- Zoot Suit (play)
Infobox Musical
name= Zoot Suit
caption=
music=Daniel Valdez andLalo Guerrero
lyrics=Lalo Guerrero
book=Luis Valdez
basis= TheSleepy Lagoon murder trial
productions= 1979 Broadway
1981 film
awards="Zoot Suit" is a play by written by
Luis Valdez , featuringincidental music byDaniel Valdez andLalo Guerrero , the "father of Chicano music." "Zoot Suit" follows the real-life events of theSleepy Lagoon murder trial – when a group of young Mexican-Americans were wrongfully charged with murder – and theZoot 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.tory
Henry Reyna (inspired by real-life defendant
Henry Leyvas ) is apachuco gangster. His gang, who were unfairly prosecuted, are thrown in jail for a murder they did not commit. The play is set in thebarrio s ofLos Angeles, California in the early 1940s against the backdrop of theZoot Suit Riots andWorld War II .Broadway production
The play premiered at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on August 17, 1978. [http://www.centertheatregroup.org/_pdf/MTF_Production_History.doc] The Broadway production debuted at the
Winter Garden Theater onMarch 25 ,1979 , and closed onApril 29 after 41 performances. The production was directed by Luis Valdez and was noted forEdward James Olmos ' portrayal of "El Pachuco," a mythical figure that acts as a sort ofGreek chorus to the action.ee also
*"Zoot Suit", the 1981 filmed version of the play
*Zoot suit
*Zoot Suit Riots
*Sleepy Lagoon murder References
External links
* [http://www.sleepylagoon.com/H/sltrial.htm In-depth information about the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial]
*ibdb title|id=3929|title=Zoot Suit
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