2017 | Center Theatre Group

Throw a stone in Los Angeles and if you don’t hit a pressed juice bar or an actor, you’re probably going to impale a writer.

Investing in New Talent

This month, Center Theatre Group brings you two productions that broke new ground artistically and in terms of representing different aspects of the American experience onstage.

The Return of an L.A. Classic and a Very Fun Home

The current revival of Zoot Suit marks both "a major social event in Los Angeles history"—the real events the play is based on—and "a major cultural event"—the 1978 World premiere at the Mark Taper Forum was "the first time a Chicano play had been given a mainstage production anywhere in the country, in the world, even," explained Michael Rit...

Passing the Baton of Art and Activism

In honor of our 50th Anniversary, we are mining our archives for gems that highlight important and interesting moments from throughout Center Theatre Group’s history. The following is an excerpt from a note by Founding Artistic Director Gordon Davidson in the program for the 1978 World premiere of Zoot Suit at the Mark Taper Forum. With Zoot Suit...

Evolving Stages

Zoot Suit is not merely performed in English and Spanish. The characters also speak caló, a patois or dialect that is one of the highly distinctive ways the pachuco has of projecting himself. According to one scholar, caló developed in barrios all around the country to give each region its own particular idiom and phrases....

A 'Zoot Suit' Glossary

Occasionally a work of art emerges that defines a cultural moment and points to its future. In 1978, audiences in the United States were privileged to see such a work: Zoot Suit, performed first in Los Angeles and nine months later on Broadway where theatre critic Jack Kroll described the play as a key event in the consciousness of a community. Wit...

The Consciousness of a Community and Beyond