Latino tailors at a locker room seminar in East Los Angeles expressed their creed at the top of their new musical, Real Woman Have Curves. With the pulsating song "Make It Work", these women sing how (despite their burdens and obstacles) how hard the immigrant women community manages to create a life full of vitality.

That's also true, based on Josefina López's 1990 drama and 2002 film, she wrote the artistic team behind this attractive, seductive and political show with George Lavoo.

The moderately scalable musical held a competition at the U.S. Repertoire Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2023, thanks to Broadway’s interaction with some major cuts and new materials, plus Nell Benjamin (Nell Benjamin ("Mean Girls" on Broadway," "Legal Blonde") as a versus Lisa Liseed (The Formed Girlsed offer offer offer offer off)

The show is still with Anna (Tatiana Córdoba, who debuted on Broadway), an 18-year-old Mexican-American who longs to leave her close-knit family and become a journalist. Although Anna is confident, she fears that her family’s priority mother, Justina Machado, will react when she learns that ANA is receiving full-time career acceptance at Columbia University - because Carmen has prepared other plans for her daughter.

The family’s small dresser operation requires Anna, her sister Estella (Florencia Cuenca, outstanding) running in Boyle Heights with a group of undocumented women. When a demanding dress broker (Claudia Mulet) offers Estela a success or failure deal to produce 200 clothes during a seemingly impossible deadline, it becomes crucial for ANA to support the needs of family businesses.

But it's not just "quirky dresses", but flattering workers unite to save the manufacturing business (although that happens here). It is also not a kind of “in Boyle Heights”, with a community of loving and proud immigrants (although there are also).

Familiar musical echoes and metaphors, but there are also serious undercurrents that make the female-centric musical theatre far outweigh the celebration of cultural, community and body enthusiasm.

Anna is a U.S. citizen, and this status is crucial to the business because the rest of her family were not born here—her sister was excluded from her own citizenship due to a few arrests. Factory workers are also continuing to fear government attacks and deportation, a threat that has become too real for Guatemalan refugee tailor Itzel (Aline Mayagoitia).

Although the show’s tone is brighter and more optimistic than the original material, the musical’s scope has also expanded to reveal the dark complexity of the undocumented world.

Set in 1987 during the Reagan-era amnesty program, the immigration program for long-term undocumented immigrants – yes, once a path to bipartisan citizenship – today’s musicals mean a lot in today’s music. For possible tours of musicals, DC may prove it in time (although the Kennedy Center may not be too tempting right now).

But politics is vivid through individuality, and the core of the musical is the dream of its characters: those who conflict with others, those who defer, the most harsh people are those who have never been realized. The show keenly portrays mixed emotions with self, family and culture’s obligations and expectations. Anna's inner gui makes it necessary to disagree with her mother and get her blessings - but it is unlikely. "What if I had a bigger dream?" Anna asked. Her mother's cold reaction was "sleep less."

Loomer and Benjamin's book covers storylines and imperfect characters with rich details, dialogue, humor and backstory, some fully aware, while others are short and seductive sketches worthy of their own drama.

The scores written by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez are Latin rhythms and melodies, and the songs range from pop to Mariachi to rap. Songs about physical positivity, menopause and awkwardness seem to be a kind of off-topic in the main narrative, but they also rest from the heavier moments of family conflict and immigration tensions.

Sergio Trujillo's stage and choreography in these classic musical comedy numbers puts the show high and not as amazing as the tailor suffered from a suffocating heat decided to undress for his comfort. It is a joyful empowerment scene where women have their own body, life and stage pride.

This colorful female ensemble is excellent. Male characters are largely among the bystanders, including Mauricio Mendoza as Ana's father Raul and a particularly delightful Mason Reeves as Ana's nerdy new boyfriend. But musicals make Carmen’s character more sympathetic than drama or movies, while Machado gives multi-layered characters with dignity, humor and humanity.

There are several numbers that have a feeling, for example, when Itzel sings metaphorically desires bird freedom. Prior to that, Anna's "i-want" song was about flying away, which could be a song with too many in the air.

While it will surely please many viewers, the show's finale also feels unqualified and underwritten. Perhaps only Carmen can fully realize that Anna's future writing will create something special, not only respecting her, but also women like Carmen, who, with perseverance, resilience and passion, will always make it work there.