'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 publication has yielded a play, a diagnostic movie starring America Ferrera and, astir recently, a Broadway musical. The latter, which opened astatine the James Earl Jones Theatre successful 2025 and closed aft 104 performances, volition marque its post-Broadway debut adjacent outpouring arsenic portion of an archetypal accumulation astatine Pasadena Playhouse during its 2026-27 season, the theatre announced Thursday. Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman called the lineup “bigger than our Sondheim season.”

The play begins with a caller accumulation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s tragicomedy “The Visit,” directed by Tony Award victor Darko Tresnjak and starring Jefferson Mays. (Fans volition retrieve the pair’s memorable collaboration from this season’s “Amadeus.”) Next up is the long-awaited L.A. premiere of “Passing Strange,” the Tony-winning philharmonic based connected the beingness of L.A.-born instrumentalist Stew, directed by Tony nominee Zhailon Levingston (“Cats: The Jellicle Ball”). A yet-to-be-announced wintertime accumulation volition 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 the Playhouse stage, caps the year.

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

“Celebrating a assemblage is different signifier of absorption and powerfulness successful these times,” Feldman said.

The creator manager compared the code 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 the standard and scope that we bash present astatine Pasadena Playhouse,” Feldman said.

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

A much risk-averse person mightiness usage specified triumphs arsenic support to instrumentality their ft disconnected the gas. Instead, Feldman has assembled a demanding lineup that volition necessitate the Playhouse to run connected a larger standard than ever before.

“We’re up for the challenge. We’re ready, and our audiences respond to enactment erstwhile it pushes the limits,” the creator manager said.

Jefferson Mays starred successful the 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 manager said the amusement excelled due to the fact that of its precocious accumulation worth — thing determination theaters are seldom capable to execute.

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

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

The creator manager said that helium was besides compelled by the unsocial code of “The Visit,” which Dürrenmatt wrote portion Europe was reckoning with its complicity successful World War II. The publication is arsenic acheronian arsenic it is entertaining and absurdist.

“It’s a play yet astir morality and however a assemblage inch-by-inch becomes OK with thing that they should not beryllium OK with,” Feldman said. He added that theatre excels astatine getting audiences to laughter successful the auditorium, and past mull things implicit connected the mode home.

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

“It was a philharmonic that was revolutionary and changed the game,” helium said, characterizing the amusement arsenic “a stone performance wherever a play breaks out.”

Strangely, for a coming-of-age communicative written by an Angeleno astir a instrumentalist from South Central L.A., “Passing Strange” ne'er made it to L.A. aft its 2008 Broadway debut. The musical, which had its satellite premiere astatine Berkeley Repertory Theatre, arrives astatine the Playhouse conscionable successful clip for its 20th anniversary.

While “The Visit” and “Real Women Have Curves” volition beryllium presented mostly arsenic is, “Passing Strange” and “Cat connected a Hot Tin Roof,” directed by Jessica Kubzansky, volition 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 the affectional halfway that secured the play’s spot successful the theatre canon volition beryllium preserved nary substance what changes are made.

Feldman said helium regularly hears the refrain from visitors, “When the satellite is crazy, I conscionable privation to escape. I privation to travel to you and escape.” But what helium thinks radical really mean erstwhile they accidental that is: “I privation to beryllium successful community. I privation to person an acquisition that is supra maine and bigger than me, with different people.”

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

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

“Those moments of lightning, of electricity, successful a country — that’s what I unrecorded for,” helium said. “That’s what we bash best.”