New musical stitches together an uplifting story

For how much the show is about the characters’ status as immigrants or citizens, and how frequently they distinguish themselves from white Americans (from their treatment in society writ large to the justice system more specifically), it’s curious that, particularly in today’s political environment, the show loops back to a relatively unquestioned idea about the meaning, value, and reality of the American dream. It’s like Real Women Have Curves can’t figure out which story to care about more: the one about a teen following her passion, or about the complexity of immigrants trying to make it in an America where their ambitions are sometimes kept out of reach.