'Real Women Have Curves' Broadway review — new musical stitches together an uplifting story
Read our review of Real Women Have Curves on Broadway, a new musical adaptation of the 1990 play by Josefina López and the HBO film of the same name.
The American dream, and to what extent it can be a reality, has long been a rich subject for Broadway shows to explore, from the recent revival of Gypsy to the 2024 musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby. But such shows can’t be too much of a downer and so restrain their critiques, even as their audiences must confront what this titanic hope means anymore.
There are definitely moments in Real Women Have Curves where it appears to take this task seriously alongside its more archetypal coming-of-age narrative. Ana García’s (Tatianna Córdoba) fervor to become a journalist steers her toward an interview with a congressional candidate who reveals his flippant, anti-immigration thoughts. She is also the only U.S. citizen in her family, and though fresh out of high school, is thus saddled with the responsibility of doing the banal home administrative work her undocumented parents and sister can't. The second act opener takes place in an immigration detention center, dark and gray and spare.
Yet the show continually treats these components as regrettable, in a way. In brief flashes, the weight of the García family’s jeopardized safety, and that of the undocumented factory workers feverishly making 200 dresses for an important order, lands with confidence: an INS raid of an adjacent pillow factory leaves the cast hiding beneath their sewing machines and the stage in silence for a minute. But quickly, Real Women Have Curves appears to wish this element weren’t such a part of the story, either rushing through dramatic beats or undermining them with a cheesy song about flying out of a cage.
Real Women Have Curves feels most comfortable as the musical where Ana grows up, tells her mother (an excellent Justina Machado) that her second-gen immigrant child dreams are valid, and goes off to become a person in her own right. But that’s also the more boring show, dutifully checking off narrative cliches (her mother doesn’t understand her, she has to help her family even though she’s bad at sewing). Intermittently, the songs by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez keenly find something unique in the lives of its characters, like a song about menopause, but too often the lyrics feel generic, as if the wrinkles that make this story potent and valuable have trouble sticking to create a more singular piece.
For how much the show is about the characters’ status as immigrants or citizens, and how frequently they distinguish themselves from white Americans (from their treatment in society writ large to the justice system more specifically), it’s curious that, particularly in today's political environment, the show loops back to a relatively unquestioned idea about the meaning, value, and reality of the American dream. It’s like Real Women Have Curves can’t figure out which story to care about more: the one about a teen following her passion, or about the complexity of immigrants trying to make it in an America where their ambitions are sometimes kept out of reach.
Real Women Have Curves summary
Based on the the 1990 play by Josefina López and the 2002 television film starring America Ferrera, the show takes place in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, in 1987. Young Ana García, born in the U.S. to Mexican immigrants, hopes to go to Columbia University. Her mother (Machado) and sister Estela (Florencia Cuenca) run a sewing factory whose appliances are on their last legs.
When a huge order of dresses comes from a client with connections to important buyers, Ana has to choose between her passion of becoming a journalist or helping her family, while the specter of Ronald Reagan’s conservative immigration stance looms in the background.
What to expect at Real Women Have Curves
Much of the show takes place in the sewing factory, with machines lining the stage like an army regiment. Vibrancy comes from the enthusiastic ensemble, featuring Carla Jimenez, Jennifer Sánchez, Aline Mayagoitia, Sandra Valls, and Shelby Acosta; bright and glowing costumes by Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young; and berry-bold lighting from Natasha Katz. But the richness of the set design, by Arnulfo Maldonado, feels overpowered by the AI-looking LED video backgrounds by Hana S. Kim, which conflate textural expressive murals with smeary, waxy giant screensavers.
What audiences are saying about Real Women Have Curves
Real Women Have Curves has a 93% audience approval rating on Show-Score, earning it "Must-See" status on the review aggregator site. Audiences have largely praised its funny and feel-good nature and representation of a diverse array of Latina women.
- "A delightful musical with good singing and dancing that hits a current topic as well. These actresses will make you laugh and possibly bring you to tears. Great sets and projections keep the action moving.” - Show-score user Patrick M 4
- “How lucky it is to be living in NYC! Seeing these crazy talented people singing their heart out! This one is hilarious! And uplifting... both to women and immigrant communities! GREAT WORK!!” -Show-score user XS2211
- “It is indeed uplifting. But I found it to be underwhelming: 1. The story is predictable, closely following the movie on which it is based. 2. With few exceptions, the songs are unexceptional. 3. None of the performances are memorable, and for a Broadway show, the choreography and dancing are pedestrian. 4. In all, Curves, as pure entertainment, is weak compared to other musicals on Broadway. And in these dark times for immigrants, the show doesn't meet the moment.” - Show-score user Bruce 6
Read more audience reviews of Real Women Have Curves on Show-Score.
Who should see Real Women Have Curves
- Fans of the 2002 film will enjoy the way Real Women Have Curves has been translated to the stage.
- Audiences will be delighted by the Broadway debut of Tatianna Córdoba, who brings to the show a crystalline voice.
- Longtime fans of icon Justina Machado will be pleased that she delivers a powerful performance.
Learn more about Real Women Have Curves
Real Women Have Curves keeps its most compelling and dramatic elements at a distance, opting instead for uplifting. But even in that regard, the music and book don’t feel sturdy enough to distract from its indecision about what it means to be an American, much less in a sociopolitical landscape where those questions are at the forefront of national conversations and loaded with potential danger. Curves might not be intended as a dark treatise on American or immigrant identity, but it needn't cinch these ideas in an ill-fitting dress.
Photo credit: Real Women Have Curves on Broadway. (Photos by Julieta Cervantes)
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