Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez was the first Chicano play on Broadway and is now being performed at the UTEP Wise Family Theatre.

It follows the story of Henry Reyna and the 38th Gang who are unjustly charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.

“The fact that they were Latino and brown skinned meant that the police just said we’ll pin it on them anyway because we want these Zoot Suiters out of the streets because they’re hoodlum,” said Director Justin Lucero.

This story is the colorful reimagining of the real life Los Angeles Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots that took place in the 40’s during World War II

“And it shows just how little progress has actually happened in the last 80 years as a country,” said Lucero.

You can buy tickets to the show here.

It will run this weekend and next.