Matthew Durland

Script Analysis - Spring ’21

Professor Christie Maturo
Zoot Suit - Response
March 1, 2021

Zoot Suit Response

El Pachuco states in the final moments of Luis Valdez’s play - “That’s the way you see it, èse.
But there’s other ways to end this story.” and leaves the audience and reader uncertain of what
the future holds for the protagonist, Henry Reyna. Zoot Suit unravels the story of Henry Reyna
and the 38th Street Gang tried and accused of the Sleep Lagoon murder. Set in the 1940’s of
“The City of Angels” - Los Angelas. After members of the gang defend themselves from a fight
at Sleep Lagoon, the body of Josè William’s is discovered and they are arrested and put on trial.
Before being tried, Henry and his gang, Smiley Torres, Joey Castro, and Tommy Roberts are held
in prison and experience acts of injustice and intolerance without full evidence or proof of the
crime. George Shearer and Alice Bloomfield meet the gentleman and look to clear their name
and provide justice for this false accusation. Once in court, Judge F.W. Charles and the
Prosecutor continue to treat the men and the witnesses with prejudiced and discriminatory
attitudes. It is discovered that Henry and his men have been denied clean clothes and haircuts to
further expand the image of how the press and public view the individuals. The members of the
gang are found guilty and are sent to San Quentin for life in prison. During a series of letters
exchanged between Alice and the boys, work to appeal the case for misconduct continues to
evolve. George comes to share with them that he has been drafted into the army. Henry believes
this happens in order to remove George from working on their case. Through a physical
altercation with a guard over new work assignments, Henry ends up in solitary forcing himself to
question whether he can be saved and what he did it all for. Following Henry’s own struggle with
his identity, El Pachuco continues the conversation with the Press about who distorts the image
of Zoot Suites. He is is verbally and attacked by the press and physically by a group of Marines
who strip him leave him only in a small loincloth. After some time, Alice reads a series of letters
to Henry which are held from him while in the hole. When she visits him she affirms the hope of
winning the appeal only for Henry to discover he is being transferred to Folsom Prison. Through
a series of vignettes, the war is won and 38th Street Gang is acquitted of charges due to
misconduct. The final moments of the play take place at Henry’s family dinner where he is
forced to question his future with Della and Alice. Having prepared to go back into service, Rudy
speaks on what happened when he was attacked and stripped by a gang of Marines with actions
leading to the police approaching the house, once again accusing Henry of a crime he didn’t
commit. Preparing to fight the men outside, Henry is broached by his father to stop which leaves
him pondering if he will hit his father or not. After a moment to ponder the repercussions of this
action, Henry embraces his father and his family. The Press reveals what happened to Henry
Reyna there after only to have El Pachuco to interject with “That’s the way you see it, èse. But
there’s other ways to end this story.” and that Henry has multiple fates but seen as much more to
those in his life.
Several things speak to me about this text. In fact, I would love to direct this play. This has
become one of my favorite plays I’ve read - ever. While exploring the text several times and then
using the L.A. TheaterWorks production, I found myself conjuring images of staging and
movement concepts I would use . The text itself explores racism, unjust behavior, social imagery,
self-identity, and the concept of reality; what is real and what do we allow ourselves to believe.

The definition of Zoot Suit is :

Noun: a man's suit with baggy, tight-cuffed, sometimes high-waisted trousers and
an oversized jacket with exaggeratedly broad, padded shoulders and wide lapels,
often worn with suspenders and a long watch chain and first popularized in the
early 1940s.

It’s more than just a physical characteristic though - it’s a way of style and personality. This
brings back in the concept of reality, what is real and what do allow ourselves to live exaggerated
and with false imagery. Through this, the use of El Pachuco symbolizes not only Henry’s
conscious of this life style but also his own self identity. From the beginning of the text, the
audience is prescribed a clear tone that El Pachuco is never a real presence in the play and yet he
represents the entire world of the play.

El Pachuco: I speak as an actor on the stage.

The Pachuco was existential
for he was an actor in the streets
both profane and reverential.
It was the secret fantasy of every bato in or out of the Chicanada
to put on a Zoot Suit and play the Myth más chucote que la chingada.

This idea of playing an actor in the streets and this fantastical life shows the struggle Henry has
in which to play off as the cool, tough, and unreserved individual or the uncertain and hopeful
man who is frightened. When George arrives at the prison to work with the boys and their case,
El Pachuco expresses the conscious of of Henry:

El Pachuco: Better check him out, ése. He looks like a cop.

This in turn leaves Henry acting hostile and deflective of George’s attempt to help their case.
When the uncertainty of how the money and who linked George with this case is questioned,
George meets Henry with a remark that he’s the one who should be asking questions, he’s not the
one going on trial. El Pachuco retorts back:

El Pachuco: Don’t let him throw you, esé.

While the other boys seem to find a glimmer of hope in this meeting, Henry is still met with the
same reserved Pachuco mentality. The question met between George and Henry is ultimately
trust. George states that does it matter what blood runs through his veins, if that made a
difference could he help them. El Pachuco responds with:

El Pachuco: Chale!

Which in slang means disapproval or frankly, shut up. This is the first moment where we see the
disconnection between Pachuco and Henry. While prior to this, Henry had responded to a
manner to what his conscious was thinking, he now respond in agreement to receive the help.
The idea that what and who we try to come off as does not always meet the things or identity we
have truly.

One of the most pivotal moments of struggle we see in solitary where Henry conjures El Pachuco
and questions the idea of reality once again. What reality does Henry live in and what fantasy
does he wish to continue to play in.

Henry: There's still a chance I'll get out.

Pachuco Fat chance.
Henry I'm talking about the appeal!
Pachuco: And I'm talking about what's real! z,Que traes, Hank?

Haven't you learned yet?

Pachuco tells Henry that he should protect the ones he loves by binding them in hate. This
constant idea of anger, hate, and fighting has been a constant theme in the image his gang and
lifestyle has portrayed until now. After all, he ended up in the hole because he used his hate to
fight the guard. Pachuco pushes the idea of false hope and tells Henry to dismiss it ultimately
yelling for this conscious to “fuck off.” What leads is what’s titled as THE ZOOT SUIT RIOT’S.
Verbal attacks from the chorus of Press and Marines to Pachuco are made on the image of
indigenous people and what should matter. Pachuco is stripped and left with only a loincloth and
conch as one might envision an Aztec.

We later come to find at the end of the play, Rudy retells of how he was stripped and humiliated
by Marines and a group of people watching.

Rudy: They dragged me out into the streets and all the people watched while
they stripped me (Sobs)

This foreshadowing and reveal from Rudy continues to shows him being swept by the Zoot Suit
Riots and removing himself from this persona joins the Navy. No longer does Rudy want to
witness or carry out a persona of fighting, anger, and perpetual injustice, and instead perhaps
conforms to the ideals of what the Press/Marines had reflected too Pachuco.
This ultimately leaves Henry with the thought of constant injustice. When he is being sought out
for stealing George’s car, his rage and anger of a Pachuco mentality returns. That moment of
uncertainty if he will hit his farther and continue to perpetuate the momentum anger and fighting
is pivotal. His embarkment with his family and father shows the hope that he indeed has been
searching for.

There are many more powerful moments in the play I’d love to expand upon but I’ll end with
one that gives me hope. George is a contestant ally to Henry and the other men. Perhaps it’s a
case of white savior and oppressed people but I chose to see it as hope and tolerance. In the script
and L.A. TheaterWorks there’s a slight difference in the final moments of George’s interaction
with Henry before he departs. In the script, the cast of characters is written as:

His Friends:

GEORGE SHEARER
ALICE BLOOMFIELD

In the final moment when George leaves, he states to Henry: (Here is the script and L.A.
TheaterWorks text)

ORIGINAL SCRIPT L.A. THEATERWORK’S TEXT

George: Yeah. See you around. (Pause.) George: Yeah. See you around. (Pause.)
Goodbye, Henry. Good luck and God bless Goodbye, friend. Good luck and God bless
you. you.

I had to pause for a moment because I loved this change. For me, this proves the argument that
George is not seen a white angel looking to save an oppressed people for personal gain or self
image. He truly seeks to help and bring justice for Henry and the rest of his gang. In the cast of
characters both Alice and George are stated as his friends and their actions through the play
would certainly be a case for that.

I would love to work on this production from a Directors point of view. I would first want to
research the historical content of the trial, case, and overall Sleepy Lagoon murder. Dramaturgy
would be critical in mounting this production. Here are some of the most important facts and
notes I found researching:
• Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir near the L.A. river and was a typical spot for Mexican-
Americans to use and visit.

• The actual name of the individual found dead was José Gallardo Díaz. The play states his
name to be José Williams.

• The actual case arrested 17 members suspected of the crime whereas the play states 22.

In general, If I were to stage this production my concept would be minimal. One could be
intimidated by the cast size of this play and be tempted to use doubling but I believe for this
production it’s key not to. Looking at how the play is structured over race, identity, press and
several key personalities, I think it’s important to keep each one individual - to go along with the
theme of the play.

I would be interested to play with the world of the play taking and using the playing area of the
court room. Between use of chairs, tables, and the parameters of how we set the world, I believe
we could use the court room as the major playing area in telling of the story. I would love to play
with the idea of sound and less traditional use of props. Like myself when listening to the L.A.
TheaterWorks production, I would be interested how our audience could immerse themselves in
the world with just music, sound, and creative set use.

When Henry and the boys are in jail, I would just chairs distanced and lighting effects for the
essence of a jail. When Henry is in the hole I would want the entire stage to be cleared. Nothing.
I am incredibly drawn to the idea of pitch darkness as well. He speaks how he can’t see the floor.
I would love for the audience to play with that sensory for a bit. We only hear the voice of El
Pachucho and Henry. There is a lot I would love to play with this production. If I had a project
too direct for the future of CCSU, I would be very interested in staging this play.