Sacramento State’s theater department brought to life the Chicano play “Zoot Suit,” directed by Sac State professor Manuel Pickett, with riveting performances by talented theater students and a wonderful representation of the Chicano culture during World War II. 

“Zoot Suit” is written by Luis Valdez with music and lyrics by Lalo Guerrero. It was the first Chicano play on Broadway in the year 1979.

Pickett will be retiring after 32 years of running the Chicano Theatre program and “Zoot Suit” is one of the last productions he will direct.

The play is based on the Zoot Suit Riots of the 1940s and the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial, where a group of young Chicano men were falsely charged with murder.

The play stars Jose Perales as Henry “Hank” Reyna, a member of the 38th Street gang, who is enjoying one last night of freedom before he leaves for the Navy. The main supporting cast includes Martin J. Rodriguez as El Pachuco, the narrator and chorus of the play, and Kristen Sanchez as Reyna’s girlfriend, Della Barrios.

During Henry’s last night on the town, he and his gang are arrested and falsely accused of murdering a rival gang member. The gang members are put on trial and unfairly convicted for a crime they did not commit. The play continues with Henry and his gang in prison while the Zoot Suit Riots and World War II occur on the outside.

This was a delightful and well-done theatre production because the comedy, music and dancing made it an enjoyable and fun experience. The acting was superb from all the theatre students because of their seriousness and visible talent as actors – it showed how much they cared to produce great performances and honor Valdez’s work.

The comedy was fun to watch and the audience was laughing throughout the play. Rodriguez was funny with his character’s sharp humor and wicked lines while he talked with Henry and commented on the troubling situations for Henry during the play.

Perales was outstanding as Reyna and gave one of the best performances of the play. The audience could see his focus and passion as he played Reyna; he really brought the character to life on the stage. Perales is a talented actor and I hope to see him in future productions at Sac State.

Rodriguez’s performance was the highlight of the show – and one of the most important – because his suave character was the embodiment of the gang’s zoot suiter spirit of pride and defiance. He acts as Henry’s alter ego and gives him advice during troubling situations.

Sanchez gave a great performance as Della, but there was not enough character development to enjoy her character until near the end of the play. 

The supporting cast was wonderful and humorous in many ways. Ike Torres, Javier Gonzalez and Craig Sanders played members of the 38th Street gang and each one of actors brought a different, but comedic, atmosphere to the production.

Melissa Warren plays Alice Bloomfield, a reporter and activist for the gang during their trial. Warren was fiery and intelligent as Bloomfield and brought great depth and compassion to the production, especially since her character was of Jewish descent and had to face discrimination during the World War II era in which the play takes place.

One of my favorite scenes is between Henry and Alice in the prison when they discuss if Henry wants to be more than friends with Alice. Warren was feisty and great in that scene because of how Perales’ character antagonized her; she had to verbally defend herself against him. I was amazed with both acting abilities of Warren and Perales.

The costumes were fantastic with some women looking like they walked out of 1940s with colorful floral dresses and other bright outfits – which really brought a bang to the visuals for the play- and curly updos, all embodying the iconic fashion era. The men’s drapes looked authentic to the actual zoot suits of the 1940s and they were a nice touch to the production.

The lighting for the show was great, dimming at the right moments and setting certain moods for the audience – including scenes when Henry and the gang are in prison, which was dark and dramatic with Henry and El Pachuco being spotlighted while they spoke.

The set consisted of a bare stage and some props, and it was not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Most of the settings were done with screens and projected images, which made them clean and high quality, but they were not as authentic as they could have been if they were to have been done with more handmade props and painted backgrounds. The best prop was the giant newspaper that sat on stage before the play began.

The message of the play is about the stereotyping of Latinos and their culture, which the production captured very well. With the backdrop of World War II and the Zoot Suit Riots, growth of the characters was shown through these events, leaving the audience curious to know the fate of the characters by the end of the play.

Brittany Lambert can be reached at [email protected]