A new Broadway musical adapted from Josefina López’s 1990 play, which also inspired the 2002 HBO film of the same name, Real Women Have Curves, with music and lyrics by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, and a book by Lisa Loomer and Nell Benjamin, follows the coming-of-age story of ambitious Mexican-American high-school senior Ana García, a budding journalist and US-born citizen, whose immigrant family expects her to work in their small garment factory in East LA, though she has other plans. Set in the summer of 1987, when the Reagan administration’s Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) required employers to attest to their employees’ immigration status and made it illegal to hire or recruit unauthorized immigrants knowingly, the theme is of paramount significance now, under the current presidency, with the movement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and to deport undocumented migrants, who came here in search of the American Dream and a better life.
Under the vibrant direction and choreography of Sergio Trujillo, a top-notch captivating cast, several making their Broadway debuts, delivers the humor and hardship, love and disagreements among the warm, expressive, and likable characters. They are led by Tatianna Córdoba as Ana, torn between the expectations of her family and her own desire to be “Flying Away” to NYC, where, unbeknownst to them, she was accepted and awarded a full scholarship to Columbia University’s School of Journalism; Florencia Cuenca as her older sister Estela, who runs the sewing shop and needs her help when a big order with a demanding deadline for 200 dresses comes in from a haughty client with connections to major buyers; and Justina Machado as their traditional authoritative mother Carmen, who confuses the onslaught of menopause with being pregnant (in the funny “Adios Andres”), incessantly insults Ana’s weight, and wants her daughter to follow in her footsteps, dedicating herself to the family and their business. So, like so many of her hard-working relatives, she takes on two jobs – one as an untrained seamstress in the factory and one as an extremely skilled unpaid intern at a local newspaper – and helps her family in both ways, while also experiencing her first love with the equally intelligent and romantically inexperienced Henry, played with irresistibly nerdy charm by Mason Reeves, who too will be leaving for a prestigious school in the northeast and wants to drive her there.
Bringing to life the rest of the factory’s exuberant and tight-knit chingonas, speaking in a natural mix of English, Spanish, and Spanglish, cowering in the dark when the building next door is raided (with dramatic lighting by Natasha Katz and sound by John Shivers), and determined to “Make It Work” against all odds (with which Cuenca’s blockbuster lead vocal, set to authentic mariachi stylings, opens the show), is the across-the-board excellent company of badass triple-threats Jennifer Sánchez as Rosalí, who dazzles with her dance moves; Shelby Acosta and Sandra Valls as cousins Flaca and Fulvia, whose different tastes in clothing affirm their gender identities; Aline Mayagoitia as the new Guatemalan immigrant Itzel, who delivers a poem in her native K’iche’ Maya and imagines, with Ana, “If I Were a Bird;” and Carla Jimenez as Pancha, the fullest-figured of the workers, who, in the heat of the sewing room, joins the others in joyously doffing their sweaty clothes, and, in their underwear, extolling the body-positive affirmation of the eponymous “Real Women Have Curves” (which garnered a mid-show standing ovation and cheers at the performance I attended).
Rounding out the engaging company are Monica Tulia Ramirez as the demanding and demeaning Mrs. Wright, who places the dress order and refuses to pay for them if all 200 aren’t completed on time (and harbors a secret about her own roots, in a hilarious double entendre pointed out by Ana); Mauricio Mendoza as Raúl, Ana’s proud, understanding, and encouraging father; Zeus Mendoza doing triple duty in the roles of a bigoted politician interviewed by Ana, a racist immigration officer at the detention center where she visits Itzel, and the newspaper editor who recognizes her talent; and ensemble members Ariana Burks, Quincy Hampton, Claudia Mulet, and Christopher M. Ramirez.
The show’s twenty musical numbers combine authentic mariachi and Latinx rhythms with segments of rap and show tunes, performed by the spirited cast, accompanied by a terrific nine-piece orchestra (conducted by music director Robert Sinha). A transporting artistic design defines the characters and their business, with an array of high-end dresses and contrasting work clothes (costumes by Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young), hair, wigs, and make-up (by Krystal Balleza and Will Vicari), and a set (by Arnulfo Maldonado) that shifts from the garment factory to the roof, the office and sites where Ana does her reporting, the kitchen of her family’s home, Henry’s bedroom, and the lively locale of their date, to the grey detention center where Itzel is held and the streets of LA’s Boyle Heights neighborhood where they live and work, with bright projections (videos by Hana S. Kim) of a billboard and colorful murals of flowers and portraits of the triumphant women.
With its all-too-timely subject, the highly entertaining Real Women Have Curves delivers a resounding message of strength and determination: When life throws you a curve, embrace your curves and “Make It Work.” Be sure to see it, to follow its empowering advice, and to encourage others to do the same.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 15 minutes, including an intermission.
Real Women Have Curves plays through Sunday, June 29, 2025, at the James Earl Jones Theatre, 138 W 48th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $48-299, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix here.
