Zoot Suit tells the story of Henry Reyna and the 38th Street Gang, who were tried for the Sleepy Lagoon murder in Los Angeles, during World War II.

Discriminated against for their zoot suit-wearing Chicano identity, twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang are placed on trial for the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in San Quentin prison.

Through the efforts of George and other lawyers, as well as activist-reporter Alice, with whom Henry has a brief romantic encounter, the boys win their court appeal and are freed.

The play ends with a Reyna family reunion as Henry returns home and Rudy is about to leave to join the Marines.

A disturbance occurred around 11:00 p.m. when a group of twenty white men from the Downey suburb arrived uninvited, complaining about a lack of beer.

Meanwhile, a group of men and women from 39th street drove their cars to the nearby swimming hole and lovers lane, dubbed "Sleepy Lagoon", also on the Williams Ranch.

The group arrived at Sleepy Lagoon around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of the 2nd, to find no one, so someone suggested the Downey gang had moved to the party at the bunkhouse nearby at the Williams Ranch.

In the aftermath of the fight, the party-throwers, the Delgadillos, discovered the body of José Díaz along the road, who had left the party shortly before the 38th street group arrived.

The ruling was reversed in October 1944 and the men were released, due to the efforts of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee, with Alice McGrath as executive secretary.

An audience of season ticket holders and local Mexican-Americans gave standing ovations each evening of the performances at the Mark Taper Forum.

[7] Zoot Suit was the second Latino written and directed play produced on Broadway, coming second only to Miguel Piñero's Short Eyes in 1974.

[9] In April 2008, Alma Martinez, member of the original 1978 cast of Zoot Suit directed the 30 year anniversary production at Pomona College in Claremont, California.

The two-week run managed to sell out prior to opening night, despite minimal advertisement, primarily in Latino publications.

[10] As part of the Center Theatre Group's 50th Anniversary celebration, playwright and director Luis Valdez brought Zoot Suit to the Mark Taper Forum from January 31 to April 2, 2017.

I’m looking forward to sharing Zoot Suit with a whole new crop of artists and audiences.” Similarly, Daniel Valdez said, “It’s great to come back to where it all started 38 years ago.

I’m looking forward to inhabiting the world of Zoot Suit once again.” Academy Award nominated actor Demián Bichir also starred as El Pachuco.

In his review for Theatre Journal, Jules Aaron laudes the play for its ability to both entertain and make a political statement.

Kerr also complains of the lack of emotional connection between Daniel Valdez and Miss Hensel, who play Henry and Alice, respectively.