How Joy Huerta & Benjamin Velez Found the Sound of REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES

Hi, I am Joy Werta from pop duo Jesse and Joy, co-composer, and lyricist for Real Women Have Curves

Hi, I'm Benjamin Belize. I am the co-composer co-liacist of Real Women Have Curves

And I'm Nadia DiGelanito, and I am the music supervisor of Real Women Have Curves

I don't know what it is about this, but I feel like I already know you

Isn't it strange? I'm a stranger can make you feel at home

I didn't believe in deja vu, but I know. You're feeling it too, because I already, already, already, already, already, already, already, already know you

Already know you. Already, already, already, already, already, already know you. Already know you

So the show is set in 1987 in Los Angeles, and we were debating at first, okay, how much do we want it to feel like that time period versus, like, today

Politically, we decided early on, like, it makes sense to keep it there, just because it feels more resonant to tell a story then that has, when you see it and you realize how much hasn't changed, it's power

to see that today. But in terms of like the style, I feel like we, only a little bit of 80s, but a lot of it was these women in the factory who are the stars of this story, they come from different countries in South America

So we wanted to bring some of all the flavors that they bring with them. Also like the music they listen to all day in the factory on the radio

And then we had a lot of fun thinking about, well, what are the sounds of the factory

The fan blowing all day. the clink of the toilet that doesn't work

The sewing machine buzz. And we kind of tried to play around with turning some of that into rhythms and beats and even samples and other things

We really wanted to create a sound that was specific to the show. And I love that you're mentioning the women and what would she sound like versus what would this sound of this region be like

So we made an entire sound for the mother. We created a sound for daughter A, for daughter B

let see what the factory sounds like And creating those sounds and those specific songs have been so joyful to me because it like you can totally relate the sound to these women And specifically the song that we going to show you right now which is now called Already Know You has had many names has had many versions because there is this story between Anna and Henry

and it's one of the love stories in the show. So Anna is our main character

She's 18 years old. She just graduated high school, and she's the only citizen in her family

The rest of her family came from Mexico and are undocumented. And she, in secret, applied to go to college in New York, but didn't tell her family

and she finds out she got in. And she's trying to figure out, can she leave behind her family

who relies on her so much and pursue this dream, or does she need to stay

and pay them back for everything they've done for her because they rely on her being a citizen

for the business to thrive. In the meantime, girl meets boy. And in that sort of thing

everything that's happening in her story, this is like the one thing that she has that nobody else has their hands on

and it's something so new and so sweet and unexpected. And is it really love they just met

Right. And what's great about this song is that I love that you had, like

you had written a verse and chorus that we all loved. Then you guys had to change the lyrics because the plot totally changed

So you like... Totally changed. You kept the verse. You wrote a brand new chorus that was like musically different and lyrically different

That was like... That was like... That was like... ...to the ending then we did a whole production with that version

Then we come to, you know, prep Broadway. And the plot changed again

And so you kept your verse with tweaked lyrics, and then you like made a return to the original music that was really musically satisfying

Yes. But then totally overhauled the lyric. So it became this like perfect hybrid

I think that you landed in a place that's now like totally our favorite version of this

I do. I love this song now. But we couldn't have found it if we didn't have those separate pieces

We've been studying days. We've been studying nights. We've been studying. hard while pulling out our hair

I've been checking you out. I've been winking my eyes. I been sending you signs but you seemed so unaware I didn get any signs You kidding No I swear Yeah there you go And then you say I just wish I could ignore Right

The voices in my head. They don't matter. Push him all the way

Let it go. Let him go. Only you and me. Just one dance and then we'll see

We'll take it slow. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Go

Let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go

Listen up your feet. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, and dance the night away

Shake right for the misfits, left for the geeks. We've only got a few or a week

So let it go, let it go, let it go, let's go. For the ART production, the script changed that this whole conversation became about Henry

trying to get Anna to drive across country to college. Because there was a maybe exploring the possibility of them driving together at the end of the show

They were both going to college. It was something they were connecting over, leaving behind their families in Los Angeles. Yeah

And it felt like we could get more lyric information, plot information from the chorus versus just the let it go, let it go, let it go

Which was really just easy, breezy, fun, careless time. Right. It was an excuse to get on the dance floor. Yeah

I've never felt this rush or the way make me blush. I have a crush

Isn't it strange how strangers can know each other Like you can tell the secrets of the soul

You are the road I'm driving on you Where I want to go

As long as I'll be driving next to you And then they change the plot again

Thank God Yeah, because it's like, it makes sense. We're like, well, we could just

we could just have fun. And they just have fun and just sing about driving

even though they never do it. They're like, nope, we really have to re-work this. I think also tonally like we realized this love story is not meant to be so earnest Yeah And this song and another one that we had later in the show they were both earnest in a way that didn feel earned And so we went back to lean into the like they at a restaurant

Just like a light breeze of a... Yeah. Can they just have a moment where they're not thinking of their responsibilities and have fun

We knew we had to change the chorus, but we wanted to let it go vibe. Because we wanted them to just be free and letting go

I always just missed the explosion into that chorus. It felt. But musically, we did come back to..

So we kept that melody. We kept the melody from the... We kept the melody for the verse

So we came back from... For the original version, tweaks and some stuff

new lyrics for the chorus and some adjustments on the verses. I don't know what to say

So don't say a word. But I know how I feel. Tell me how do you feel

Like I'm ready to dance. Dance into the night. Free guys. Never felt so safe

Never felt so safe. And boy I like it That's the first for me Finally

Never felt this rush Never felt this rush Make me blush I have a crush

I have a crush I don't know what it is about this

But I feel like I already know you Is it strange how a stranger can make you feel at home

I didn't believe in deja vu but I know you're feeling it too because I already already already already already

know you already already already already know you already already already know you already already

already already know you I mean after all of this it's really exciting that it's

finally happening it's finally happening we start rehearsals in five minutes I know but

April 1st, we begin with previews. Real Women Half Curves is coming to you at the James Earl Jones Theater, April 1st, opening night, April 27

We'll see you there. We already know you. Aww