(Info from press release)CASA 0101 THEATER PRESENTS JOSEFINA LÓPEZ'S REAL WOMEM HAVE CURVES
DIRECTED BY CORKY DOMINGUEZ
STARRING: STEFANY ARROYO, YASHA ALANIZ, BIANCA ARACELI, AMY MELENDREZ and LAURA VEGA
MARCH 27 – MAY 3, 2026 (SIX-WEEK RUN)
PERFORMANCES IN ENGLISH: Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.: March 27 – May 3, 2026
Sundays at 2:00 p.m.: March 29 and April 5, 2026
Sundays at 7:00 p.m.: April 12, 19, 26 and May 3, 2026
PERFORMANCES IN SPANISH: Sundays at 2:00 p.m.: April 12, 19, 26 and May 3, 2026
GLORIA MOLINA AUDITORIUM AT CASA 0101 THEATER
2102 EAST FIRST STREET,
LOS ANGELES, CA 90033
CASA 0101 Theater will present a new production of Josefina López's signature award-wining play, Real Women Have Curves, directed by Corky Dominguez, starring Stefany Arroyo, Yasha Alaniz, Bianca Araceli, Amy Melendrez and Laura Vega. Cast Understudies will include Gabriela Machuca and Mariana Montes Sandoval. Performances will be given for six weeks in both English and Spanish at CASA 0101 Theater in the Gloria Molina Auditorium, 2102 East First Street (at St. Louis Street), Los Angeles, CA 90033 from March 27 – May 3, 2026. Learn more at casa0101.org
Real Women Have Curves is the story of five curvy Latina women working in a tiny sewing factory in East Los Angeles in 1987 who are trying to meet an impossible production deadline while hiding from immigration. Their determination, courage and juicy "chisme" (gossip) help them form a bond and discover their power.
Josefina López, the Creator and Playwright of Real Women Have Curves, said: "When I wrote the first words of my play 38 years ago in March of 1988, I felt I was divinely guided to write my story and share it with the world. I never envisioned the lasting impact and topical relevance my words would have this many years later. When I was 18-years-old writing in my journal about my hilarious experiences at my sister's sewing factory in east L.A. I channeled my anger at the machismo I experienced growing up and the objectification of women and racism by Hollywood and my experience being undocumented. And now, years later, I have learned why this story has been embraced and become a hit. My story celebrates the four stages of being a womankind, the challenges of transitioning to the next stage and embracing the natural and organic process of aging and coming into our own wisdoms. When women celebrate their lives and play they create sacred space that helps others be liberated of shame especially of their bodies. My story is a sacred dance of feminine goddess energy and camaraderie that was inspired by my own mother, sister and the women in my life at that time, which has taken on a higher purpose beyond what I ever initially could have imagined."
Corky Dominguez, Director of Real Women Have Curves, said, "I have had the great pleasure of collaborating with Josefina López on many of her original plays by taking what she has written on the page and breathing life into her characters and words by realizing them on the stage. Given what is happening in the world we are living in today, the spot on poignancy of Josefina's themes and plotline in Real Women Have Curves, laced with a heavy dose of humor, is undeniably pertinent, joyous and uplifting for our times. This will be the take away for audience members who come to see our production!"
Emmanuel Deleage, Producer of Real Women Have Curves and Executive Director of CASA 0101 Theater, said: "Josefina López's play, Real Women Have Curves launched CASA 0101 over 25 years ago. After a Broadway run in 2025, we are excited to be bringing back the play that launched it all for us. Last produced in 2011 at CASA 0101, Real Women Have Curves has become more timely than ever."
Real Women Have Curves will be presented in English for six weeks on Fridays and Saturdays 8:00 p.m. from March 27 – May 3, 2026, Sundays at 2:00 p.m. on March 29 and April 5, 2026, and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. on April 12, 19, 26 and May 3, 2026.
Performances of the show in Spanish will be given on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. on April 12, 19, 26 and May 3, 2026. Additional information will soon be announced.
The cast of Real Women Have Curves includes: Stefany Arroyo (of South Bay/Lomita, CA) as Ana García; Yasha Alanitz (of Silver Lake, CA) as Estela García; Blanca Araceli (of Los Angeles, CA) as Carmen García; Amy Melendrez (of Venice, CA) as Rosalí; and Laura Vega (of Pasadena, CA) as Pancha.
Understudies in Real Women Have Curves include: Gabriela Machuca (of Yorba Linda, CA) Understudy for Ana García and Rosalí who will appear as Ana García in the Spanish performance of the play on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.; and Mariana Montes Sandoval (of Whittier, CA) Understudy for Estela García, Carmen García and Pancha who will appear as Estela García in the Spanish performance of the play on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
The production team for Real Women Have Curves includes: Josefina López (of Boyle Heights) Creator and Playwright, Founding Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake, CA) Producer and Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Edward Padilla (of Boyle Heights) Casting Director and CASA 0101 Theater Board Member; Corky Dominguez (of Boyle Heights) Director; Carmelita Maldonado (of El Sereno, CA) Assistant Director; Angelica Ornelas (of North Hollywood, CA) Stage Manager; Joy Diaz (of Monterray Park, CA) Assistant Stage Manager; Doreen Sanchez (of Hollywood, CA) Assistant Stage Manager/Assistant Props); César Rentana-Holguín (of Northridge, CA) Set Designer; Alejandro Parra (of Burbank, CA) Lighting Designer; Tony Iniguez (of West Covina, CA) Costume Designer; Abel Alvarado (of Silver Lake, CA) Assistant Costume Designer; Andy James Garcia (of East Los Angeles, CA) Props Manager; Jeremiah Ocañas (of Boyle Heights) Set Builder; Mark Kraus (of Los Angeles, CA), CASA 0101 Theater Development Director; Itzel Ocampo (of Alhambra, CA) Graphic Designer and CASA 0101 Theater Marketing and Operations Manager; Gabriela López de Dennis, Soap Studio Inc. (of Los Angeles, CA) Program; Jorge Villanueva (of the Boyle Heights) Facilities Manager; Oscar Basulto (of the Boyle Heights) Box Office Manager; Al Aguilar (of Los Angeles, CA) Production Assistant/Foyer Designer; Rudy Torres (of Los Angeles, CA) Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations (of Los Angeles, CA), Press Representative.
CASA 0101 Theater is supported in part by: The State of California, Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture, Eastside Arts Initiative, National Latinx Theater Initiative, Herb Alpert Foundation, Perenchio Foundation, The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, California Arts Council, U.S. Bank and the David Lee Foundation.
Tickets for the Six-Week Run of Real Women Have Curves are $25.00 per person for General Admission; $22.00 per person for Students and Seniors 60+ and $20 per person for Boyle Heights residents, Spanish language performances and Groups of 10 of more.
Real Women Have Curves is recommended for all audiences and children ages 13 and above. Children three years of age and under are not permitted. For tickets, please call the CASA 0101 Theater Box Office at 323-263-7684, E-mail tickets@casa0101.org or buy online at casa0101.org
Join the conversation on Facebook @CASA0101Theater; on Instagram @CASA0101 To learn more about CASA 0101, please visit casa0101.org
Free Parking is available on several streets surrounding the theatre. Limited Free Parking is also available at the Boyle Heights City Hall Parking Lot located at 2130 East First Street (at Chicago Street) by entering the lot from Chicago Street.
What makes this production unique is that the sewing machine that once belonged to Josefina López's late mother, Catalina Perales López, who was the model for the character of Carmen García in López's play, will be seen for the first time in public and on stage in this production of Real Women Have Curves. Josefina López, at the age of 18, also worked with her sister, Esther López, the model for the character of Estela García in her play, which is set in a small sewing factory located on the East Side of Los Angeles. It was on this very sewing machine, dubbed "Catalina," that López's mother once sewed on in the sewing factory they all worked together in nearly 40 years ago, located just blocks away from CASA 0101 Theater.
Concurrently during the run of the show, Real Women Have Curves, a FREE Art Exhibit will be presented in the Jean Deleage Art Gallery located in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater entitled "The Syntax Of Photography." This exhibition explores the many way we engage with photography – its uses, messages, content and statements – and asks how photography functions and how it interacts with memory.
Curated by Jimmy Centeno, featured artists in the exhibition include: Mari Mercado, Carlos Rosas, Camilo Cruz, Carlos Tinoco, Gregory Parker, Miguel Delgado, Jimmy Centeno and Marti Guerra. The exhibit can be viewed prior to performances of Real Women Have Curves, and during Art Gallery Hours, which are Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Up Next at CASA 0101 Theater:
Following this production of Real Women Have Curves, coming up next at CASA 0101 Theater will be the World Premiere production of Soul Sacrifice written by Consuelo G. Flores, directed by Kenneth Castillo, May 29 – June 21, 2026.
Curves In Concert:
Josefina López, the Creator of the award-winning play and Co-Writer of the screenplay, Real Women Have Curves, which became the source materials for the 2025 Broadway show, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, will participate in a Talk Back following the West Coast Premiere of Curves In Concert, a One-Night-Only concert experience based on the Broadway musical featuring members of the Original Broadway Cast directed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations) to be presented at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Original Broadway Cast Members performing in Curves In Concert will include: Tatiana Córdoba, Florencia Cuenca, Jennifer Sanchez, Carla Jimenez, Aline Mayagoitia, Shelby Acosta, Sandra Valls, Claudia Mulet and Shadia Fairuz.
Curves In Concert will include in show-stopping songs from Tony Award-nominated score for Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, like "Make It Work" and "Flying Away," written by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Joy Huerta (Jesse & Joy) and Benjamin Velez (Kiss My Aztec). Curves In Concert, a paid event, will be followed by ¡DAMAS!, (Ladies), a free family-friendly celebration with dancing, food trucks and women-owned vendors on the Segerstrom Plaza featuring live music and local powerhouse performers, Adelaide Pilar and Mariachi Las Catrinas. To learn more call the Box Office at 714-556-2787 and visit online at scfta.org/events/2026/curves-in-concert
Josefina López (Playwright, Founding Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater) (of Boyle Heights) is best known for authoring the 1988 play and co-authoring the 2002 Sundance Film Festival Audience and Jury Award-winning film Real Women Have Curves, which were the source materials for the 2025 Broadway production of Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, which garnered critical acclaim and 12 award nominations, including "Best Musical" nominations from the New York Drama League and Outer Critics Circle, as well as nominations for the New York Drama Critics Circle and two Tony Award nominations.
López started her writing career at 17 and has had productions produced of her many plays throughout the country. López's first short play, Simply Maria or the American Dream was filmed as a PBS special and won a Gold Award from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and an Emmy Award.
Other plays include: Confessions of Women from East L.A.; Boyle Heights; Remembering Boyle Heights I and II, Hungry Woman in Paris; Detained in the Desert (which was also made into a feature film); Trío Los Machos (now in development as a musical); A Cat Named Mercy; Piñata Dreams; Drunk Girl; Lola Goes To Roma; A Cat Named Mercy; Hpysteria; A Woman Named Gloria; An Enemy of the Pueblo, Queen of the Rumba, Eléctrico, Erótica Diabolica and the 2025 award-winning film, 20 Pounds To Happiness (Eat. Love. Joy.) which López executive produced and wrote.
López has been working as a professional screenwriter for over 30 years, with many established producers like Norman Lear and Jaime Paglia to bring Latinos to television. She has been the recipient of dozens of awards and accolades, and has penned seven books as an author. López is the Founding Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, CA (founded on April 1, 2000).
Upcoming Projects for Josefina López include: a newly commissioned play she is writing for Centre Theatre Group, the debut of Hollywood Chola at the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and her autobiography, Real Women Have Courage. Learn more at: Josefinalopez.biz and casa0101.org @JosfinaLopezRWHC @realwomenhavecurvesthemusical @20PoundsToHappiness
Corky Dominguez (Director) (of Boyle Heights) has over 40 years theatre experience as a producer, director, choreographer, performer, writer, and theatre teaching-artist. He has worked with several Los Angeles professional theaters and educational institutions. He is an advocate for youth oriented theatre programs. Directing credits at CASA 0101 Theater include: Remembering Boyle Heights Part 1 & 2, An Enemy Of The Pueblo, Unmasking Hercules, Eastside Heartbeats, Bad For The Community, Piñata Dreams, Hungry Woman, Real Women Have Curves (20 Year Anniversary and Los Angeles Premiere productions), Midnight Marauder: A New Year's Eve Masquerade Murder Mystery Show, Hoop Girls, Tamales De Puerco (2008 Production), When Nature Calls, and with the LGBTQ Brown and Out Festival: Dona Conception, My Perfect Boyfriend, The Baby Cries, Miercoles Loves Luna, Frankie & Johnny, Forever Young, Young Dudes, L.U.G., and Twinks & Boobs MC. Corky Dominguez has also directed CASA 0101 Theater's and Brown Fist Productions' critically acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and CASA 0101 Theater's World Premiere productions of Josefina López's Queen of the Rumba, A Woman Named Gloria and most recently, Eléctrico.
Emmanuel Deleage (Show Producer and Executive Director of CASA 0101 Theater) is a graduate of UCLA in World Arts and Cultures. While in college he joined the skid row theater troupe, Los Angeles Poverty Department, founded by performance artist John Malpede. He later became the company's administrator. In 2001 he formed his own company Courage Productions, and produced Armand Gatti's Public Song Before Two Electric Chairs at the Los Angeles Theater Center. He also met Josefina López that same year, and merged Courage with the newly formed CASA 0101 Theater. He is currently the Executive Director of CASA 0101. He has overseen the growth of CASA 0101 from an all-volunteer organization running out of a storefront venue, to becoming a leading arts organization in Boyle Heights offering a full season of theater productions, arts education classes and art exhibitions. He also has had the privilege of working with theater directors, Peter Sellars, Gino Zampieri, Pascal Rambert and Armand Gatti. At CASA 0101 Theater, he has directed The Imaginary Life of the Street Sweeper August G by Armand Gatti, Locked Up and You Don't Know Me by Patricia Zamorano, Nat Turner by Randolph Edmonds and Food for the Dead, by Josefina López. He recently co-produced, along with Brown Fist Productions, a critically acclaimed production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, as well as the critically acclaimed productions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and World Premiere productions of Josefina Lopez's plays, Queen of the Rumba, A Woman Named Gloria and Eléctrico. He recently produced CASA 0101 Theater's 25th Anniversary Season, which included Three World Premieres: Mujeres On The Verge (Women On The Verge), Fernandomania Forever, and Eléctrico, as well as productions of Tuesdays With Morrie and DreamWorks – The Prince of Egypt: The Musical. As a writer, his first play was Selma Worth, about homelessness and finding self worth. His second play, which he directed and co-wrote with Lorenzo Alfredo, was An L.A. Journey.
Stefany Arroyo (Ana García) (of South Bay/Lomita, CA) will be making her debut at CASA 0101 Theater in this production of Real Women Have Curves. Arroyo's real mother was a garment factory worker and seamstress for 20 years, prior to retiring in 2023. Arroyo said she can really relate to López's play, since Arroyo's own mother gave her firsthand account of working in a garment factory: the heat, the steam and the camaraderie that comes with working with 40 other workers, most predominantly Hispanic. Arroyo mentions he mother taught her how to hem, mend and sew on buttons.
Arroyo graduated in May 2025 with a B.A. degree in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Acting from the University of California's School of Dramatic Arts. As an undergraduate Arroyo trained at the British American Dramatic Academy in London, England. Her stage credits include: Chavez Ravine: An L.A. Ghost Stogy by Culture Clash (Sanctuary Theatre, USC), Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov (Teatro Technis in Camden, London UK) and Blue Stockings by Emily Swale (The McClintock Theatre, USC).
Yasha Alaniz (Estela García) (of Silver Lake, CA) last appeared at CASA 0101 Theater in the 2025 World Premiere production of Fernandomania, A Ten-Minute Play Festival Celebrating the late Mexican Major League Baseball Player, Fernando Valenzuela. Alaniz is an actress, singer and model originally from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Alaniz's theatrical roles include: Eurydice in Eurydice, The Witch in Into The Woods, Magenta in Rocky Horror Picture Show and Ursula in The Little Mermaid. At the age of 12, she was the movie, Real Women Have Curves for the first time, which is when she decided she wanted to be an actress. She is writing a television show pilot, Gay Panic; enjoys jamming with her queer rock band, Pink Threat and working on numbers for her drag alter ego, Dykeodomy. She recently started an events page on Instragram called @dykeagenda
Bianca Araceli (Carmen García) (of Los Angeles, CA) is an actress, director, producer, choreographer and cultural leader whose career spans more than three decades across film, television and theatre in the United States, Mexico and Brazil. She voiced the character of the Emcee in the Disney/Pixar's Academy Award-winning feature film, Coco, and appeared as Rosa in the film, Good Fortune, directed by Aziz Ansari, starring Keanu Reeves. Other film credits include: HBO's Unimundo 45, The Call Us Sediciosos, Christina, Feeding Mr. Baldwin, Road to Juarez and East Side Story.
She has appeared in guest starring roles on the television shows: Matlock alongside Kathy Bates, Netflix's Monsters where she appears as "Grandma Maria," and in the recurring role of Viva in Doctor Odyssey. Other television credits include appearances on The Connors, Mr. Mayor, Animal Kingdom, S.W.A.T., Station 19, Cherish The Day, Party of Five, The Bridge, Veep, American Horror Story, Shameless, Young & Hungry, East Los High, I'm Sorry and Southland.
On stage Araceli has been seen in more than 80 theatrical productions, including appearing as Carmen García in productions of Real Women Have Curves presented by the Dallas Theater Center, the Garry Marshall Theatre and at the Pasadena Playhouse. Since 1996 she has served as Director and Choreographer of Tierra Blanca Dance Company. In 2002 she founded Tierra Blanca Arts Center dedicated to preserving and celebrating Latino heritage through the performing arts. In 2024 she opened Blanca Araceli Acting Studio.
Amy Melendrez (Rosalí) (of Venice, CA) lasted appeared in Josefina López's World Premiere production of A Woman Named Gloria as Young Gloria presented at CASA 0101 Theater in 2024. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and is a graduate of the University of Southern California. In 2022 she appeared in the World Premiere production CASA 0101 Theater's ARENA: A House MUSICal as Orfa, which was subsequently staged at the Renberg Theatre/LGBT Center. Other recent stage credits include Cupcake Theater's The Little Mermaid, Santa Monica Playhouse's FaithnLove, MSD Productions' Spring Awakening and BroadwayMania's In The Heights. She is a 2019 graduate from the School of Dramatic Arts at the University of Southern California. While pursuing her B.A. in Theatre, she attended the British American Drama Academy and appeared in various collegiate productions. Her family emigrated from Mexico and initially lived in house in Boyle Heights, just a few blocks away from CASA 0101 Theater. She grew up in Downey, CA.
Laura Vega (Pancha) (of Pasadena, CA) last appeared at CASA 0101 Theater in the 2025 World Premiere production of Fernandomania, A Ten-Minute Play Festival Celebrating the late Mexican Major League Baseball Player, Fernando Valenzuela. In 2024, she appeared in CASA 0101 Theater's World Premiere production of A Woman Named Gloria. Vega is SAG/AFTRA bilingual actress with over 30 years of experience. Vega has written, produced and starred in the following plays for the Frida Kahlo's yearly 10 Minute Theater Festival – Lockdown, The Secret, That's What It's All About, (also a short film), Familix, and La Cita, which was awarded Best Play and Best Actress by Short And Sweet Hollywood Festival 2024 Latinx. Her television credits include: Criminal Minds, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Law & Order. Theatre credits include: Back To The Blanket, at the Denver Center Theater, The Granny, at the Old Globe Theater, Wit at the Center Theater CO. She holds an A.A. degree in Theater Arts from East Los Angeles College.
Gabriela Machuca (Understudy for Ana García and Rosalí) (of Yorba Linda, CA) will appear as Ana García in the Spanish performance of the play on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Theatre credits include appearances as Julia in I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Greenway Court Theatre0; Ana García in Real Women Have Curves (Phantom Theatre Projects); and Gracia in Brown Face (University of California, Riverside) for which she received a Special Achievement in Individual Performance by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in May 2022. She has also appeared in The Vagina Monologues (UC Riverside) and Workshop production as Dolores in Si Se Puede with Center Theatre Group. She last appeared at CASA 0101 Theater in the 2023 production of Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme.
Mariana Montes Sandoval (Understudy for Estela García, Carmen García and Pancha) (of Whittier, CA) will appear as Estella García in the Spanish performance of the play on Sunday, April 26, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Montes Sandoval's theatre credits include appearing as Rita in La Mujere que Cayó del Cielo (The Woman Who Fell from the Sky) at Tierra Blanca Arts Center and Yerma in Lorca y las Mujeres (Lorca and the Women) at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. In 2016 she won the Encore Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for Uterine Affairs. In 2017 the production of La Casa de Bernarda Alba won an Imagen Award. Film credits include: Martha in Cortometraje (Short Film) La Clave directed by Patricia Cordoso.
About CASA 0101 Theater:
CASA 0101 Theater, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded 26 years ago by Founding Artistic Director, Josefina López, author of Real Women Have Curves, in 2000 to fulfill her vision of bringing art and live theater programs to Boyle Heights. From its humble beginnings in a former bridal shop, CASA 0101 Theater has established itself as a leading arts venue for Los Angeles' East Side, currently offering year round theatrical productions and classes in dramatic writing and acting for youth and adults. CASA 0101 Theater is dedicated to providing vital arts, cultural, and educations programs in theatre, digital filmmaking, art and dance – to Boyle Heights, thereby nurturing the future storytellers of Los Angeles. CASA 0101 is named such, as casa means house of home in Spanish. 0's and 1's are the binary language computers use to operate. CASA 0101 Theater was founded at the dawn of the digital age, when digital cameras started appearing and moviemaking became accessible to more people. Early on Josefina López taught digital video classes. Though the organization subsequently focused its energies on theatre and not digital filmmaking, the name stuck. To learn more, please visit casa0101.org
