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[0:00] Teresa Attridge: Welcome back to part two of our conversation with Lisa Loomer and Benjamin Velez about this exciting new musical.

[1:36] Benjamin Velez: Ana Garcia dreams of flying away. But when her family's East Los Angeles garment business receives a make-or-break order for 200 dresses, Ana finds herself juggling her own ambitions, her mother Carmen's expectations, and a community of women all trying to make it work against the odds.

[2:00] Lisa Loomer: So in this musical, there are some very complicated family dynamics going on. Can you talk more about that?

[2:05] Benjamin Velez: Yeah, because, of course, Ana's not the only daughter in this story. In fact, she is the second. Well, something that another change from play to movie to musical is that now Ana is the only documented member in the family. I thought that would create a tension within the family and an interesting tension between the sisters, a very true situation. You know, first we hear Ana's dream and then later in the act, I think I remember when you guys came up with it. And I thought, this is so original. And I think that's what's always blown me away. This song is, it just, it wouldn't happen in another musical. She is not our protagonist, but boy, does she, she has such a big dream herself. So as we said earlier, she runs this factory and she's an entrepreneur and she has created this business that is supporting the family, but she's not documented.

And so there are just certain things that we all take for granted that are not open to her. In the out of town version at the A.R.T., she had a different song. It was called Always on the Run and it was about this story that was from the original play about how she had kidnapped, abducted a lobster out of season. And that's why she had a record and she wasn't able to apply for the amnesty, which at that time was how undocumented people could become documented and get citizenship. And we didn't feel like that was fully capturing just her, her inner life. And so we came up with this idea where her backstory comes up. It's such a small, she was basically caught driving without a license when she was driving her mom to the clinic when her mom was having an asthma attack.

And she was 15 and she got cited. And because of that, she's not able to apply. And it's, it's this like small thing that is, it's like this tragic thing that is defining her life, but she still has all these things she wants to do. And so this song is kind of exploring. She never really had a normal childhood because she was brought to the States as a child, but she didn't get the same opportunities to just not worry that other kids had. And we wanted to dive into that.

[4:13] Benjamin Velez: And who is the very talented performer who is the incredible Florencia Cuenca? We also, because Estela comes from Mexico, we wanted to bring some mariachi flavor. So this song is kind of a mix of pop and mariachi, but in a, in a modern way that really lets Florencia and the character shine. Here is Daydream performed by Florencia Cuenca.

[4:34] ♪ Musical number: "Daydream" — performed by Florencia Cuenca ♪

[8:01] Benjamin Velez: It couldn't happen to a nicer person, you know what I mean? When you think of Florencia, you're like, this is exactly what you want to have their dream come true. She's been with us for a long time, so we were able to really craft the role around her. You know, the other thing is, there is such an amazing heart in this piece. The other thing is, it's the laugh-out-loud funny. All the time, I was just cracking up, and this is a song that I think illustrates that very well. With also heart in it. Benjamin, would you please set up Adios Andres?

[8:26] Benjamin Velez: Yes. So Adios Andres was inspired. I mean, this is one of my favorite songs. It's also probably the second song we wrote. And it came out of inspiration from a line of Lisa's. So in the original material, there is a moment, a plot beat that we kept, where Carmen has not had what she refers to as Andres for two months now. Not all the women in the factory know that reference. And so they explain, Andres, el que viene cada mes, which means Andres, who comes every month. And they're like, oh, some people call it And Flow. Or some people, one of the actresses, I've heard someone call it Shark Week. And so they're all talking about their periods. But Carmen is like, yes, and I'm eating for two because I'm pregnant.

And all the women are like, so Carmen is, we learned she's 50. And they're all looking at each other like, how do we break it? How does she not know, A, that this is, that she's not pregnant? And B, how do we let her down easy? So this was a beat in Lisa's version. As soon as I read this, I was like, I want to make this an epic ode to menopause. I just had this feeling like I wanted to make it the one day more of menopause. Real women have cramps. I had so much fun with it. I've never heard it be a big Broadway song. And we needed a comedy moment there. And it just felt so right for it. Because if you're going to have a song about, or a show that's all about all the curves that women have to navigate, this is one of them.

What was cool is that it wasn't just a one joke song. We also tried to give Carmen a moment to also briefly opine about, who is she as a woman without this ability to have children? And is she still a mother? Is she still a wife? There's a moment in the staging where she's like, take me with you, Andres. And also, it's just, it's so silly that she's singing. She's calling menopause by a man's name. So the whole thing is just so silly.

[10:12] Lisa Loomer: Yeah, well, it is a real pain. It felt so fun.

[10:14] Benjamin Velez: Of course it's a man's name. But it's the single biggest laugh in the show, the first line of the song. And it's hard to get that sense on the album. But just the way it all plays out is the most satisfying moment for me in the show.

[10:26] Teresa Attridge: That's fantastic. Did I miss anything, Lisa?

[10:29] Lisa Loomer: No, except for the fact that I would always hear this and I would wonder, how does a young man know anything about menopause?

[10:39] Benjamin Velez: I was just thinking that, Lisa. You took the words right out of my brain. You're very thoughtful, clearly, Benjamin. I would feel intimidated trying to write a song about this, but it sounds so neat.

[10:49] Benjamin Velez: That's feminism, baby. I'm a young man who was raised by a single mother who complained about everything. Love it.

[10:54] Teresa Attridge: Here's Adios, Andres, performed by Justina Machado and the Broadway company of Real Women Have Curves.

[11:00] ♪ Musical number: "Adios Andres" — performed by Justina Machado and the Broadway company of Real Women Have Curves ♪

[11:13] ♪ Musical number: "Adios, Andrés" — performed by Justina Machado and the Original Broadway Company of Real Women Have Curves ♪

[14:06] Benjamin Velez: This song, it is so, so funny. I wrote down my favorite lyric. Though our husbands all hate you, we celebrate you. It's so funny, but also that's a very, very complex, complex experience, Benjamin.

[14:17] Lisa Loomer: Yes.

[14:18] Benjamin Velez: You know, I mean, I'm not the one to be like, you did it. Sorry.

[14:21] Lisa Loomer: I can tell.

[14:22] Benjamin Velez: It wasn't just me. I wrote it with Joy, too.

[14:25] Lisa Loomer: Right, of course.

[14:26] Benjamin Velez: It was definitely a collab. But no, it's like, isn't that the challenge of being an author is empathy with someone else's experience to try to capture that?

[14:34] Lisa Loomer: Yes, it is.

[14:35] Benjamin Velez: And that's what attracts me to writing, not just writing my own experiences, but trying to get inside the heads of other people.

[14:39] Lisa Loomer: That's a woke king right there.

[14:41] Benjamin Velez: You absolutely should be.

[14:42] Lisa Loomer: Freedom to do it.

[14:44] Benjamin Velez: I think it also, what interested me about the dynamic was we have a young woman about to become an adult and then her mother on the other side of the spectrum also going through a change of life.

[14:58] Lisa Loomer: So that's also why they're such interesting antagonists.

[15:02] Benjamin Velez: They're at very different points of life and eventually each is informed by the other.

[15:09] Lisa Loomer: Beautiful.

[15:11] Benjamin Velez: Justina Machado, who was nominated for a Tony for this role, I think she does just such a beautiful job of capturing all the colors of that role because she is not just an overbearing mother. She is a woman who is a matriarch, but also has the vulnerabilities of some in her marriage, wondering if there's still romance there and scared of her family to break apart and her children to leave.

[15:33] Lisa Loomer: And there's all these colors and she plays them beautifully.

[15:35] Benjamin Velez: All these colors, yes.

[15:36] Lisa Loomer: The word that's coming to my mind is nuance.

[15:38] Benjamin Velez: And this is the thing that I would take away from this discussion, which has been really fantastic, is the way that you have approached this material with both like a reverence for the first two.

[15:48] Lisa Loomer: The DNA of it.

[15:50] Benjamin Velez: The DNA. And yet the way that you have worked as a collaborative team of four people to create nuance and a more full experience for these characters that is so relevant today. It's really incredible work.

[16:03] Teresa Attridge: Teresa, here we go. Should we set up our game to bring it?

[16:06] Pauls Macs: Oh, my goodness. I am so excited, y'all, especially I am just such a big fan of Real Women Have Curves. I saw the movie in theaters when I was 11. Should I have been there? I don't know. But my friend's parents, I had like a friend with artsy parents. They're like, we're all going to go see this movie, you know, and it had a huge impact on me as a kid. I remember watching it. And I remember thinking I probably shouldn't be here, but that's why I'm happy I'm here in the sense that I was like a child watching a movie that was like slightly too mature. But it was accessible enough that I was like, no, but I get what's going on. And one of the one acting things is the idea that we all have a dream.

So for our game today, if you could pick the dream, like the dream of any musical theater character in the canon and follow it through, like to watch it come true, like you'd be able to achieve it. Which dream do you choose? Pauls, I'm curious what you have to say about this one.

[17:00] Pauls Macs: This is the first time we didn't compare answers before the pod.

[17:03] Benjamin Velez: Wow.

[17:04] Pauls Macs: I jumped right in. And the listeners know I'm a big Stephen Sondheim fanatic. And I was so inspired by Audra McDonald's performance of Rose's Turn at the Tonys. I had chills. I got up to do dishes afterwards. I had chills for three minutes. I'm a director, but I used to be an actor. I want to be an actor. I want to be on the Broadway stage. So, you know, casting directors, I'm available. But I don't talk too much about myself. Benjamin, Lisa or Teresa would love to hear your answers.

[17:26] Benjamin Velez: All right. Sure. I am also a Sondheim fanatic, but I went to another Sondheim show for this answer. I went to Little Shop of Horrors and Audrey's song "Somewhere That's Green." Because honestly, I am so happy pursuing this dream of musical theater. But all I really want is just a house in the suburbs with some green. And I want a simple, beautiful life and build a family. And I don't know what the future holds. But I think the simple pleasures in life are the secret to happiness.

[17:53] Pauls Macs: You want that big, enormous 12-inch screen.

[17:55] Benjamin Velez: I do. I do.

[17:56] Pauls Macs: We'll talk. My son's sleeping in the next room. It is possible. We'll make it happen.

[18:00] Pauls Macs: You might live in Seattle, but we'll make it happen.

[18:03] Lisa Loomer: That's beautiful.

[18:04] Lisa Loomer: Well, I have to say that, you know, I do come from the theater more than musicals. And the musicals that I was drawn to were darker. And so I can't say I want to adopt the dream of someone from Spring Awakening necessarily or some of the darker Sondheim songs, which really moved me, or even West Side Story, which was incredibly influential. I used to stage it in my living room when I was a very little girl. But I'm going to say in this moment, the character whose dream I really identify with is Anna. Because Anna says, I'm going to change the world with the words I write. I'm going to change the world. And I share her dream of wanting to make a difference with my words. And in this moment, I am excited for people like Anna and hopeful for people like Anna, because we desperately need people like Anna.

[19:15] Pauls Macs: That's gorgeous. That's a beautiful answer. I love it.

[19:18] Benjamin Velez: That's why she's the best.

[19:19] Lisa Loomer: I had two. Mine, not as beautiful, I think, the first one.

[19:23] Pauls Macs: You can't have two.

[19:24] Lisa Loomer: I know I can't.

[19:25] Pauls Macs: But it's my podcast, Benjamin. I do what I want.

[19:27] Benjamin Velez: It's the duality.

[19:29] Pauls Macs: Damn it, I shouldn't have played by the rules.

[19:31] Benjamin Velez: You know what? That's the fun thing you learn on this podcast is we bend the rules a little bit.

[19:35] Pauls Macs: We curve them, so to speak.

[19:37] Benjamin Velez: You've got to have me back so that I can cheat next time.

[19:39] Pauls Macs: Listen. Benjamin, we're having you back. We would love to have you back.

[19:41] Benjamin Velez: My answer was Claude from Hair. We're doing it. And the idea, all of the characters from Hair, really, who just wanted a world where we all learned to live in peace without war, to stand up for what we believe is good and honest and true and innately human. So if I could have any dream that I could take it, launch it, and have it come to fruition, that would be it. And then selfishly, if someone were like, that's big. That's too big a dream. I'd be like, okay, well, then I just want to be in a chorus line and get a job. God, I hope I get it. Right? Because, you know, that's kind of the joy, right? We're all chasing the next gig, right?

[20:22] Pauls Macs: Well, let's go, baby. On that note, I would like to succeed in business without really trying, truthfully, truly. Benjamin, Lisa, it has been such a pleasure to have you here today. Like, Benjamin, it's the day after the Tonys, and you're here with us.

[20:36] Lisa Loomer: Every place I'd rather be.

[20:38] Pauls Macs: Oh, my gosh. This is fantastic. Thank you.

[20:42] Benjamin Velez: Thank you so much for being here. Everyone, see it. Download the album. Play it at the gym. Like, there's so many possibilities.

[20:52] Pauls Macs: We're going on Alaska Airlines right after we get off this.

[20:55] Lisa Loomer: Yeah, now they have to sponsor us.

[20:57] Pauls Macs: You can also purchase or stream.

[20:58] Benjamin Velez: Exactly, exactly.

[20:59] Pauls Macs: You can also purchase or stream the original Broadway cast recording anywhere. Purchase it, stream it, listen to it. It's incredible. Thank you both so much for being here. It's been an absolute pleasure speaking with you. Congratulations on this amazing Broadway production.

[21:12] Lisa Loomer: Thank you.

[21:13] Benjamin Velez: Thank you.

[21:14] Lisa Loomer: I just want to mention that we're also, we have two angels with us now, Benjamin and Joy Huerta. We're representing, but they're very much with us and very much a part of this.

[21:23] Benjamin Velez: They are. This was very much a four-person effort, and it was really fun to collaborate. I mean, it's crazy to collaborate with four people. There's a lot of ideas, but everyone was kind of a master of something in the process.

[21:36] Lisa Loomer: At the end of the day, sometimes too many cooks in the kitchen is just a bigger dinner.

[21:41] Benjamin Velez: Lots of spices.

[21:43] Pauls Macs: All right, Bernicles, thank you again so much for joining us.

[21:47] Lisa Loomer: Thank you so much.

[21:48] Pauls Macs: We love you so much. Bye, Bernicles.

[21:50] Lisa Loomer: Bye, Bernicles.

[21:51] Pauls Macs: Bye, Bernicles.

[21:57] Teresa Attridge: Thanks for joining us on New York Theatre Barn's Backstage Pass, hosted by Teresa Attridge and Pauls Macs. And if you believe in supporting original culture-shifting musicals, please like, subscribe, and share. Get your Backstage Pass.

[22:13] Pauls Macs: Get your Backstage Pass.