Broadway musicals typically don’t receive mid-show standing ovations.
However, sometimes songs within these professional productions are so good, so powerful and so raw, the only defense the audience has is to stand and cheer.
Nearly three quarters of the way in to the show-stopping “Real Women Have Curves,” our ensemble busts out the show’s title track while ahem busting out of their tops while working in a sweltering factory. They’re doing everything they can to finish an order to complete 200 dresses in time to meet an impossible deadline.
While the scenario is tense, our heroines are having a blast. At the show I attended, the crowd was too. When the tune concluded, a wave of appreciative fans stood and emphatically cheered. Then, we took our seats and the show continued.
That was just one of many unforgettable moments in this boisterous, crowd-pleasing musical at the James Earl Jones Theatre in Midtown Manhattan.
“Real Women Have Curves,” which is based on the 2002 film starring America Ferrera and George Lopez, opened on Broadway this past April. In the month since its opening, the musical has netted two Tony nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Justina Machado and Best Original Score yet that undersells the jubilant, uplifting energy emanating from director Sergio Trujillo’s stage.
What’s it like to see this emotionally satisfying one-of-a-kind show live?
Well, let’s start before the curtain comes up.
Upon entrance at the recently-renovated James Earl Jones Theatre, one quickly notices how intimate the 1,082-seat space is. The seats in the balcony are spacious but they’re all close to the stage. Even if you’re in the last row, you’re not too far from the action.
That’s hardly the venue’s best feature though.
According to Playbill, “the newly constructed wing off the building’s western face with a grand staircase, elevator, accessible bathrooms, concession areas, lounge, dressing rooms, and rehearsal space” are just a few of the Theatre’s features that got a facelift.
Once you’ve taken stock of the amenities, you’ll notice a colorful, tropical backdrop onstage that evokes a sunny summer day. The mood has been set.
“RWHC” tells the story of 18-year-old Los Angeleno Ana Garcia (the magnetic Tatianna Córdoba). She dreams of attending Columbia University in NYC, which she has been accepted into on a full scholarship. The only problem is her mother, Carmen (Tony-nominated Justina Machado), wants her to stay and work with her and her older sister Estella (pitch-perfect Florencia Cuenca) tailoring dresses. Another sticking point? Ana is the only U.S. citizen in the family and is needed for handling the bureaucratic issues of everyday life.
The tension boils to a fever pitch when a buyer asks Estella — who runs the business — to accepts an offer to produce 200 dresses in just two weeks. This seemingly impossible task forces the family to look deep within and figure out what they really want.
While that workmanlike plot provides a narrative engine, the charming immigrant characters and body-positive, empowering message is what makes the timely story resonate.
We’ll be honest. The hero’s journey within “Real Women Have Curves” is nothing to write home about.
Yet, the stock story flies by thanks to emotive performances, lively songs and heavy-hitting social weightiness. In this case, the “finish a job by a deadline!” plot is a blank slate to draw upon; “Real Women Have Curves” is all about the artistry in the margins, which elevates the tale at hand here.
All throughout the show, multi-cam sitcom-type jokes hit hard. When Pancha (Carla Jimenez delivering a breakout star-making performance full of gravitas and panache) says “say adiós to Andres” when Mrs. García realizes she’s going through menopause, the James Earl Jones Theatre erupted. This wasn’t just a laugh, this felt more like a gut-busting conversation with a friend. These characters weren’t just stand-ins. They’re real, relatable people who could be your neighbors, cousins, pals. It’s that verisimilitude that kept the crowd engaged for the two-hour-plus runtime.
As lived-in as the show is, it should be noted that “Real Women Have Curves” is also a dynamic musical. The production’s opening tune, the “Make It Work,” is a singalong “In The Heights”-esque ear worm and brings the text to life through song. Not only do we get a sense for how these dressmakers have to make things work with their limited resources, we feel it through the energy coursing through the theater, which at times felt more like a concert than a Broadway musical.
And let’s not forget the amazingly executed sequences within the musical. A punchy back-and-forth between young Ana and the blonde buyer wasn’t original — we won’t spoil why — but plays out so effectively, it’s hard not to marvel at how well-constructed the dialogue and blocking is.
On a technical level, “RWHC” makes the most of its charming, DIY sets. The factory, house and restaurant roll in and out effortlessly taking us from scene to scene without a hitch. While other productions rely on outsized theatrics, this musical proves you don’t need spectacle to deliver top-notch drama (and comedy).
“Real Women Have Curves” is an effectively told crowd pleaser that the cast and crew really “make work.”
Universal themes like family, dreams, youth, generationally trauma pulse throughout the heartwarming, emotionally satisfying musical that overcomes its pitfalls and most hackneyed ideas (and slightly overlong runtime) thanks to excellent performances, laugh out loud punchlines and party-starting, dance-floor ready songs that will melt even the most cynical of audience members.
The good here is great and more than outweighs my minor quibbles with the musical.
Given the opportunity, you should actually go. Just be wary, you may be moved to deliver a standing ovation mid-show.
As of now, “Real Women Have Curves runs eight nights a week from Tuesday through at New York City’s James Earl Jones Theatre.
Matinees go down Wednesdays (2 p.m.), Saturdays (2 p.m.) and Sundays (3 p.m.). The production goes dark on Mondays.
At the time of publication, the show will run until Oct. 5, 2025.
If you’d like to snag seats to the show of your choosing, you can find seats for all upcoming “Real Women Have Curves” shows here.
The show runs two hours and 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
For those that want to match names to faces, here’s a bit about each of the five biggest players in the “Real Women Have Curves” cast, courtesy of the musical’s website.
Tatianna Córdoba (Ana García) Tatianna is SO excited to be making her Broadway debut! This Bay Area native is a proud Latina/Filipina who received a BFA in Musical Theater from Boston Conservatory. HUGE thank-you to the DGRW family, the Córdoba 5, Joe, and the RWHC team for believing in her.
Justina Machado (Carmen García) A talented and versatile actress, Justina Machado continues to endear audiences and earn critical acclaim working on stage, television, and film. She stars in Netflix’s upcoming “Pulse” and was previously in Prime Video’s “The Horror of Dolores Roach.” She is best known for her work in “One Day at a Time” and “Six Feet Under.” On stage, Machado previously held roles in A Free Man of Color and In the Heights. She was nominated for an Elliot Norton Award for her role in Real Women Have Curves by the Latino Chicago Theatre Company.
Florence Cuenca (Estela García) Broadway debut! First Mexican immigrant to originate a co-leading role in a Broadway musical. Original Real Women Have Curves ART cast. Off-Broadway: A Never-Ending Line, Children of Salt. Projects: Broadway en Spanglish (Concord), Lincoln Center, Little Island, MASS MoCA. Gracias, IKIGAI Management. Para mi familia. Jaime & Alonzo los amo todo siempre.
Mauricio Mendoza (Raúl García) Notable roles include regional theater: Addams Family, Nine, Anna in the Tropics, In the Heights. TV/Film: “Resurrection Blvd.”, “Matlock,” “The Oval,” “Reboot,” “The Santa Clauses,” “Criminal Minds,” “NCIS,” Blow, Ruthless. Proud member of Actors Equity, AFTRA-SAG, and PGA. Co-Owner of True Form Films with his wife, Yeniffer Behrens.
Jennifer Sánchez (Rosalí) A few of Sánchez’s biggest parts include work on Broadway: Elf, The Rose Tattoo, Pretty Woman, Sunday in the Park With George, On Your Feet!, Spider-Man, Ghost, Women on the Verge, West Side Story. Off-Broadway: The Alchemist. Film: Kiss of the Spider Woman. “Para mi familia, Sánchez y Padilla.”
Hoping to catch a few more musicals in Midtown before Tony Sunday?
In that case, here are just five you absolutely won’t want to miss live these next few months.
Still need even more? Take a look at our list of all the 2025 Tony-nominated shows on Broadway to find the one for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change