Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo, best known for choreographing Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, Memphis, On Your Feet!, and more, is adding a new title to his name: Broadway director. Trujillo is at the helm of the musical adaptation of Real Women Have Curves, which follows a young Mexican American woman in Los Angeles as she navigates her dreams while working at her family’s garment business. Entertainment journalist Frank DiLella of Spectrum News NY1 recently caught up with Trujillo during a rehearsal break to discuss his Broadway directorial debut and the importance of representation on the Main Stem.
The story of Real Women Have Curves was originally presented as a play. It was then turned into a film starring America Ferrera, and now it’s back on stage, this time as a musical. How familiar were you with the property?
I became aware of the property because of my husband, Jack Noseworthy. Jack saw the film, and he was the one who introduced me to it and said, “I think this would make for a great musical.” For him, it was experiencing my family and being around my family — specifically my mom, who was a seamstress. We emigrated from Colombia to Canada, and we lived undocumented for a while in Canada. He knew my plight, and there was something beautiful about this mother-and-daughter story. And when I watched the movie, I wasn’t sure it was a musical until I read the play. The play had all the buoyancy and rhythm of a musical, like the life of this community of women, and what is learned from our central character of Ana Garcia, who is 18 years old and who comes to work in the shop. And it’s by being around the women that she learns about herself and learns the power women have from working together. That’s what spoke to me in a musical language.
When did you embark on your journey with Real Women Have Curves?
It began in 2017. We had just finished a show at A.R.T. up in Massachusetts. Jack and I formed a company called TruWorthy Productions. We created the company as a way of finding stories — plays, movies, television shows — in which we can find ways to tell Brown stories and empower the community.
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You and Jack met doing a Broadway show — a “showmance,” if you will.
We met on Jerome Robbins’ Broadway dancing West Side Story. He was Baby John and I was Chino. I think there’s a spinoff to that, that we’re living together 35 years later. [Laughs.]
Real Women Have Curves the musical got great reviews when it had its world premiere at A.R.T. in December 2023.
When we were looking to develop the piece, Jack and I wanted an experienced producer, someone who could be a great partner for us. And that’s when Alecia Parker, who is our executive producer, got involved. Alecia suggested we meet with Barry and Fran Weissler, and Barry and Fran have been incredibly on board right from the beginning. And when you think about the kinds of stories that Barry and Fran have done over the years [Chicago, Waitress], it made so much sense for them to be our partners. We had just done a show at A.R.T. in 2017 called Arrabal. I felt comfortable with the artistic director of A.R.T., Diane Paulus, who I’ve worked with many times. A.R.T. has a great infrastructure of artistic support. Original musicals take a village. You’re essentially writing from scratch. In 2020, Jack and I flew to Mexico City to meet with Joy Huerta, our composer, the week before the shutdown happened. We had brunch and dinner with Joy, and from then on that was the catalyst for the beginning of this project.
Giving birth to a new musical is not an easy task. What was it about Joy’s music that spoke to you?
It was Jack’s idea. In our show, the culture is Mexican American. It’s a sound that we’re not as familiar with because obviously we got spoiled by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who did In the Heights. Most of his music is a Latin Caribbean sound. Jack researched several pop artists who are Mexican American, and we latched on to Joy Huerta from Jesse & Joy, who are Grammy Award winners. It’s a unique sound, like Mexican pop. What spoke to me was her writing: She’s such a storyteller and she has the gift of melody. Our score is incredibly tuneful. You will walk away humming something from our show. We partnered Joy with a lyricist named Benjamin Velez, and Benjamin had worked with John Leguizamo; he’s a Jonathan Larson recipient and John Kander recipient. And it’s been a lovefest between the two of them.
Sergio, this is a big moment for you. You’ve embarked on a new chapter of your career with this musical. You’re billed as both choreographer and director. Your Broadway directorial debut!
I’ve been so lucky over the last 20 years that I’ve been able to experience and work on great musicals with great leaders, like Des McAnuff, Michael Greif, Jerry Mitchell, Chris Ashley, Rob Marshall. I was having such a great ride working with these people — I knew I was going to embark on directing. And I feel like I picked the right one to direct and choreograph, because whatever you do, you must put your heart and soul and passion into it. I think for me it had to be something meaningful and personal — and that is this story.
A good number of performers in your show are making their Broadway debuts.
I think 90 percent of our cast are making their Broadway debut. The biggest compliment I got was on the first day of auditions for our show: The first woman to walk into the room to audition, she burst into tears and said to me, “I don’t care if I get this show, but the fact that I got the chance to come into this room and get an audition like this, and audition for a role where I’m not just ensemble, this means the world to me and I’ll never forget this moment.” And that’s what I’m talking about. It’s about giving opportunities to people who have never been given the opportunity to live out their dreams.
Representation matters. And you’re making that happen with your work.
I think what really validated this mission that I’m on is when I stood on stage at Radio City the night I won my Tony Award for Ain’t Too Proud and I spoke about dreams and the possibility of dreams. The fact that the support of the community — and I feel that, Frank, across the board — people are rooting for us and our story. I never thought we would be opening right now with what’s happening in our country and our world, but our show is not about politics. This show is about celebrating a community, family, and sacrifice. In the times we’re living now, all we can do is make noise through our art and the stories that we tell.
You served as choreographer for the film version of Kiss of the Spider Woman with Jennifer Lopez. The film premiered at Sundance earlier this year. You performed with Chita Rivera in the stage musical in the ’90s. What can you tell me about Spider Woman, the film?
For me it’s full-circle. Chita was one of my most treasured friends. Ultimately, to revisit the piece and to be able to work with someone like Jennifer, who is an ultimate professional and so dedicated — to have a partnership with her and collaborate with her and her openness to work and push herself is so admirable. I could not have predicted that I would be the choreographer of a piece that’s aligned with a mission that I’m on. The story of Spider Woman in the hands of Bill Condon — he’s a master. I can’t wait for people to see it. Chita’s hands are all over it too. What an honor to do it.