the same drive and passion to perform as her daughter, Gloria.”
“Francisca Tapia’s Gloria Fajardo captures the complicated relationship with her pop superstar daughter.”
“You will love the characters of Gloria’s family, portrayed masterfully by Francisca Tapia, Adriel Garcia, Adela Romero and Lauren Hogan. Their characterizations of the passionate and loving, if sometimes emotionally explosive advocates of Gloria and her career are presented with authenticity and finesse. Each actor embodies vocal prowess and physical ability to create the visual excitement in the latin movements. The supporting cast of this production is beautifully cast with dancers and vocalists of superb abilities.”
“Francisca Tapia´s (Gloria Fajardo) voice was phenomenal but her acting was so realistic she moved the audience from being slightly annoyed with her to being frustrated when Gloria refuses to speak to her daughter, and finally to empathizing with her as she worries about her daughter’s life. She did a magnificent job at being a stubborn, misunderstood, mother. When it is finally revealed that she had given up on her own dreams for the sake of her family the audience was so endeared by her acting they couldn’t help but have a change of heart.”
“Tapia is wonderful as Gloria’s strict mother, a talented singer in her own right who was prevented from realizing her own dreams of stardom.”
“It’s Broadway quality in a D.C. theater and with more in-your-seat interaction from a gem of a cast.”
“In a sequence of sequins and dynamic dance moves, Tapia shows us a versatility that can carry two versions of herself across time, space, and spirit. The effervescent young woman we meet is worthy of the bar-spitting “Rapuela” of real-life “Big Gloria” Fajardo. The parallel is all too real between this past life of Gloria’s mom, complete with dreams dashed too soon after tasting success, and the path of disillusionment she fears for her daughter.”
“Gloria’s mother, Gloria Fajardo (the dynamite Fran Tapia), brimming with biting remarks and disapproving of Gloria’s new music career and love interest (“I’m 48, and I know 48 things,” she claps back at Gloria in Spanish during a fight over her daughter’s future). Fajardo and Emilio’s back-and-forths only make for a ceasefire that’s all the sweeter after Gloria’s accident puts relationships into perspective. The same goes for the reconciliation after Fajardo’s longtime tensions with her daughter.”
“Tapia registers another musical highlight leading a Havana nightclub performance of Estefan’s anthem “Mi Tierra.” The dancing in that number, based on Sergio Trujillo’s Tony-nominated choreography for the original Broadway production, and in the “Turn the Beat Around” megamix is as vibrant and exciting as it gets.”
“Garnica and Fran Tapia, portraying Gloria’s mother, a former singer also named Gloria, deliver a lovely duet on “Si Jamás Te Había Confiado (If I Never Got to Tell You),” the one tune composed expressly for On Your Feet! by Gloria and daughter Emily Estefan.”
“The interactions of Gloria’s mother (a steely, perceptive performance by Fran Tapia) and Gloria’s Grandmother, Consuelo (Madelin Marchant) with Gloria are gems of familial love and contradictions. Ms. Marchant and Ms. Tapia portray the tough love that mothers pass on to foster courage in their children. The scene where Ms. Tapia implores her child to fight on (when she is struck by tragedy) is unforgettable in its emotional power.”
“Samuel Garnica, who inhabits Emilio with a balanced brew of overt charisma and underlying intensity, shares the show’s cathartic showstopper “If I Never Got to Tell You” with Fran Tapia, a standout as Gloria’s bitter mother.”
“In her showstopping performance of “Mi Tierra,” Tapia delivered her lines with immeasurable fervor and grace. She stunned the audience with her breathtaking vocal performance and stage presence, while also maintaining their complete interest in the backstory of her own character. Like her, many of the other cast members delivered wonderfully charismatic and vocally thrilling performances that kept the audience invested and served to fortify the strength of the show and its emotional impact.”