Zoot Suit (play)
   HOME
*





Zoot Suit (play)
''Zoot Suit'' is a play written by Luis Valdez, featuring incidental music by Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero. ''Zoot Suit'' is based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots. Debuting in 1979, ''Zoot Suit'' was the first Chicano play on Broadway. In 1981, Luis Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play, combining stage and film techniques. Plot ''Zoot Suit'' tells the story of Henry Reyna and the 38th Street Gang, who were tried for the Sleepy Lagoon murder in Los Angeles, during World War II. After a run-in with a neighboring gang at the local lovers lane, Sleepy Lagoon, the 38th Street Gang gets into a fight at a party, where a young man is murdered. Discriminated against for their zoot suit-wearing Chicano identity, twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang are placed on trial for the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in San Quentin prison. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Henry's brother Rudy is beaten and stripped of his zoot suit during th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Daniel Valdez
Daniel Valdez (born April 27, 1949) is an American actor, musician, composer, and activist. He is best known for his work as musical director of the films '' Zoot Suit'' (1981) and '' La Bamba'' (1987). Early life Daniel Valdez was born to Francisco and Armida Valdez. His brother is Luis Valdez. In 1966, Valdez joined Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers union. Career Valdez and his brother co-founded the theater group, Teatro Campesino. In 1973, Valdez's first solo album, ''Mestizo'', became the first Chicano album to be produced by a major label, A&M Records. During the late 1970s, Valdez appeared in such films as ''Which Way Is Up?'' (1977), with Richard Pryor, and ''The China Syndrome'' (1979), with Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas. He garnered recognition for playing Henry Reyna on Broadway in his brother's 1979 play, '' Zoot Suit''. In 1981, Valdez reprised his role in the film adaptation of the same name, for which he also co-wrote the original music. He also c ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pachuco
Pachucos are male members of a counterculture associated with zoot suit fashion, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as '' caló'', and self-empowerment in rejecting assimilation into Anglo-American society that emerged in El Paso, Texas in the late 1930s. The pachuco counterculture flourished among Chicano boys and men in the 1940s as a symbol of rebellion, especially in Los Angeles. It spread to women who became known as pachucas and were perceived as unruly, masculine, and un-American. Some pachucos adopted strong attitudes of social defiance, engaging in behavior seen as deviant by white/Anglo-American society, such as marijuana smoking, gang activity, and a turbulent night life. Although concentrated among a relatively small group of Mexican Americans, the pachuco counterculture became iconic among Chicanos and a predecessor for the cholo subculture which emerged among Chicano youth in the 1980s. Pachucos emerged in El Paso, Texas, among a group of Chicano yo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Alma Martinez (actress)
Alma Martinez (born 18 March 1953) is a Mexican-American actress, stage director, and professor of theatre. She is best known for her roles in film and television shows including the Peabody Award winning drama series ''The Bridge'' with Demián Bichir and Diane Kruger and ''Corridos: Tales of Passion & Revolution'' with Linda Ronstadt as well as performances on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, Mexican and European stages. Early career In 1979, Martinez joined the Center Theatre Group production of Luis Valdez’s '' Zoot Suit''. Her film debut was in Valdez's 1981 adaptation, the American classic '' Zoot Suit'', launching a career that led to her induction into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2013. She has since been the lead actress in many of Valdez's projects in a collaboration that has spanned over 30 years. Australian director Fred Schepisi cast her in his American film debut, ''Barbarosa'' with Willie Nelson and Gary Busey. This was followed b ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jones, KennethPassing Strange and August: Osage County Win 2007–08 NY Drama Critics Circle Award" playbill.com, May 12, 2008. Retrieved May 26, 2018.Hetrick, Adam"NY Drama Critics' Circle Awards Matilda and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike With Top Honors"playbill.com, May 3, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2018. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley. Adam Feldman of ''Time Out New York'' has been President of the organization since 2005; Joe Dziemianowicz is currently Vice President, and Zachary Stewart of TheaterMania serves as Treasurer. Member affiliations *''amNewYork'' *''The Hollywood Reporter'' *''New York (magazine), New York'' *''New ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Obie Awards
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the American Theatre Wing. As the Tony Awards cover Broadway productions, the Obie Awards cover off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions. Background The Obie Awards were initiated by Edwin (Ed) Fancher, publisher of ''The Village Voice,'' who handled the financing and business side of the project. They were first given in 1956 under the direction of theater critic Jerry Tallmer. Initially, only off-Broadway productions were eligible; in 1964, off-off-Broadway productions were made eligible. The first Obie Awards ceremony was held at Helen Gee's cafe.Aletti, Vince"Helen Gee 1919–2004" ''Village Voice'' (New York City), 12 October 2004, accessed on 21 November 2013 With the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and Best New American Pla ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Short Eyes (play)
''Short Eyes'' is a 1974 drama written by playwright Miguel Piñero. The play premiered at the Theater of the Riverside Church, was then produced off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater on February 28, 1974, and transferred after 54 performances to the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway on May 23, 1974. ''Short Eyes'', prison slang for a child molester, was written for a prisoners' writing workshop during Piñero's incarceration for armed robbery. Characters * Clark Davis: a middle-class white man in his mid-twenties accused of raping a young girl. While it is never explicitly stated whether he committed the crime he is accused of, it is made clear that he is a pedophile who has molested several other children. * Juan Otero: A Puerto Rican man in his early thirties. He is liked and respected by his fellow prisoners and the guards alike. * Cupcakes: A Puerto Rican "pretty boy" of 21 who is coveted by many of the House's convicts. * Paco: A Puerto Rican drug addict with ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Miguel Piñero
Miguel Piñero (December 19, 1946 – June 16, 1988) was a playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. He was a leading member of the Nuyorican literary movement. Early years Piñero was born on December 19, 1946, in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, to Miguel Angel Gómez Ramos and Adelina Piñero. In 1950, when Miguel was four, he moved with his parents and sister Elizabeth to Loisaida (or Lower East Side) in New York City. His father abandoned the family in 1954 when his mother was pregnant with their fifth child. His mother then moved into a basement and began receiving welfare. He attended four different schools, three public and one parochial. He would steal food for his family to eat. His first of many criminal convictions came at the age of eleven, for theft. He was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx, and to Otisville State Training School for Boys. He joined a street gang called "The Dragons" when he was 13; when he was 14, he was hustling i ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Theatre World
''Theatre World'' is an annual American theatre pictorial and statistical print publication. It includes Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and regional theatre, national theatrical awards, and obituaries. Theatre World "In 1944, three young men who loved theater, Daniel Blum, Norman McDonald, and John Willis, created ''Theatre World'', a magazine about the theater." ''Theatre World'' was first published in 1945. George Jean Nathan's annual ''Theatre Book Of The Year'' (Alfred A. Knopf) preceded and competed. ''Theatre World'' is an annual pictorial and statistical record of American theatre, in print. It includes Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and regional theatre, as well as a complete national theatrical awards section and obituaries. It is a pictorial and statistical reference to each American theatrical season, and is used by industry professionals, students, historians, and fans. ''Theatre World'' is the recipient of a 2001 Tony Honor for Excellen ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards were founded by theatre producer and director Brock Pemberton and are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel. The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in the off ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also directed), William Adama in the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004–2009), teacher Jaime Escalante in '' Stand and Deliver'' (1988) (for which he received an Academy Award nomination), Detective Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel '' Blade Runner 2049'' (2017) and the English dub voice of Mito in the 2005 Disney dub of ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''. In 2018 through 2022, he has played the father of two members of an outlaw motorcycle club in the FX series ''Mayans MC''. For his work in ''Miami Vice'', Olmos won the 1985 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. For his performa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Patricia Birch
Patricia Birch (born October 16, 1934) is an American dancer, choreographer, film director, and theatre director. Early life Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Birch began her career as a dancer in Broadway musicals, including ''Brigadoon (musical), Brigadoon'', ''Goldilocks (musical), Goldilocks'', and ''West Side Story (musical), West Side Story'' (playing Anybodys). She has directed and choreographed music videos for Cyndi Lauper, The Rolling Stones, and Carly Simon. She earned Emmy Awards for her direction of the television specials ''Natalie Cole: Unforgettable'' and ''Celebrating George Gershwin, Gershwin'' and, in collaboration with Michael Tilson Thomas, she staged the concert version of ''On the Town (musical), On the Town'' performed by both the London Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony. She spent six years staging numbers for ''Saturday Night Live''. In the 1960s, she taught dance at the Juilliard School's pre-college division in New York City. She performed ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Winter Garden Theater
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when it was completely remodeled by Herbert J. Krapp. Due to the size of its auditorium, stage, and backstage facilities, it is favored for large musical productions. It has 1,600 seats and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The auditorium interior is a New York City landmark. The Winter Garden Theatre was adapted from the old building of the American Horse Exchange, completed in 1896. Its original facade consisted of several arches on Broadway, which were subsequently converted to a brick wall with a large sign. The interior is covered with detailing in the Adam style. Though the auditorium contains a single balcony above the orchestra level, the boxes are arranged in two levels above the orchestra. The auditorium contains a ribbed ceil ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]