Is Broadway’s ‘Real Women Have Curves’ Worth Watching?
Real Women Have Curves
After watching Broadway’s Real Women Have Curves, I’ve come to the conclusion that this play should be required viewing in 2025.
Based on the play of the same name by Josefina López, Real Women Have Curves follows Ana García. She’s a young woman who lives in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles in 1987. And she dreams of a future that includes college and moving away from home. That clashes with the expectations placed on her shoulders by her mother Carmen, who assumes she’s joining the garment factory the family works at. And for those who think that sounds familiar, it’s because the 2002 film of the same name put America Ferrera on the map when she played Ana.
For any first generation Latine kids of immigrants, we understand the guilt of honoring the sacrifice our loved ones have made to give us a better life. Been there, done that, gone to therapy for it. But it’s exactly the reason why you should watch Real Women Have Curves. I’ve never watched a play where I felt like I was seeing myself, my mom, my abuela, and the various generations that came before me all on stage. And I’ve never experienced our culture, food, outfits, and music in a Broadway setting. To be frank, I didn’t think people like me were even on Broadway. But we are.
And Real Women Have Curves wasn’t just pain either. A lot of times when our experiences are on screen, in books, or on stage, it’s about our trauma first and our dreams second. This play places our dreams at the forefront and allows Ana and the audience to explore what it means to be part of this American dream when the place you’re living in wants to lock you up and send you away. Because we want to go to those universities, we want to get that job, and we want to make a better life for ourselves by creating, experiencing, and living our own lives instead of the one that our parents want us to. We want it all. Just like everyone else. You see that in this play.
Then there’s the cast of Real Women Have Curves. At the forefront of this entire show is Tatianna Córdoba as Ana. This is her Broadway debut and she’s a Bay Area native and proud Latina-Filipina. And across from her is Justina Machado as Carmen aka Ana’s mom. A lot of people know Machado from One Day at a Time and Netflix’s latest release Pulse. What many don’t know is that she’s been in Real Women Have Curves before. In a full circle moment, she played Ana in a Chicago production of the play back in 1993.
As the heart of the play, Córdoba and Machado make you believe that you are watching a mother and daughter work through copious heaps of generational trauma. And even though sometimes I found myself utterly frustrated with Carmen and how she approached Ana’s dreams, hopes, and possible loves, it’s easy to understand how different generations see dreams with a different lense. And it makes the whole show feel so much more real on top of the multiple other elements and layers that come with telling an immigrant story.
Of course this being a musical, both Córdoba and Machado told the story through dance and singing alongside the rest of the cast. And without giving too much away, Cordoba gives multiple heartbreaking and powerful performances throughout the play that have you locked in and feeling like you’re looking at yourself. Another standout includes Aline Mayagoitia, who plays Itzel. Her storyline acts as a linchpin for a lot of what happens in the play and her song with Córdoba might be my favorite of the entire performance.
If all of this isn’t enough to sell you on going to Broadway and watching Real Women Have Curves, I’d like you to consider who was behind the music and lyrics for this play. Composer and lyricist Benjamin Velez wrote the score for the adaptation. But it’s who he did it with that might be of interest to people who love 2000s Latin Pop. Joy Huerta from Jesse and Joy stepped into work on the music and lyrics for Real Women Have Curves. And yes, the songs are just as catchy and emotional wrenching as you’d expect.
So yes, Real Women Have Curves is worth watching. And you should run, not walk, to buy a ticket today.