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Overview

Synopsis

Real Women Have Curves takes place in a sewing factory in East Los Angeles, where a group of five Latina women work, laugh, gossip, and hide from immigration. Estela is the owner of the factory and is the only one who hasn’t received her green card. She works with her mother, Carmen, her sister, Ana, and her employees Rosali and Pancha. We see the women through the point of view of Ana, who has recently graduated from high school and is waiting for a year to apply for scholarships to New York University so she can become a famous writer. She is a “modern woman” and tries to get the other women to stand up for themselves, learn to say no and embrace their bodies and their curves. As the women desperately try to make a deadline for 100 dresses, they discuss love and relationships, body image, and what it means to be a Latina woman in the United States. Even though many arguments and tension, they come together through their work and shared experience and end up successfully completing their task, getting Estela her green card, and becoming closer than ever before. Real Women Have Curves is as relevant today as it was thirty years ago and mixes real, scary issues with joy and laughter. It creates an experience that any woman, family, or American can relate to and enjoy.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1990
Genres
Dark Comedy
Time & Place
A Sewing Factory in East Los Angeles, 1987
Cast Size
small
Ideal For
All-Female Cast, College/University, Community Theatre, Diverse Cast, High School, Regional Theatre, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult Characters, Small Cast

Context

Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Ana

Lead

Female

Estela

Lead

Female

Carmen

Lead

Female

Pancha

Supporting

Female

Rosali

Supporting

Female

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

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Key Terms

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Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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