‘Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.’ Music & lyrics by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, book by Lisa Loomer. Directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. Music Supervisor Nadia DiGiallonardo; Music direction by Robeto Sinha. Scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado. Costume design by Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young. Lighting design by Natasha Katz. Sound design by Walter Trarbach. Video design by Hana S. Kim. At the American Repertory Theater’s Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, through January 21, 2024.

by Linda Chin 

Like the ad campaign from my childhood about Levy’s Real Jewish Rye, you don’t have to be Latinx to love Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, an exuberant and empowering production enjoying its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater. Set in the summer of 1987 in Boyle Heights, LA, home to a growing population of Hispanic and Latino residents, the story centers on the three “real women” of a Mexican family. Matriarch Carmen Garcia (Justina Machado) is a housewife and traditional, old-fashioned wife to her husband Raúl, a house painter (Edward Padilla), and mother to two daughters. The eldest, Estela (Florencia Cuenca), runs a small dressmaking shop but aspires to be a designer. The youngest, new HS graduate Ana (Lucy Godínez), was born in the US and is a citizen, aspires to go to college and pursue a writing career. Despite the many bumps and curves in their immigration and life journeys, all three “Garcia Girls” have not lost their accents nor lost sight of their big dreams. But they, like all of us, are desperate to be seen for their authentic selves, beyond their curves and the stereotypes society has placed on them. 

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By Michele Markarian

“Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”.  Music and Lyrics by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez, Book by Lisa Loomer.  Based on the play by Josefina Lopez and HBO’s “Real Women Have Curves”, Screenplay by Josefina Lopez and George Lavoo.  Directed and Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo.  Presented by American Repertory Theater, Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, through January 21, 2024.

Ana (Lucy Godinez) is the second daughter of an undocumented Mexican family living in Los Angeles, and the only one to have citizenship. She has just received a letter from Columbia University, admitting her as a college student with a full scholarship.  However, her sister, Estela (Florencia Cuenca), owner of a dressmaking business, has a huge order to fulfill and needs help.  The sisters’ mother, Carmen (Justina Machado), fully expects Ana to work in the family dress factory with Estela. As the only US citizen in the family, Ana has negotiating skills that the rest of the family does not feel comfortable executing themselves. Ana is too afraid to let her parents know her dream of going to a prestigious school, as family, in her case, must come before individual desires. As Carmen likes to say to her, “You have big dreams. Try sleeping less”. 

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