'real Women Have Curves' Makes Post-broadway Debut As Part Of Pasadena Playhouse's 2026-27 Season

Josefina López wrote “Real Women Have Curves,” based connected her experiences arsenic an undocumented Mexican migrant moving successful a Boyle Heights garment factory, astir 40 years ago.

Since then, López’s book has yielded a play, a feature film starring America Ferrera and, astir recently, a Broadway musical. The latter, which opened astatine nan James Earl Jones Theatre successful 2025 and closed aft 104 performances, will make its post-Broadway debut adjacent outpouring arsenic portion of an original accumulation astatine Pasadena Playhouse during its 2026-27 season, nan theatre announced Thursday. Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman called nan lineup “bigger than our Sondheim season.”

The play originates pinch a caller accumulation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s tragicomedy “The Visit,” directed by Tony Award victor Darko Tresnjak and starring Jefferson Mays. (Fans will retrieve nan pair’s memorable collaboration from this season’s “Amadeus.”) Next up is nan long-awaited L.A. premiere of “Passing Strange,” nan Tony-winning philharmonic based connected nan life of L.A.-born musician Stew, directed by Tony nominee Zhailon Levingston (“Cats: The Jellicle Ball”). A yet-to-be-announced wintertime accumulation will follow, past “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.” Finally, a revival of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Cat connected a Hot Tin Roof,” which brings Alfred Molina backmost to nan Playhouse stage, caps nan year.

When Feldman learned that “Real Women Have Curves” did not person a nationalist circuit lined up, he took matters into his ain hands — believing it basal that a communicative centering L.A.’s Latino organization beryllium told astatine a clip when it’s hurting.

“Celebrating a organization is different shape of guidance and powerfulness successful these times,” Feldman said.

The creator head compared nan reside of “Real Women Have Curves” to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, which galore recovered cathartic for its exuberance.

“[The musical] deserves to person a accumulation astatine nan standard and scope that we do present astatine Pasadena Playhouse,” Feldman said.

Since Feldman took nan reins astatine nan Playhouse successful 2016, nan historical theatre has blossomed into a thriving arts ecosystem. In 2023, nan Playhouse received nan Regional Theatre Tony Award aft its critically lauded Sondheim Celebration spiked some assemblage engagement and nan theater’s creator profile. Just past year, nan theatre bought backmost nan building it mislaid to bankruptcy successful 1970, and greatly expanded its educational offerings.

A much risk-averse leader mightiness usage specified triumphs arsenic support to return their ft disconnected nan gas. Instead, Feldman has assembled a demanding lineup that will require nan Playhouse to run connected a larger standard than ever before.

“We’re up for nan challenge. We’re ready, and our audiences respond to activity erstwhile it pushes nan limits,” nan creator head said.

Jefferson Mays starred successful nan Pasadena Playhouse’s caller accumulation of “Amadeus.”

(Jeff Lorch)

That proved existent for “Amadeus,” which Feldman called “one of our biggest hits of each time.” The creator head said nan show excelled because of its precocious accumulation worth — thing location theaters are seldom capable to execute.

The imaginative squad for “Amadeus” will purpose to replicate that occurrence erstwhile they reunite for “The Visit,” a play Tresnjak has wanted to tackle for 40 years.

“The activity gets truthful overmuch deeper erstwhile you’ve built nan trust,” Feldman said. Plus, recycling a prima is simply a classical move for location theaters, which historically operated arsenic repertory companies that showcased nan aforesaid group of performers successful different roles and thereby exhibited their range.

The creator head said that he was besides compelled by nan unsocial reside of “The Visit,” which Dürrenmatt wrote while Europe was reckoning pinch its complicity successful World War II. The book is arsenic acheronian arsenic it is entertaining and absurdist.

“It’s a play yet astir morality and really a organization inch-by-inch becomes OK pinch thing that they should not beryllium OK with,” Feldman said. He added that theatre excels astatine getting audiences to laughter successful nan auditorium, and past mull things complete connected nan measurement home.

Following “The Visit,” nan Playhouse will up nan power pinch 2 musicals, “Passing Strange” and “Real Women Have Curves,” (with nan undisclosed show falling successful between). Feldman considers “Passing Strange” a portion of nan Playhouse’s ongoing effort to revisit landmark American musicals.

“It was a philharmonic that was revolutionary and changed nan game,” he said, characterizing nan show arsenic “a stone performance wherever a play breaks out.”

Strangely, for a coming-of-age communicative written by an Angeleno astir a musician from South Central L.A., “Passing Strange” never made it to L.A. aft its 2008 Broadway debut. The musical, which had its world premiere astatine Berkeley Repertory Theatre, arrives astatine nan Playhouse conscionable successful clip for its 20th anniversary.

While “The Visit” and “Real Women Have Curves” will beryllium presented mostly arsenic is, “Passing Strange” and “Cat connected a Hot Tin Roof,” directed by Jessica Kubzansky, will beryllium lightly updated for modern audiences.

Williams published aggregate versions of his play and ne'er genuinely stopped revising it, Feldman said, “so we’re trying to fig what champion suits our accumulation successful our world.” Audiences tin remainder assured that nan affectional halfway that secured nan play’s spot successful nan theatre canon will beryllium preserved nary matter what changes are made.

Feldman said he regularly hears nan refrain from visitors, “When nan world is crazy, I conscionable want to escape. I want to travel to you and escape.” But what he thinks group really mean erstwhile they opportunity that is: “I want to beryllium successful community. I want to person an acquisition that is supra maine and bigger than me, pinch different people.”

“It’s why I’m making nan lawsuit that theatre is going to beryllium much applicable and important successful decades to travel than ever earlier successful my career,” he said. The much exertion continues to predominate our lives, and nan much we go isolated arsenic a result, nan much precious those moments successful nan theatre are, Feldman added.

He sensed it erstwhile audiences roared pinch laughter during nan Playhouse’s accumulation of “Eureka Day,” and during a hit of pin-drop soundlessness successful “Amadeus.”

“Those moments of lightning, of electricity, successful a room — that’s what I unrecorded for,” he said. “That’s what we do best.”