[NoHo Arts District, CA]  – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Los Angeles Mission College’s production ofLuis Valdez’s groundbreaking musical Zoot Suit, with original music by Lalo Guerrero, directed by Robert Cucuzza and Raúl Cardona, and running May 15-31.

My first production at Los Angeles Mission College couldn’t have been more profound, given the general state of the world. Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit is an iconic Chicano play with deep ties to Los Angeles, not only because it is based around the story of the Zoot Suit riots in 1948 when the clash between Chicano gangs and the police was violent and relentless. It debuted at the Mark Taper Forum in 1978 and was the first professionally produced Chicano play. The film version starred Edward James Olmos in the inspired role of the mythical “El Pachuco.” The story’s narrator, protagonist and allegorical character representing the Zoot Suit movement in all its fire, style and cultural rejection of a safe, quiet, submissive Chicano life.

Watching these actors, some new to the stage, some not,  Raúl Cardona who plays the mythical El Pachuco, is a veteran actor of stage and screen and lifts this show, elevating everyone around him as only the best actors can do. It occurred to me what a rare gift it is to act. To be able to inhabit completely another person. To make a character come alive and convince us that what they say and feel is utterly genuine and real is really such a magical thing. These wonderfully gifted actors did exactly that. Without affectation, without pretence, they made these disparate people in their Zoot suits, or their uniforms, the mothers, fathers, teenagers, young men and women, lost souls and friends with the deepest of loyalties and love memorable and intense, heartbreaking and lovable. 

There was naiveté, of course, but only of the very best kind. These are actors learning their trade, some brand new to the theatre, their first time on stage. And yet, they filled the stage completely with their candor and their beautifully direct, rawness. Much like the characters they played in fact. They were exactly who they are. And the boldness and the sweet innocence of that make perfect sense to this incredible story.

This is a story of a particular generation in a particular time, but has anything really changed?

The vast majority of incarcerated men and women are black and brown, from poor neighborhoods where sometimes the only way to live is to protect each other. This is a story of one man’s journey, but it could be anyone at any time and most certainly now and at this time. Zoot Suit celebrates the struggle for identity. When the ability to create a place where style and individuality were rewards enough and who you were, not how much you had, made you special. They were easy targets, this group of visionary souls, battered by those who either didn’t understand or hated that they stood apart from everybody else. Proud to be different. Striving to reject the norm, to make their own unique place in this world. No wonder they were detested by the powers that be. 

This is a wonderful production. The talents of these actors are a fire within them, and it is a joy to watch them discover it. With direction that seems to unlock rather than constrain and flawless technical support, the production of Zoot Suit is a brilliant, vibrant and emotional ride through the world of Los Angeles in the 40s. Between the race riots, the police corruption and remnants of World War II, being a young man was a dangerous thing, and just surviving was a victory. 

Los Angeles Mission College’s Zoot Suit is an absolute triumph. The entire cast should be very proud of what they accomplished. This is not at all an easy play to pull off and yet they not only succeeded, but they also made it entirely their own. Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!

The Zoot Suit Cast

Raúl Cardona** as El Pachuco
Giovanny Benavente as Rudy Reyna
Ana Borrego as dancer and others
Gabby Campos as Manchuka and others
Carlos Daniel Esquivel as Henry Reyna
Dreya Félix-González as Della Barrios
Cristina Frías** as Dolores Reyna
Edward Styles Gallego as Sgt. Smith and others
Joaquin Gamboa* as Hobo and others
Emmanuel Gonzalez as Lt. Edwards and others
Javier Guardado as Enrique Reyna
Kevin Hernandez Diaz as Rafas and others
Debby Hirschmann as Alice Bloomfield
Diana Carolina Jimenez as Bertha Villareal
Kevin Khussainov as Tommy Roberts
Damilola Makinde as George Sherer
Ana Trinidad Medina* as Dolores Reyna
Monique Millicent as Elena Torres and others
Allison Orantes-Gonzalez as Joey Castro
Natalie Patino as Lupe Reyna
Sel Prado as Cub Reporter and others
Hector Ruelas Sanchez* as Swabbie and others
Brent Shewfelt as Smiley Torres
Janelle Vargas Navarrete as The Press
Gerardo Vergara Sanchez as Judge and others
Ceelo Rodriguez as El Pachuco —May 28
Cristina Frías as Dolores — May 15, 16, 23, 29, 30, 31
Ana Trinidad Medina as Dolores — May 21, 22, 23, 24, 28

**faculty    •guest artist

The Team

SCENIC AND PROPS DESIGNER  Dorothy Hoover
LIGHTING DESIGNER  Bri Pattillo
COSTUME DESIGNER Lena Sands
CHOREOGRAPHER Laurie Marie Muñiz-Jaimez*
PRODUCER  Robert Cucuzza
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER  Lauren Anderson-Llewellyn
FIGHT DIRECTOR Edgar Landa*
VOCAL DIRECTOR  Ryan Espinosa
PRODUCTION MANAGER/TECHNICAL DIRECTOR  K. Aaron Blokker
STAGE MANAGER Ali Barrera
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER  Isaiah Garcia
ASSOCIATE COSTUME DESIGNER Diana Gomez
COSTUME SUPERVISOR Kitty Murphy-Youngs*
COSTUME TEAM  Diana Martinez
SCENIC PAINTER JessieAnna Wilton*
PROPS ARTISAN  Danielle Johnson
INTIMACY DIRECTOR Mary Zastrow*
DRAMATURGY Ana Borrego, David Carrera
BUILD TEAM Nikki Arcega, Alejandra Valenzuela, Juliana Garcia, Julian Casarez
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR Yazlin Juarez*