Real Women Have Curves

I live in Oceanside, Ca. north of San Diego, and I went to see an original play that a friend of mine acted in. So being the good friend and also being a critic, I told my friend, Anyelid Meneses that not only would I attend, but I would write a review on it. "Real Women Have Curves" has only five actors-- all women in the entire cast, and I felt, knowing this information, it should be good. Not many plays/movies with a small cast have the tendency to be bad, and I was right.

This is a comedy about five beautiful, but curvaceous women Carmen, Ana, Pancha, Rosali, and Estela (Melba Novoa, Yesenia Ramos, Hannah Dohrer, Dana Fares, and Anyelid Meneses) respectively, that work together in a garment factory. But as you watch this, it transcends far beyond five co-workers in a factory. These are friends, whether they be related or not that share each others sorrows, joys, challenges, fears, obstacles and happiness and still are able to stick together, because they are all they've got.
This play, written by Josefina Lopez, faces challenges that hit women right between the eyes practically every day, such as poor self-esteem, abusive relationships, eating disorders, financial dilemmas, and they still come back together at that factory the next day clearly with the knowledge that working there is keeping them poor. What they come to realize is they may be poor (financially), but they are rich in their relationship with each other.

This was brilliantly directed by Tracy Williams in that these women each had there own distinct persona as they interacted with one another and they melded so well that you'd swear these five knew each other for years and years. I know these actors had to look into themselves to get into character, but Williams went from there and molded these women to the point where their relationship was effortless when viewing this.

Even the production values were great. Kelly Kissinger's set design was simple, but so much went into it to pull off that factory look. Certain costumes by Roz Lehman were stunning and matched the character of each woman. The lighting design by Justin Hall was right on the money where the light was needed and where it was not.

Whether you're into women's issues or not, this will definitely cause anyone to be thoughtful well after they leave the theater. But isn't this what Lopez was trying to achieve?

Out of 4 stars: 4                 Approx. 105min. + a 15min. intermission