Tatianna Cordoba Is Just Getting Started

Broadway newcomer Tatianna Cordoba is relaxing in her dressing room between rehearsal and this evening’s performance. On the agenda: finishing lunch, hydrating like crazy, and catching up on some TV—after this interview, of course. We’re here to talk about her Broadway debut in the musical Real Women Have Curves, which opened to acclaim, earned two Tony nominations, and has been known to cause mid-performance standing ovations during a certain underwear scene—but we’ll get to that later.

Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is based on the play by Josefina Lopez, which inspired the 2002 film starring a little-known actress at the time named America Ferrera. Set in 1987, Curves follows Ana, the spunky teenage daughter of Mexican immigrants, who begrudgingly works at her family’s dress factory in East Los Angeles but has big dreams of her own. Cordoba plays Ana on the stage, and themes of freedom, empowerment, body image, and feminism abound, all with an underlying thread of the immigrant experience. “I watched the movie with my parents after I got cast, and it was such a weird experience, because America Ferrera’s career exploded with Real Women Have Curves. It felt very reflective of what I was about to go through,” Cordoba says. The San Francisco native, who calls herself a Bay Area baby, knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue musical theater and even enrolled in the prestigious Boston Conservatory to study musical theater in college.

Cordoba, now 25, was cast as Ana after a nationwide search, but it took nearly three years of auditioning before she got the part. Her first few times around, she was so nervous, she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. But the last time, “I’ve never felt more calm in an audition, and just so ready and at peace with whatever the outcome would be,” she says. She has learned to tap into that sense of calm regularly, when she strips down to her underwear night after night, singing and dancing with the rest of her castmates to the titular “Real Women Have Curves” song. During the number, Ana is so fed up with the excruciating heat and abysmal conditions at the dress factory that she takes off her clothes and continues to work, inspiring the other women to follow suit. The musical number is perhaps one of the most feminist scenes on Broadway today, embracing body positivity among women of all ages and sizes. “It was hard to really feel the power of that scene until I saw what it does to people,” she says.

Here, Cordoba opens up to Glamour about her audition process, intermission snack breaks, and singing and dancing on stage in her undies, even while on her period.

Glamour: Before being cast in Real Women Have Curves on Broadway, what was your relationship to the 2002 film?

Tatianna Cordoba: Growing up, it was taught as this revolutionary piece, especially for its time, given its elements of body positivity and the immigrant story. So I was always aware of it, but I hadn’t seen it for a really long time. As soon as I heard whispers of it being made into a musical, I knew I wanted to be a part of it, but I superstitiously didn’t rewatch it until after I had been cast. Once I finally rewatched it, it was really cool to understand all that it stood for at the time, and see that it is still so relevant today.

What was your audition process like? I heard there was a nationwide search to find your character, Ana.

Sergio [Trujillo], our director, and Victor Vazquez, our casting director, were really hunting for the role of Ana. They went to Boyle Heights and traveled all over the US. I had submitted an audition to play Ana, but my tape got brushed over and didn’t go anywhere. They had a few searches for Ana for two and a half years. I was called in for a few iterations of the show—I auditioned for a workshop and a reading when it was in Boston, but it was never my time. But then once they were casting for the Broadway show, my agents asked me to submit a tape to be in the ensemble. I was like, “I don’t care who I play—I will play a sewing machine!” I would do anything to be in the show.

The self-tape was due while I was on vacation in Miami, and I didn’t have any of my equipment with me. I asked if I could have an extension, since I was going to be home in a few days, and when my agents asked, Victor was like, “Actually, I was just looking at her tape from two years ago. Can she submit for Ana instead?”

I sent in my self-tape the Sunday I got back from vacation, and it was due on Monday. That whole week was filled with auditions and callbacks, and I found out I got the part that next Saturday.

How did you celebrate?

My boyfriend took me to a lobster dinner that night. It was so awesome—I found out I got the part right before heading back to California for the holidays. I hadn’t seen my family for six or seven months, so that was the best Christmas present ever.

In what ways do you most relate to Ana?

Our journeys are very similar—we both went from California to the East Coast to pursue a dream. In that way, I really relate to her yearning and the desire to do more for your family. I used to always tell my parents that I was going to put our last name on the map, and I think Ana definitely has that same notion of wanting to give her community a platform, even if she doesn’t do it in the most graceful way.

I feel more like Ana’s big sister, in a lot of ways. Throughout the show, she gains empathy and an understanding for her parents and the fears they might have. Fear of the unknown; fear of not wanting your child to fail. I have more understanding than she does for her family and the immigrant experience.

Did you grow up speaking Spanish?

No, but I grew up hearing Spanish all the time. My dad’s from Costa Rica and my mom’s family is from the Philippines, so I grew up hearing a bunch of different languages at home. I actually spoke Tagolog with my grandmother when I was really young. My dad is a Latin musician and singer, so I grew up singing in Spanish all the time, and I can understand it, I just respond in English. I don’t speak Spanish fluently, but I feel like I have such a deep understanding for the language because of how I became familiar with it through music. But yeah, it’s my dad’s fault and I tell him that all the time, but I also think there was a bit of fear in my house growing up that school would be hard if there were too many languages going on in my brain. I would have been a genius, but whatever; I’ve moved past it.

We obviously have to talk about the underwear scene, in which you and your costars—of all shapes and sizes—strip down to nothing but your underwear and sing and dance the title song. I see a lot of theater, and I don’t remember ever seeing a scene like that. It felt so bold, empowering, feminist, and raw. So of course you all got a standing ovation immediately. How has it been performing that night after night?

That number was a sort of looming presence when I signed up for the project. It’s in the movie, and it’s in the play—it’s a big part of the story. I had heard stories about how the audience reacts to it from the women who had performed the show in workshops, but before I performed it for an audience, I felt so silly. But the women in the show were like, “Don’t worry; it will click.” And it really is true. When we had our first audience, performing that scene was so terrifying. But the audience is so captivated, and you can tell, because it’s the only number where the audience is partly lit, so we can see people’s faces and their reactions. I see tears and laughter, and people having so much fun. So from that first performance, I was like, “Okay, I get it. I understand why this is important now.”

But what’s interesting is a lot of people are like, “Wow, that’s so brave. You guys are so confident.” But I think it’s been really important for all of us to voice that we don’t feel excited or confident every day. It’s our job, so we have to do it, but it’s an everyday battle. Sometimes I’m on my period, I’m bloated, or I just don’t feel good in my body. And other days, I’m like, “Hell yeah, I feel great today!” So I think as much as it’s a really powerful moment, it’s important to voice that it’s never easy, and we’re aware of how hard it is to do. We don’t expect people to leave having solved their body image issues, but we want people to feel like it’s an invitation to think differently about themselves and realize that it is an everyday choice.

When you were a kid, what was your idea of what it meant to be a successful actor?

My dream was to be on Broadway. I did theater throughout my adolescence and went to a conservatory program for college. And I think even in those programs, there’s this attitude of, “Either you’re on Broadway or doing a national tour, or you’ve failed as an actor,” which is terrible.

Well, you did it! So what does it mean to you to be a successful actor today?

I think that once I started feeling more confident about myself as an actor and artist, I came to the realization that there are so many things that fulfill me that have nothing to do with acting. So if this doesn’t work out, I’ll be fine. I think finding those loves or passions outside of what you do is important, even if it’s just for your sanity. I think it helps with your self-worth, especially when our job is signing up to be judged all the time. So coming to terms with the fact that there are other things I’m capable of has been a real eye opener for me. I’ve done the thing that I thought meant peak success, but there are other things I love too.

What are some of those other things that you love?

I paint, draw, crochet—I am super crafty. I get bored really easily, so I’m constantly picking up new random hobbies. I worked in the bridal industry as a stylist during college, which I loved. I love cooking. There are so many things I feel passionate about, which makes me feel that no matter what happens in an industry that’s so unknown, I’ll be okay.

Have you gotten any makeup or skin care tips from the makeup artists on the show?

I love makeup, but if I’m not doing a show, I don’t wear it unless I have to because I’m constantly in show makeup. I have eczema, so the amount of water I drink for my skin is ridiculous. I have four water bottles in my dressing room right now.

If you were to manifest your dream Broadway role, what would it be?

Eurydice in Hadestown. I haven’t seen the show—I guess I really am superstitious—but I love the score. Bootlegs come up on my TikTok all the time, and I’ve watched the full thing. I am shameless, but I just love the show. I love how Anais Mitchell fused rock and folk with musical theater, and it seems like a one-of-a-kind show.

What Broadway musical were you obsessed with growing up?

Les Miserables was the first big production I was in. I was in sixth grade and played little Cosette. I’ve been in that show two or three times, and in college I played Eponine. I absolutely love that show. And Wicked was the first show I ever saw. It came to San Jose on tour, and my mind was blown. Hamilton was a big turning point too. I remember seeing the opening number when I was 17, with all of these Black and brown faces on stage, and thinking, This is what I want to do.