A long way to go: diversity of playwrights at the Taper Forum over the last 40 years

  5 graphs that show the ethnic, racial and gender makeup of playwrights at the Mark Taper Forum BACKSTAGE APR 06, 2017 By Anthony Byrnes and Christina Ramos “Zoot Suit” just closed, after several successful extensions, at the Mark Taper Forum. That’s incredible, not only because the play first played at the theater 40 years… Continue Reading A long way to go: diversity of playwrights at the Taper Forum over the last 40 years

013: Zoot Suit Special

https://archive.org/details/cusb_000185 Description: (1) Television special on “Zoot Suit” in New York. (2) Luis Valdez is interviewed. (3) “Zoot Suit” scenes from the New York production for television. New York: WNBC, Ch. 4. Source: 1 Tape of 1: 3/4 inch videotape Collection: El Teatro Campesino Archives   Rights: The artist of any work retains all rights… Continue Reading 013: Zoot Suit Special

014: Zoot Suit: The Play, The Promise

https://archive.org/details/cusb_000186 Description: (1) Documentary on “Zoot Suit” play. (2) Various speakers: Juan Gomez-Quinones, Bert Corona, Alice Greenfield, George Shibley, Mauricio Mazon, Mike Gomez, Daniel Valdez and others. (3) Various scenes from the play. Los Angeles: KNXT (Now KCBS), Ch. 2. [1978] Source: 1 Tape of 1: 3/4 inch videotape Collection: El Teatro Campesino Archives  … Continue Reading 014: Zoot Suit: The Play, The Promise

Pachuquismo @ EastSide Arts Alliance

Follow this link to see selections from an all-female version of “Pachuquismo,” a melange of tap dancing, Zapateado, and poetry that illustrates the Pachuca experience from the 1940’s.    

Hernandez v. Texas: Legacies of Justice and Injustice, by Kevin R. Johnson

The Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Hernandez v. Texas was a legal watershed for Mexican Americans in the United States. In that decision, the nation’s highest court ruled that the systematic exclusion of persons of Mexican ancestry from juries in Jackson County, Texas violated the Constitution. The evidence of exclusion included the fact that no… Continue Reading Hernandez v. Texas: Legacies of Justice and Injustice, by Kevin R. Johnson

LA TIMES Review of ZOOT SUIT Taper (Charles McNulty)

Critic’s Choice ‘Zoot Suit’ at the Taper: An L.A. revival, perfectly timed ‘Zoot Suit’ at the Mark Taper Forum Charles McNulty Charles McNultyContact Reporter Theater Critic “Zoot Suit,” the landmark 1978 play by Luis Valdez that put the struggles of Mexican Americans front and center, is back where it originated at the Mark Taper Forum… Continue Reading LA TIMES Review of ZOOT SUIT Taper (Charles McNulty)

LA TIMES Review of ZOOT SUIT Taper (Sylvie Drake)*

‘Zoot Suit’: How Latino theater born in the farm fields changed L.A. theater forever “Zoot Suit” playwright Luis Valdez in 1978, flanked by Gordon Davidson, left, and César Chavez. (Center Theatre Group) Sylvie Drake It was 1946. The cotton-picking season was over in the San Joaquin Valley, but the truck wouldn’t go, the money was… Continue Reading LA TIMES Review of ZOOT SUIT Taper (Sylvie Drake)*

VARIETY Review of ZOOT SUIT Taper (Peter Debruge)

Variety L.A. Theater Review: ‘Zoot Suit’ Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic@AskDebruge CRAIG SCHWARTZ FEBRUARY 14, 2017 | 01:44PM PT Now 76, Chicano theater pioneer Luis Valdez returns to the Mark Taper Forum with a revival of the play that flipped the script for Latino representations on stage. Back in style after 40 years, Luis Valdez’s… Continue Reading VARIETY Review of ZOOT SUIT Taper (Peter Debruge)