Zoot Suit Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Recommended
"...The strong supporting cast adds to the spirit of camaraderie that makes this revival of "Zoot Suit" such a timely gift to Los Angeles theatergoers."
LA Weekly- Somewhat Recommended
"...A more lyrically agile production might have seized the moment and retooled itself as a galvanizing work of political resistance. What Valdez delivers, although entertaining, is more of a highly polished, valedictory capstone to a life in the theater. Rather than exhilaration, one leaves the theater with the mournful sense of an opportunity lost."
Edge- Somewhat Recommended
"...Luis Valdez' "Zoot Suit" is a combination of fact and fantasy based on the Sleepy Lagoon murders and the subsequent riots that took place in the early 1940s in Los Angeles. The play returns to the Mark Taper Forum in downtown LA, where it originally premiered in 1979, followed by a short but Tony-nominated Broadway run. Despite such drama as politics, racism, gangs, murder and incarceration, though, "Zoot Suit" never quite catches fire."
LA Splash- Recommended
"...ZOOT SUIT is a story about Los Angeles history in the 1940's – but it also resonates with 2017 audiences in a way which may not have been anticipated by author Luis Valdez. Perhaps everything changes – but sometimes also remains the same. ZOOT SUIT is a must-see on multiple levels. When the play ends, the discussion is just beginning."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...Downtown Los Angeles explodes with music, dance, and dramatic fireworks as the Mark Taper Forum celebrates its 50th-Anniversary Season with a spectacular, timelier-than-ever revival of Luis Valdez's legendary Zoot Suit."
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...One element that works so well is Luis Valdez's incorporation of the true events of the "Sleepy Lagoon" media fiasco and the subsequent 1943 Zoot Suit Riots, in which carousing servicemen violently attacked Mexican American youth. Valdez, who also directs, makes great use of the prominent media outlet of the time, projecting blaring headlines of the countless daily newspapers that flourished in Los Angeles. This provides constant updates of the alluring case, in which Reyna and his fellow gang members Smiley (Raul Cardona), Tommy (Caleb Foote), and Joey (Oscar Comacho) faced murder charges and the possibility of lifetime prison sentences. One cannot help likening the proceedings to our current state, in which racial profiling, social injustice, and ICE roundups fuel fears of mass incarcerations and deportations, and how they are publicized."