Justina Machado is preparing to take on a curvy new role on Broadway.
The 52-year-old Puerto Rican SAG Award-winning actress and Broadway newcomer Tatianna Córdoba have been cast as the leads in the upcoming Broadway production Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.
Córdoba will make her debut starring as ambitious high school senior Ana Garcia (a role that marked America Ferrera’s breakout debut in the 2002 HBO film).
Starring alongside her will be Machado as Carmen Garcia, Ana’s hardworking mother who imagines a traditional life for her daughter.
Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is set to begin previews on April 1 at the James Earl Jones Theatre ahead of an opening night on April 27.
The official synopsis: It’s the summer of 1987, and Ana Garcia dreams of flying away from East Los Angeles. But when her family receives a make-or-break order for 200 dresses, Ana finds herself juggling her own ambitions, her mother’s expectations, and a community of women all trying to make it work against the odds.
The production also announced the full creative team for the Broadway run, which will feature direction & choreography by Sergio Trujillo, music and lyrics by Joy Huerta and composer/lyricist Benjamin Velez, book by Lisa Loomer with Nell Benjamin, and music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo.
The production will also feature music direction by Roberto Sinha, scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by John Shivers, video design by Hana S. Kim, and hair, wig, and make-up design by Krystal Balleza.
The musical is based on the play by Josefina López and HBO’s Real Women Have Curves (screenplay by Josefina López and George LaVoo). American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University produced the musical’s world premiere in 2023.
Machado’s previous credits include the television programs One Day at a Time, Queen of the South and Devious Maids, as well as the films The Purge: Anarchy and Final Destination 2.