Agrado's monologue was based on a real life event. When the electronic system of an Argentinian theater failed, the director suspended the show. Actress Lola Membrives decided to give the news to the audience and make them an offer: if they'd stay, they could listen to the narration of her life.
All authors mentioned in the movie are famously gay writers: Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Federico García Lorca.
Pedro Almodóvar recreates the accident scene from John Cassavetes' Opening Night (1977) as the epicenter of the dramatic conflict.
End Dedication: "To all actresses who have played actresses. To men who act and become women. To all the people who want to become mothers. To my mother."