<\/p>\n
Josefina L\u00f3pez wrote \u201cReal Women Have Curves,\u201d based on her experiences as an undocumented Mexican immigrant working in a Boyle Heights garment factory, nearly 40 years ago. <\/p>\n
Since then, L\u00f3pez\u2019s script has yielded a play, a feature film<\/a> starring America Ferrera and, most recently, a Broadway musical. The latter, which opened at the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2025 and closed after 104 performances, will make its post-Broadway debut next spring as part of an original production at Pasadena Playhouse during its 2026-27 season, the theater announced Thursday. Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman called the lineup \u201cbigger than our Sondheim season<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n The season begins with a new production of Friedrich D\u00fcrrenmatt\u2019s tragicomedy \u201cThe Visit,\u201d directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak and starring Jefferson Mays. (Fans will remember the pair\u2019s memorable collaboration<\/a> from this season\u2019s \u201cAmadeus.\u201d<\/a>) Next up is the long-awaited L.A. premiere of \u201cPassing Strange,\u201d the Tony-winning musical based on the life of L.A.-born musician Stew, directed by Tony nominee<\/a> Zhailon Levingston (\u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball\u201d). A yet-to-be-announced winter production will follow, then \u201cReal Women Have Curves: The Musical.\u201d Finally, a revival of Tennessee Williams\u2019 Pulitzer Prize-winning play \u201cCat on a Hot Tin Roof,\u201d which brings Alfred Molina<\/a> back to the Playhouse stage, caps the year.<\/p>\n When Feldman learned that \u201cReal Women Have Curves\u201d did not have a national tour lined up, he took matters into his own hands \u2014 believing it essential that a story centering L.A.\u2019s Latino community be told at a time when it\u2019s hurting<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cCelebrating a community is another form of resistance and power in these times,\u201d Feldman said. <\/p>\n The artistic director compared the tone of \u201cReal Women Have Curves\u201d to Bad Bunny\u2019s Super Bowl halftime show, which many found cathartic for its exuberance. <\/p>\n \u201c[The musical] deserves to have a production at the scale and scope that we do here at Pasadena Playhouse,\u201d Feldman said. <\/p>\n Since Feldman took the reins at the Playhouse in 2016, the historic theater has blossomed into a thriving arts ecosystem<\/a>. In 2023, the Playhouse received the Regional Theatre Tony Award after its critically lauded Sondheim Celebration spiked both audience engagement and the theater\u2019s artistic profile. Just last year, the theater bought back the building<\/a> it lost to bankruptcy in 1970, and greatly expanded its educational offerings<\/a>. <\/p>\n A more risk-averse leader might use such triumphs as permission to take their foot off the gas. Instead, Feldman has assembled a demanding lineup that will require the Playhouse to operate on a larger scale than ever before.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re up for the challenge. We\u2019re ready, and our audiences respond to work when it pushes the limits,\u201d the artistic director said. <\/p>\n