Dec 20, 2009

Zoot Suit | Critical Overview

Zoot Suit was the product of Luis Valdez's theater troupe, El Teatro Campesino, which had previously specialized in social consciousness-raising actos, that offered broad-brush depictions of farmworkers' plights. Valdez received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to research the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial so that he could create a play that would represent the experience of minorities in America. Zoot Suit's April, 1978, premiere and initial ten-day run sold out in two days. The audience consisted of season-ticket holders along with members of the...