Zoot Suit Play

A mystery lurks at the heart of "Zoot Suit," Luis Valdez's bold, mythic re-imagining of the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon murder of a Chicano youth in Los Angeles. Who did it? Who is responsible? And then there's the mystery of what happened to "Zoot Suit," the play itself. A sensation when it premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in 1978, with its depiction of gangs and ducktails, media frenzy, music and World War II hysteria, Valdez's "Zoot Suit" broke molds, presaging a whole new sensibility for theater.

Director Luis Valdez watched his actors intently Wednesday night from a seat overlooking a small, curved stage at the Skirball Cultural Center in Brentwood. The stocky Chicano playwright sat behind a recording console as his 16-member troupe worked through the opening night of a novel new production of "Zoot Suit," the play that put Chicano theater on the map 23 years ago and made its creator famous. Valdez was dressed in black jeans and T-shirt.

Director Luis Valdez watched his actors intently Wednesday night from a seat overlooking a small, curved stage at the Skirball Cultural Center in Brentwood. The stocky Chicano playwright sat behind a recording console as his 16-member troupe worked through the opening night of a novel new production of "Zoot Suit," the play that put Chicano theater on the map 23 years ago and made its creator famous. Valdez was dressed in black jeans and T-shirt.

A mystery lurks at the heart of "Zoot Suit," Luis Valdez's bold, mythic re-imagining of the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon murder of a Chicano youth in Los Angeles. Who did it? Who is responsible? And then there's the mystery of what happened to "Zoot Suit," the play itself. A sensation when it premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in 1978, with its depiction of gangs and ducktails, media frenzy, music and World War II hysteria, Valdez's "Zoot Suit" broke molds, presaging a whole new sensibility for theater.

Barbara Bosson ("Murder One"), Ella Joyce ("Roc"), Amy Pietz ("Caroline in the City"), Kevin Kilner ("Almost Perfect") and Christine Avila ("Zoot Suit") will play a group of jurors of mixed heritage trying to decide a racially sensitive court case in L.A. Theatre Works' live radio production "Voire Dire," written by Joe Sutton. The radio play, which will be recorded live for future broadcast on KCRW-FM (89.9), will be performed live on Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.

I started as a freelance writer for The Times in the mid-1970s, a technological Stone Age when reporters still used typewriters. I was so flustered on my first assignment, I spooled the special carbon paper backward, until an editor gently touched my shoulder and reversed my mistake. Considering my inexperience, the editor had given me a big break. He had commissioned a concert review for Calendar: 50 bucks for my take on El Gran Combo, the fun-loving dance band from Puerto Rico.