Zoot Suit (play)
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| Zoot Suit | |
| Music | Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Lalo Guerrero |
| Book | Luis Valdez |
| Based upon | The Sleepy Lagoon murder trial |
| Productions | 1979 Broadway 1981 film |
Zoot Suit is a play by written by Luis Valdez, featuring incidental music by Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero, the "father of Chicano music." Zoot Suit follows the real-life events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial – when a group of young Mexican-Americans were wrongfully charged with murder – and the Zoot Suit Riots.
When it debuted in 1979, Zoot Suit became the first Chicano play on Broadway. In 1981, Luis Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play.
Contents |
[edit] Story
Henry Reyna (inspired by real-life defendant Henry Leyvas) is a pachuco gangster. His gang, who were unfairly prosecuted, are thrown in jail for a murder they did not commit. The play is set in the barrios of Los Angeles, California in the early 1940s against the backdrop of the Zoot Suit Riots and World War II.
[edit] Broadway production
The play premiered at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on August 17, 1978.[1] The Broadway production debuted at the Winter Garden Theater on March 25, 1979, and closed on April 29 after 41 performances. The production was directed by Luis Valdez and was noted for Edward James Olmos' portrayal of El Pachuco, a mythical figure that acts as a sort of Greek chorus to the action.
[edit] See also
- Zoot Suit, the 1981 filmed version of the play
- Zoot suit
- Zoot Suit Riots
- Sleepy Lagoon murder

