Entertainment
‘Real Women Have Curves’ makes post-Broadway debut as part of Pasadena Playhouse’s 2026-27 season
Josefina López wrote “Real Women Have Curves,” based on her experiences as an undocumented Mexican immigrant working in a Boyle Heights garment factory, nearly 40 years ago.
Since then, López’s script has yielded a play, a feature film starring America Ferrera and, most recently, a Broadway musical. The latter, which opened at the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2025 and closed after 104 performances, will make its post-Broadway debut next spring as part of an original production at Pasadena Playhouse during its 2026-27 season, the theater announced Thursday. Producing Artistic Director Danny Feldman called the lineup “bigger than our Sondheim season.”
The season begins with a new production of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s tragicomedy “The Visit,” directed by Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak and starring Jefferson Mays. (Fans will remember the pair’s memorable collaboration from this season’s “Amadeus.”) Next up is the long-awaited L.A. premiere of “Passing Strange,” the Tony-winning musical based on the life of L.A.-born musician Stew, directed by Tony nominee Zhailon Levingston (“Cats: The Jellicle Ball”). A yet-to-be-announced winter production will follow, then “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.” Finally, a revival of Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which brings Alfred Molina back to the Playhouse stage, caps the year.
When Feldman learned that “Real Women Have Curves” did not have a national tour lined up, he took matters into his own hands — believing it essential that a story centering L.A.’s Latino community be told at a time when it’s hurting.
“Celebrating a community is another form of resistance and power in these times,” Feldman said.
The artistic director compared the tone of “Real Women Have Curves” to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, which many found cathartic for its exuberance.
“[The musical] deserves to have a production at the scale and scope that we do here at Pasadena Playhouse,” Feldman said.
Since Feldman took the reins at the Playhouse in 2016, the historic theater has blossomed into a thriving arts ecosystem. In 2023, the Playhouse received the Regional Theatre Tony Award after its critically lauded Sondheim Celebration spiked both audience engagement and the theater’s artistic profile. Just last year, the theater bought back the building it lost to bankruptcy in 1970, and greatly expanded its educational offerings.
A more risk-averse leader might use such triumphs as permission to take their foot off the gas. Instead, Feldman has assembled a demanding lineup that will require the Playhouse to operate on a larger scale than ever before.
“We’re up for the challenge. We’re ready, and our audiences respond to work when it pushes the limits,” the artistic director said.
Jefferson Mays starred in the Pasadena Playhouse’s recent production of “Amadeus.”
(Jeff Lorch)
That proved true for “Amadeus,” which Feldman called “one of our biggest hits of all time.” The artistic director said the show excelled because of its high production value — something regional theaters are rarely able to execute.
The creative team for “Amadeus” will aim to replicate that success when they reunite for “The Visit,” a play Tresnjak has wanted to tackle for 40 years.
“The work gets so much deeper when you’ve built the trust,” Feldman said. Plus, recycling a star is a classic move for regional theaters, which historically operated as repertory companies that showcased the same group of performers in different roles and thereby exhibited their range.
The artistic director said that he was also compelled by the unique tone of “The Visit,” which Dürrenmatt wrote while Europe was reckoning with its complicity in World War II. The script is as dark as it is entertaining and absurdist.
“It’s a play ultimately about morality and how a community inch-by-inch becomes OK with something that they should not be OK with,” Feldman said. He added that theater excels at getting audiences to laugh in the auditorium, and then mull things over on the way home.
Following “The Visit,” the Playhouse will up the energy with two musicals, “Passing Strange” and “Real Women Have Curves,” (with the undisclosed show falling in between). Feldman considers “Passing Strange” a part of the Playhouse’s ongoing effort to revisit landmark American musicals.
“It was a musical that was revolutionary and changed the game,” he said, characterizing the show as “a rock concert where a play breaks out.”
Strangely, for a coming-of-age story written by an Angeleno about a musician from South Central L.A., “Passing Strange” never made it to L.A. after its 2008 Broadway debut. The musical, which had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, arrives at the Playhouse just in time for its 20th anniversary.
While “The Visit” and “Real Women Have Curves” will be presented largely as is, “Passing Strange” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” directed by Jessica Kubzansky, will be lightly updated for contemporary audiences.
Williams published multiple versions of his play and never truly stopped revising it, Feldman said, “so we’re trying to figure what best suits our production in our world.” Audiences can rest assured that the emotional core that secured the play’s spot in the theater canon will be preserved no matter what changes are made.
Feldman said he regularly hears the refrain from visitors, “When the world is crazy, I just want to escape. I want to come to you and escape.” But what he thinks people actually mean when they say that is: “I want to be in community. I want to have an experience that is above me and bigger than me, with other people.”
“It’s why I’m making the case that theater is going to be more relevant and important in decades to come than ever before in my career,” he said. The more technology continues to dominate our lives, and the more we become isolated as a result, the more precious those moments in the theater are, Feldman added.
He sensed it when audiences roared with laughter during the Playhouse’s production of “Eureka Day,” and during a beat of pin-drop silence in “Amadeus.”
“Those moments of lightning, of electricity, in a room — that’s what I live for,” he said. “That’s what we do best.”
Entertainment
No time for a ‘Mandalorian’ rewatch before getting your ‘Grogu’ on? We got you covered
Not too long ago in this very galaxy, audiences watched a helmeted bounty hunter meet a mysterious big-eyed alien toddler on their TVs, and “Star Wars” was changed forever.
After charming fans for three (and a half) seasons, the Mandalorian and Grogu — the once unnamed child unofficially dubbed Baby Yoda, who has since been promoted to title character status — are making their way to the big screen Friday. “The Mandalorian and Grogu” will see the duo take on a job from the New Republic that brings them into the orbit of a familiar “Star Wars” crime family — the Hutts.
Directed by “The Mandalorian” creator Jon Favreau, the movie takes place some time after the events of the show’s third season, which concluded in 2023. In the Season 3 finale, the gunslinging warrior Din Djarin officially adopted his Force-sensitive charge, whose full name then became Din Grogu, and took him on as a proper Mandalorian apprentice.
Needing to be a bit more discerning about the jobs that he takes as he trains his kid, Mando became a gun-for-hire for the New Republic, helping them track down any remaining Imperial sympathizers and others who threaten the galaxy’s tenuous peace.
Premiering in 2019, “The Mandalorian” was meant to appeal to the “Star Wars” faithful while also being an entry point for those new to the franchise. The show has developed its own lore over the years as characters from other movies and shows joined the fray to expand the show’s footprint in “Star Wars” canon.
Here’s a spoiler-free rundown of what you need to know about the Mandalorian, Grogu and the rest of the players who take center stage in the first “Star Wars” movie since 2019.
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu have been hunting down Imperial war criminals for the New Republic.
(Lucasfilm)
Do I need to watch ‘The Mandalorian’ before watching ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’?
Not really! Although the movie is a continuation of the series, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” is a self-contained story that does not require any “Star Wars” homework. The main points to know are that Mando is a bounty hunter for the good guys and Grogu is his Force-sensitive adopted child and apprentice.
There are, of course, Easter eggs and references throughout the movie for those who have followed “The Mandalorian” and other “Star Wars” shows, so there is added payoff for those familiar with the world.
What should I watch to know everything about the Mandalorian and Grogu?
For the full backstory of the lovable parent-child duo, watch “The Mandalorian” Seasons 1 and 2, then “The Book of Boba Fett” Episodes 5 through 7 and finish up with “The Mandalorian” Season 3.
Those 27 episodes cover Mando and the child’s first meeting, their travels as the bounty hunter grows increasingly protective of his charge, the Mandalorian’s quest to reunite Grogu with the Jedi, the youngling’s snackish habits, Mandalorian history and more.
The Twins are Jabba the Hutt’s cousins.
(Lucasfilm)
What else should I watch to know everything for ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’?
Those interested in doing their full “Star Wars” homework (with extra credit) will want to revisit the full seven-episode season of “The Book of Boba Fett” rather than just the Mandalorian and Grogu episodes. The show includes the first appearance of the Twins, cousins of the late Jabba the Hutt who are interested in what remains of his criminal enterprise.
Rotta the Hutt, meanwhile, is introduced as an infant in the animated 2008 movie “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” In the movie, which takes place between the events of “Episode II — Attack of the Clones” and “Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” Rotta is kidnapped as part of a plan to turn Jabba against the Republic, but it doesn’t reveal much more about him. Anyone up for catching all of the Easter eggs should also watch “The Clone Wars” animated series.
A familiar bounty hunter from “The Clone Wars” animated series has also been spotted in the trailers for “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” While Embo didn’t have much screen time, he can be glimpsed among the scum and villainy in a handful of episodes including Season 2 Episode 17, Season 5 Episode 14 and Season 6 Episode 5.
Those curious about the backstory of Zeb Orrelios, who first appeared in live-action among other former Rebellion fighters at the Adelphi base in “The Mandalorian” Season 3 Episode 5, should check out “Star Wars Rebels.” Among the key episodes that center Zeb, a Lestat warrior whose people had been nearly wiped out for standing up against the Empire, are Season 1 Episode 3 and Season 2 Episodes 14 and 17.
None of these other installments are crucial for following the events of the new movie, though.
Bai, from left, Clang, Keeto and Grogu in “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”
(Lucasfilm)
What about those cute alien mechanics that even Grogu seems obsessed with?
The diminutive aliens are the Anzellans, described as “the best droidsmiths of the Outer Rim” when Mando and Grogu are introduced to them in “The Mandalorian” Season 3 Episode 1. The first Anzellan to appear on screen, however, was Babu Frik in “Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker,” which, in the “Star Wars” timeline, takes place after the events of “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”
Train to Busan’s director is back with a new zombie movie, and Rotten Tomatoes reviews are pouring in. Here’s what critics are saying about Yeon Sang-ho’s Colony after its Cannes 2026 premiere.
What critics are saying about Colony in reviews
Director Yeon Sang-ho’s latest Korean zombie thriller Colony has drawn a range of reactions from critics following its Cannes 2026 premiere. The film stars Jun Ji-hyun as a professor trapped inside a sealed biotech facility after a rapidly mutating virus breaks out among conference attendees.
On the positive side, Joonatan Itkonen of Region Free called the film “clever and unexpected, if never quite scary,” praising it as “a thrilling zombie romp from one of the masters of the genre.” Juan Luis Caviaro of Espinof agreed it has “everything it takes to become another hit for Korean genre cinema,” while Nikki Baughan of Screen International noted that “as a modern zombie movie, Colony certainly has a satisfying bite.” Chris Bumbray of JoBlo called it “an epic return to zombie-form from the director of Train to Busan.”
Not all critics were convinced, however. Emma Kiely of Little White Lies felt the film’s concept “isn’t nearly revolutionary enough to hang a two-hour film on.” Ritesh Mehta of IndieWire observed that while “the deck he crafts is often masterful,” the film’s “communication lessons and memory of human loss don’t hit hard enough.” Jason Gorber of Next Best Picture was the harshest, calling the film “flawed and forgettable.”
Colony gets a strong score on Rotten Tomatoes
Despite the mixed opinions, Colony currently holds a Fresh score of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 critic reviews. The majority of reviewers awarded the film 3 or 4 out of 5 stars, with praise centered on its creature design and relentless pacing.
With a limited U.S. theatrical release set for August 28, 2026 through Well Go USA Entertainment, the film’s solid Tomatometer score suggests it should appeal to fans of Korean action-horror. Colony may not reach the heights of Train to Busan, but the early critical consensus positions it as a worthy genre entry from a proven filmmaker.
Entertainment
‘Michael Jackson: The Verdict’ tackles 2005 trial that estate-approved ‘Michael’ did not touch
Netflix is dropping a three-part docuseries that revisits Michael Jackson’s 2005 trial in which he was acquitted on charges of child molestation.
“Michael Jackson: The Verdict” drops June 3 and features archival footage and interviews with key players involved in the trial including jurors, figures from both the defense and the prosecution, journalists who were inside the courtroom and other eyewitnesses who saw the events unfold firsthand.
“It has been 20 years since the trial of Michael Jackson in which he was found not guilty. Yet, to this day, controversy still rages,” the filmmakers said. “No cameras were allowed in court, and so the public’s view of the facts at the time were filtered by commentators and presented piecemeal. It was time to take a forensic look at the trial as a whole.
“Anyone interested in the Michael Jackson story should feel this documentary gives them a window into what was largely a closed event and a chance to feel closer to what happened.”
The Santa Barbara Superior Court trial lasted 14 weeks, and the jury, which included eight women and four men, deliberated for more than 30 hours across seven days.
Jackson was acquitted on 10 felony charges: four counts of child molestation, four counts of plying a minor with alcohol in order to molest him, one count of attempted child molestation and one count of conspiracy to hold the boy and his family captive at the Neverland Ranch. He faced more than 20 years in prison.
Produced by Candle True Stories, the production company behind Netflix’s “Untold: The Liver King,” and directed by Nick Green, “Michael Jackson: The Verdict,” comes at a time of renewed interest in the “King of Pop.”
The Jackson-estate-approved biopic “Michael” hit theaters last month, and depicts the origin story of the hitmaker from childhood through his upward trajectory to superstar status in the 1980s. Notably, the movie omitted the slew of allegations that followed Jackson from the ’90s until his death in 2009.
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