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‘Real Women Have Curves’ at SVHS

Lopez play this weekend

The Sonoma Valley High School Drama Department will present the play “Real Women Have Curves” by Josefina Lopez at the high school Little Theatre from Friday through Sunday, October 7 to 9.

“Real Women Have Curves” is a coming-of-age story about Ana, a first-generation Chicana torn between pursuing her college ambitions, a personal goal, and securing employment, which is a family expectation. Along the way, Ana confronts a host of cultural assumptions about beauty, marriage, and a woman’s role in society.

Set in a tiny sewing factory in East L.A., this is the funny story of five Mexican-American women who are racing to meet nearly impossible production deadlines in order to keep their tiny factory from going under. And while they work, hiding from the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), they talk about their husbands, their children, their dreams for the future.

The story is told from the point of view of Ana, the youngest among them. Just graduated from high school, Ana dreams of getting out of the barrio and going off to college and becoming a famous writer. Although she needs the money, Ana doesn’t like working at the factory and has little respect for the coworkers, who make fun of her ambitions and what they consider her idealistic feminist philosophies. But Ana keeps coming to her job and chronicling her experiences in a journal. As the summer unfolds, she slowly gains an understanding and appreciation of the work and the women, eventually writing an essay that wins her a journalism fellowship that will take her to New York City. The play, a microcosm of the Latina immigrant experience, celebrates real women’s bodies, the power of women, and the bond that develops when women work together.

The cast of Sonoma Valley High School performers includes Ana Dagio, Brenda Morgan, Maya Smoot, Monica Torres, Stephanie Reyes, Itzel Macedonia Santiago, Yaranara Morales, Cinthya Gamimo, Flor Suarez, Courtney Bristow and Amelia Metzler. The show is directed by Jane Martin.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, October 7 and 8, with a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Admission is $7 for Adults and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Readers’ Books, 130 E. Napa St., and at Pharmaca, 303 W. Napa St. Tickets may also be purchased at the Sonoma Valley High School Little Theater box office 30 minutes prior to curtain.

The Sonoma High School Drama Department gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the SVHS Boosters Club.