captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, where the republican leaders' health care bill stands following analysis from the congressional budget office. also ahead this tuesday, all eyes on the netherlands-- what the implications are of tomorrow's dutch election on the rise of the right in europe and populism around the world. >> people are fed about the government for the last couple of years. during the economic crisis, we pay a lot more taxes. they cut our pension benefits. it's a protest vote. >> woodruff: and, the revival of the groundbreaking play "zoot suit" brings mexican-american culture to the spotlight with a purpose. >> it's a masterpiece of american playwriting.

it's about discrimination and it's about we mexicans being a target for so many years. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i want the feel pride as a citizen of this country when we're in a place like this.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: it's less than a week to go before the official start of spring, but you wouldn't have known it today in the northeast. a blizzard grounded more than 6,000 flights, shuttered schools and claimed at least one life. john yang has our report. >> yang: from western pennsylvania to new england, snow fell at a furious pace. this time-lapse video shows it piling up in new york state. >> after daylight savings time, i wouldn't have expected a storm like this.

it kind of feels more like january than it does march. >> yang: wind gusts of more than 70 up to 50 miles an hour sent waves pounding into the shore from delaware to massachusetts. >> good day to make brownies is my point, and or read a book. >> yang: connecticut governor dannel malloy banned all but emergency travel so plows could do their work in near white-out conditions. >> this is new england, we're used to handling snow. but when you get predictions of 18 to 30 inches with potentially 4, 5 or 6-inch snowfalls in an hour, that's when you have to act. >> yang: boston was on track for up to 18 inches. schools there were closed, as they were in cities like philadelphia and new york. that left thousands of kids with a day to play. even four-legged frolickers got in the act. for air travellers, it was anything but a holiday. southwest airlines, which flies more domestic passengers than any other carrier, cancelled all flights at 14 airports from

portland, maine to washington, d.c. thousands of people were stranded, like this new bride from britain. >> we're here on honeymoon and we flew to new york and we got here fine but now we're stuck here on our way to orlando. we can't get a flight out until tomorrow, now. we're hoping to get a hotel room but at the moment there aren't any. >> yang: n.c.a.a. tournament- bound basketball teams and fans had to change plans to get to "march madness" games later this week. amtrak suspended or modified rail service along the busy northeast corridor. nearly a quarter-million customers lost power. new york city was spared the worst as the arctic blast shifted north and west, bringing less snow and more pelting sleet. >> mother nature is an unpredictable lady sometimes. she was unpredictable once again today. >> yang: the nation's capital also got less than expected, allowing federal agencies to

open on a three hour delay. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the commandant of the u.s. marine corps faced a grilling today, over a scandal involving nude photos of female members being shared online. general robert neller pledged to fix the problem and culture that led to the scandal. but female senators, in particular, said they'd heard it all before, including new york democrat kirsten gillibrand. >> when you say to us it's got to be different. that rings hollow. i don't know what you mean when you say that. why does it have to be different. because you all of a sudden feel that it has to be different? who has been held accountable? >> i don't have a good answer for you. i'm not going to sit here and duck around this thing. i'm not. i'm responsible. i'm the commandant. i own this. that's a lame answer but ma'am that's the best i can tell you right now. >> woodruff: the general

acknowledged the scandal may hurt the marine corps' efforts to recruit women. the european union's highest court ruled today that employers may bar muslim women from wearing headscarves on the job. the ruling says that's allowed, so long as the ban is part of a company policy, and not a sign of prejudice. it's a response to cases brought by two women, one belgian, one french. both were fired for refusing to remove their headscarves at work. the u.n. human rights office is demanding that the syrian government release tens of thousands of prisoners. in a statement today, the agency's head said: "...the entire country has become a torture-chamber; a place of savage horror and absolute injustice..." in the past, syria has denied allegations of systematic torture in its prisons. it had no direct response today. in iraq, government troops pushed deeper into western mosul, and killed a key islamic

state commander. military leaders now say it's only a matter of time before they crush the remaining isis fighters in iraq's second- largest city. john irvine of independent television news reports from the front lines. >> reporter: rolling back the islamic state has been tortuous. the fighting here is intense and brutal. advances made by the iraqi army have been slow and the extent of the damage being wrought by this inch by inch battle for a city is simply appalling. in 2014, the iraqi army lost mosul in six hours. getting it all back is going to take them at least six months. the battle for eastern mosul lasted 100 days and it cost the iraqi army at least 500 dead. they want to limit the casualties this side of the river in western mosul and to

that end, they're using far more ordnance, artillery, and air strikes like the one you've just heard. i.s. can also strike from the air. that was a grenade dropped close to us by one of their drones. this cropaganda video appears to confirm the commitment of their fighters here in mosul. it also shows they are far from running short on ammunition. no quarter is being given or asked for. are they good fighters? >> actually they fight, they fight, they fight, they fight. but we have also good fighters >> reporter: mosul museum today was rubble. this where i.s. sledgehammered history. and while much of what they bludgeoned was replica stuff, some priceless artifacts were destroyed here. now the museum is on the frontline of more history being

made. and the records will show that the battle of mosul was one of the most brutal urban fights the world has ever seen. much of the place is uninhabitable and as the advance continues, more districts are being abandoned. as they fled today, they can only have been wondering what will be left of mosul to return to. >> woodruff: more than 200,000 mosul residents have been displaced since the start of the iraqi government offensive, in october. pirates today seized an oil tanker off the coast of somalia, the first such hijacking since 2012. the "aris 13," manned by sri lankan sailors, was carrying fuel from djibouti to the somalian capital of mogadishu. the pirates forced it to sail to a port town near the country's tip. a ransom demand is expected. authorities in mexico say

they've found more than 250 skulls in what appears to be a drug cartel burial ground. a prosecutor confirms the hidden site was discovered on the outskirts of veracruz. only one-third of the site has been excavated, opening the possibility of more victims to be found. back in this country, the new head of medicaid and medicare was sworn in today, as lawmakers grapple with the governments role in health care. vice president pence administered the oath of office to seema verma. she'd been working as a health care consultant in indiana. meanwhile, the nominee to be u.s. trade representative, robert lighthizer, had his senate confirmation hearing. he argued for an "america first" trade policy. on wall street today, another slide in oil prices pulled stocks lower again. the dow jones industrial average lost 44 points to close at 20,837. the nasdaq fell almost 19 points, and the s&p 500 slipped

eight. and, goodyear said goodbye to an icon today. in pre-dawn darkness, the last of the company's blimps was decommissioned and deflated in carson, california. goodyear began flying blimps more than 90 years ago. the tire company is shifting to semi-rigid dirigibles that are larger and faster in providing aerial television coverage at major sports and entertainment events. still to come on the newshour: the political battle to repeal and replace obamacare. the first major test for europe's far right as the dutch head to the polls. what school choice looks like in the vice president's home state of indiana, and much more. >> woodruff: leading republicans in the house are hoping to pass

their obamcare replacement bill by the end of the month. but the new estimates from the non-partisan congressional budget office yesterday may have complicated that timeline. for some of the party's conservatives, the bill still has too much of the affordable care act left in it. for some of its moderates, the number of people the bill would not provide coverage for is cause for alarm. today, the white house and some leading republicans left the door open to change. from both ends of pennsylvania avenue today, talk of amending the house republican health care bill. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell spoke at the capitol. >> it'll be open to amendment in senate, like all reconciliation bills are, we're anxious to get past the status quo. >> woodruff: at almost the same time, white house spokesman sean spicer also sounded a note of compromise. >> if you can come with a good idea that will strengthen this bill that will benefit american

patients we will do it. >> woodruff: all of this, after monday's report from the congressional budget office. the c.b.o. says the g.o.p. plan would leave 14 million fewer people insured by next year, and a total of 24 million fewer by 2026. it would also bring savings that would cut federal deficits by $337 billion over that time frame. the white house sent out budget director mick mulvaney this morning to challenge the c.b.o.'s estimates of the uninsured. >> i don't believe the facts are correct. i'm saying that because of a track record of c.b.o. being wrong before, and we believe they're wrong now. >> woodruff: on the other hand, house speaker paul ryan embraced the analysis, saying it exceeded his expectations. but hard-line conservatives in ryan's caucus, including ohio republican jim jordan, blamed him for rushing the bill through the house. >> this bill doesn't unite republicans, this bill doesn't

bring down the cost of premiums. >> woodruff: several senate republicans also warned the bill needs reworking. among them, north carolina's thom tillis: >> the bill right now, we have questions that we have to have answered. again, it's not just about his house bill but series of things that we have to accomplish in the coming months to solve the problem of the failure of obamacare. >> woodruff: meanwhile, the congressional budget office figures bolstered democrats' opposition to the bill. senate minority leader chuck schumer: >> it's vintage donald trump. he talks like a populist but when he acts it's hard right favoring the special interests, and hurting the middle class and those trying to get there. >> woodruff: democratic leaders brought out people who said they've benefited from obamacare. >> the solution is not to take away care, the solution is to find a better way of providing that care. i'm not asking for something for free, i'm just trying to stay alive. >> woodruff: the g.o.p. bill

will next head to the house budget and rules committees. joining me now, a conservative in the house and member of the freedom caucus, who has expressed reservations about the bill. republican congressman ted yoho of florida. representative yoho, welcome to the program. what are your reservations, and could you support the bill as it is right now? >> thanks, judy, for having me. my reservations are many. i like the direction we're moving in, but i could not support the bill as it is right now. >> woodruff: why not? >> there are several things. one is the refundable tax credits. what that means is the government has to take money from us, the taxpayers, it's a government program. and what i've seen in the government programs in my short time up here but being a citizen for almost 62 years come april is a government program, they tend to get bigger and bigger and they're less efficient. and any time you give control to

the government, it costs more money and they're less efficient. i think we've seen this over and over again. >> woodruff: let me ask you about that. >> one of the other things is a work requirement for able bodied citizens without dependents, that they're either looking for work or they're getting work or they're getting reeducated or doing community service. i think this is a must. if not you're going to have growth of people on the medicaid system. >> woodruff: well, i want to ask you about what you mentioned first, the refundable tax creditor because speaker ryan, as you may know, is arguing that that's not an entitlement. he says letting people keep more of their own money and doing what they want with it is not an entitlement. he said it's simply letting them have the freedom to purchase a plan that they feel is best without the government forcing them to buy insurance. >> well, i agree with getting rid of the mandates because, again, it goes back to if government can mandate what you have to do, and then they fine you with a fee for not doing it, what else can they do in the

future? you know, if the government says you should do this or that? i'm all in favor of having people keep more of their money. i'm in favor of the tax credit, not the refundable ones that go back the buying insurance or going into people's health savings account. again, i'm okay with the tax credits where you can write off the cost of your health insurance if you're an individual, because that's insent sliding people to do that which we want them to be, and that's to be responsible for their health care. >> woodruff: do you think this bill could be changed, amended, in the direction that you're concerns are? i'm asking because in the senate the concerns seem to be in the other direction, senator tom cotton, a republican from arkansas, is saying he is worried that the bill doesn't cover enough people who need care. in other words, the pushes and pull seem to be in the other direction. >> no, i think this bill will get amended. i think you'll have a product that comes out of the house and

the senate that's going to fulfill the needs that we're trying to accomplish. i think we need to all step back for a molt. the affordable care act was full of good intentions but it's collapsing on its own. if we did nothing, which the democrats don't want us to interfere, if we do nothing it's going to collapse. and all these people that are on it are going to lose insurance. our goal is to make sure everybody has access to health care, that it's an affordable health care, but more importantly it's quality health care. with the affordable care act, what's happened is all these people have been running to medicaid, and it's been proven over and over, medicaid has the worst outcomes in the industrialized world as far as the quality of health care. this is not a way to go just the say we have health insurance, but it's not good health insurance. we want quality health insurance that the american industries, the american health care providers can provide. i feel better than anywhere else in the world. >> woodruff: congressman, there are a number of republican senators who are concerned about the loss of medicaid coverage. >> well, again, i look five to

ten years down the road. if we don't fix the underlying problems now, there's going to be a lot of people without basic coverage and needs. i mean, they're talking about cutting social security 25% across the board within 12 years. nobody wants that. and so if we don't get these things right and make the proper reforms now in the mandatory spending, this is going to be a disaster five to ten years down the road for all americans. so let's get this rite. >> woodruff: are you clear on where president trump comes down on this? has he reached out to you to ask for your support in. >> he's not asked me personally, but being a member of the freedom caucus, we're going to meet with him this week, and we'll meet with him in the future. these are things that... these are not republican issues or democratic issues that one side is trying to show which one can come up with the better plan. this is something that's going to affect all americans. we need to put what's best for america right now. let's get that together. we invite buy-ins from the

democrats to come on our side. we want the hear your issues instead of having a political debate and have everybody divided over this. >> woodruff: would the president be able to change your mind on this do you think? >> i'm opening to listening to anybody. i look forward to that debate. i'll stand where i stand on my issues, and if somebody can convince me different, yeah, you know, i'm agreeable, i'm willing to compromise, but it has to be in the right direction. >> woodruff: i'm asking because at this point the president has signed off on the thing that you don't like, and this is those refundable tax credits. and this is the fact that there is no work reform in here. >> well, i've also heard him say that he's open to a lot of suggestions, and that was one of the meetings we're going the meet with him with the freedom caucus. as long as people are open to the dialogue, they're willing to listen to other sides, that's where you'll get your compromise. and this is something we have to do. every republican in the house and the senate ran on repealing and replacing the affordable

care act 100%. i can only think that we're going to come together to accomplish that goal to get quality health care that's affordable for all americans. >> woodruff: but again, some of the opposition from republicans is coming from another direction. congressman, i want to ask you about the ads being run in your congressional district by the american action network for this bill saying just what you've been saying, it's time to go ahead and vote for repeal, to do it with this bill. are those ads going to influence your vote? >> not at all. it's a waste of money as far as i'm concerned. the people sent me up here. i'm going into my third term. we've taken a strong stance on this, and people sent me up here to go up here and fix this problem, not to fall down or, you know, placate to the other side. we're going to fix this and we're going to get rid of the affordable care act, and we will replace it with common sense reforms that people have access

to quality care. that's affordable. >> woodruff: and it's conservative republicans who are paying for those ads. >> it's a republican... if a republican paid for the ad, i don't know how conservative they are. >> woodruff: congressman ted yoho, republican of florida, thank you very much. >> thank you. judy, appreciate it. >> woodruff: just a note that the american action network is a not-for-profit group allied with the house republican leadership; it's running these ads for the health care repeal bill in 30 congressional districts. >> woodruff: in the netherlands, voters head to the polls tomorrow, in europe's first big, and closely-watched, election of the year. an ardent nationalist, running on an anti-immigrant agenda, is bidding for the prime minister's office, hoping to lead the way for similar candidates in france and germany.

the election also comes amid an escalating war of words between the dutch government and turkey, over a referendum next month that could give president recep tayyip erdogan vast new powers. just today, erdogan accused dutch troops of complicity in the 1995 massacre of 8,000 bosnian muslims at srebenica, a charge which a dutch court had previously cleared. special correspondent malcolm brabant traveled throughout holland for us, and brings us this report. >> reporter: convicted of inciting discrimination. he's labeled moroccans as scum. one of europe's most divisive politicians, geert wilders is hoping to emulate donald trump's anti establishment victory while maintaining a dutch veneer. >> i'm no mr. trump. i am my own man. so we are having a dutch campaign here about dutch issues and not about america. >> reporter: the would be prime minister's manifesto is only one

page long. it's a full frontal attack on islam. >> it certainly is a threat. it's an existential threat. i'm not talking about all the muslims, but the islamic ideology of violence of hate of submission and not of assimilation. and i believe islam and freedom are incompatible. so if we want to stay free countries also for our children and grandchildren in the future, we have to have less islam in our societies because the more it dominates and the stronger it becomes the less freedom we will have. >> reporter: this mosque in rotterdam is the country's biggest. if wilders gets his way, every mosque will be closed down. the koran will be banned as will islamic scarves in public places. at friday prayers, security guard rocalita angelista celebrated his conversion to islam. according to a recent survey most dutch people estimated that 20% of the 17 million population were muslims. the true figure is six percent.

>> you cannot change us. we are here and maybe we were not born here, but some of us, my son, my daughter, is born here, so they are dutch. i think wilders will lose. >> reporter: at the end of friday prayers, there was a collection to raise money for a new mosque in the city of utrecht. this expansionism concerns voters in the picturesque southern town of valkenburg, where wilders made a rare pre election appearance. >> a lot of criminals are muslims. it's not that all muslims are bad, but a lot of them have that ideology that they want to take over the christians and they think that muslims are better and the rules of sharia have to be... are more important than the law, the dutch law. >> i'm not worried about an attack, but i am most worried about the influence of our way of life. and we have to stop that.

>> wilders is like a hot air balloon. he is just telling the people what they want to hear. holland, but we have to keep moving in the right direction, and with wilders we are moving in the opposite direction. we are going backward. >> reporter: we've met ferry schippers before, on the frontline of europe's immigration crisis. he was leading the doctors without borders team on board the aid ship "aquarius" last summer, rescuing african migrants off the libyan coast and taking them to italy. >> a good society is a society that take care of the weak. it's kind of strange because we used to be a tolerant country. >> reporter: we've come to maastricht to get a reaction to wilders plan to reject all asylum seekers, ban immigrants from muslim countries, and close down asylum centers. nader elawa is from damascus. he landed on the greek island of lesbos in december 2015 and managed to reach the netherlands just before the migrant trail to

northern europe was closed down. >> the refugees are somehow very peaceful, and i don't think they will make any problem for here. me, i told you about myself. if something happen to netherlands i protect it with my life because my netherland people i found them they help me a lot, so why i must do something bad to them. >> reporter: this is rotterdam, whose prosperity is partly due to its location as the gateway to europe. gert wilders wants the netherlands to follow britain out of the european union and there are sympathizers at the port. niek stam claims to be the country's most militant labor union organizer. he says the working class feel insecure about their prospects because relentless automation and a constant drive to be competitive. the union campaigning for robots to be taxed. >> robots do not buy cars. neither do they shop for groceries, which leads to a fundamental question: who's going to buy all these products

when up to 40% of present jobs vanish? no, we're not just going to sit and wait and do nothing. >> 20% of my membership will vote for geert wilders. but it doesn't mean that they are racist. i mean, it's a vote-- it's a protest vote. people are fed about the government for the last couple of years. during the economic crisis, we pay a lot more taxes. they cut our pension benefits. it's a protest vote. it's not a solution vote. >> reporter: but forming a government here is never smooth sailing. 28 parties are contesting the election. a coalition of four or five is needed to create a government. wilders' big problem is that no one wants to get on board with him. according to the latest opinion polls, geert wilders is no longer in the lead, and has dropped back to second place, but after the surprise results in the brexit referendum and the american presidential election, the sitting dutch prime minister is not taking victory for granted. prime minister mark rutte called

on the dutch to set an example to voters in france and germany where right wing nationalists are flourishing ahead of elections later this year. >> these elections are crucial. let us stop the domino effect right here, this week, this wednesday. the domino effect of the wrong sort of populism winning in this world. >> reporter: are there any circumstances under which you would enter into a coalition partnership with geert wilders? >> answer is no, we won't do that. the reasons are that he, that when the crisis was the deepest in 2012, he ran away from responsibility. >> reporter: political scientist jean tillie believes that although rutte finds wilders views on islam distasteful, it's a mistake not to engage with him. >> we saw it in england with the brexit. people were ignored and look what happened. we saw it with america. people were ignored and look what happened. so don't ignore people when they have strong feelings. you are not obliged to

incorporate them in the political system, but you cannot ignore a very large group of people consistently for 30 years. >> reporter: the election is taking place amid an escalating dispute with turkey. the netherlands prevented two turkish ministers from addressing a rally in rotterdam backing president erdogan's referendum request for greater powers. >> some european countries have become racist and fascist parties. have been pointing to the rise of racism and fascism and xenophobe yes and warning our interlooker thes about this issue. >> we are a proud country. we will never negotiate on threats. >> reporter: dutch analysts believe mark rutte's handling of this crisis could boost his election chances. with so much at stake, there's huge political tension beneath the netherlands' tranquil facade. for the pbs newshour i'm malcolm brabant in amsterdam.

>> woodruff: stay with us, coming up on the newshour: an old play sparks new discussions on mexican-american life. and sweaters for chickens living out of their comfort zones. but first, the trump administration has made one thing very clear: it wholeheartedly supports school choice. education secretary betsy devos is a strong advocate of vouchers, which allows parents to use public tax dollars to pay for a private school education. supporters say vouchers help students succeed but opponents say they siphon crucial resources. indiana has one of the largest voucher programs in the country. and special correspondent lisa stark of our partner "education week" went to see how it's working, for our weekly segment, making the grade.

>> reporter: it's the start of the day at emmaus lutheran school in ft. wayne indiana, where chapel is held once a week. about 20 miles away, this is how the day begins at fairfield elementary, the city's largest public elementary school. >> reporter: both schools are warm and welcoming-- both get top grades from the state for academics, and both symbolize they intensify, giving the administration strong support for school choice. so what's going on? at the heart of the debate, money, and how education dollars are divvied up. normally the state distributes tax dollars to public schools to educate students. in indian that's about $5,800 a student. vouchers change that.

a portion of the money the tax dollars follow the student instead, allowing parents the use those dollars to pay tuition at the private school of their choice. that's the voucher program. robert enlow is an advocate. >> we have seen over time our traditional school systems, because they're based on zip code assign. and where you live, not providing always the best option for families. let's put the money in the backpack and let the kids go where they want to go by giving parents the best options for their kids. >> indiana is one of nearly 30 states that offers vouchers or similar programs. all have the same goal: allowing parents to use public funds for private schooling. jerry and miriam lunz use vouchers to send their children to private lutheran schools, which they say is the best >> i would say the schools in our particular area are not the best from the academic

standpoint. the christian aspect, the backing there, same taught at the school as at the home. >> reporter: without the vouchers, private high school was out of reach. >> we looked at the financial aspect and we had no idea how we were going to cover the cost. jerry is the hardest working truck driver i know, but that doesn't pay a lot. more than 300 private schools accept vouchers, the vast majority are religious schools. the principal. why does this school participate in the voucher program? >> simply because it allows us to serve more students and more families. >> in fact, nearly half of the 193 students rely on vouchers, bringing in about $400,000 for the school, more than one-third of its budget. >> it's obviously very helpful, but, you know, our school was here 100 years before the voucher program, and i'm confident that we'll have it be

here 100 years with or without the voucher program. >> at fairfield elementary, a drop in students and resources due partly to vouchers has strained budgets. according to principal lindsay martin. >> i have lost teachers. i have lost allocations of teachers every year because we're losing students, and sometimes that makes certain grade levels class sizes large. >> in kindergarten, for example, there are 28 students and just one teacher. fort wayne superintendent wendy robinson sees vouchers as an assault on public schools. >> you have published a totally separate school system on the back of the structure that was intended for public school. >> another concern, robinson says this is unfair competition, that public schools, unlike private one, are required to educate everyone who comes in the door, including students with disabilities or limited english skills, who require more

resources. >> if they took every student, if they were responsible for special ed., if they took ell, if they were not allowed to pick and choose which kid they took, bring it on. >> indiana's program started out for low-income students. it was greatly expanded. it now includes students who never attended public schools, and middle-class families were added under then-governor, now vice president mike pence. >> i've also long believed that parents should be able to choose where their kids go to school. >> enrollment skyrocketed from 9,000 students to more than 34,000, 3% of the school population. this year 146 million in tax dollars is going to private schools. school choice, including vouchers, is high on the agenda of president trump and education secretary betsy devos. trump's first school visit was to a florida catholic school that accepts vouchers. >> education is the civil rights

issue of our time. and it's why i've asked congress to support a school choice bill. >> nationally the results on vouchers are mixed with little or in improvement in test scores for voucher students. still, some 29 states are considering dozens of bills that would start or expand vouchers and similar programs. >> we've seen dramatic growth. what we're going to see more of is more and more parents demanding more and more options. >> but public school officials wonder at what cost. >> i'm worried that people aren't alarmed. public education is the backbone of this country. >> a backbone increasingly under pressure. i'm lisa stark of education week in fort wayne, indiana, for the pbs "newshour."

>> woodruff: now, a landmark play about the struggles of mexican-americans gets an acclaimed revival, one that speaks to the times we live in. jeffrey brown has the story from los angeles. >> ♪ oh, oh oh oh >> brown: it is a deeply american story, a mexican- american story:" zoot suit" the play, set in los angeles in the 1940's, amid rampant discrimination, a real- life murder trial and the so- called zoot suit riots. >> the grand jury has just indicted you all for the same crime. not just you four but the entire 38th street gang. >> brown: and "zoot suit", the cultural phenomenon, reaching from its premiere in 1978 at l.a.'s mark taper forum, to broadway, to a 1981 film. and now, 38 years later, to a revival at the theater where it began. its writer and director, then and now, is luis valdez.

>> i believe in entertainment. i love entertainment. but i love it with a purpose. i want people coming out of here thinking about what they saw, and perhaps reassessing what's happening in their own lives with their families. more than anything i hope that people leave here with hope and inspiration. >> brown: valdez received a national medal of the arts from president obama in 2015, for" illuminating the human spirit in the face of social injustice". he spent his early years in a family of migrant workers. is it correct what i read, that you were six when you first discovered your love of theater? in a camp? >> in a camp, a labor camp, i got hooked, yeah. i auditioned, and i won my first role. unfortunately, the week of the show, we were evicted from the labor camp where we were staying and i was never in the play. so that left a big gap, a big hole in my chest, you know? >> brown: it's an early lesson in theater and politics, right? >> exactly. the desire to do theater, and

anger, residual anger, because we had been evicted. 20 years later roughly, i went to cesar chavez and pitched him an idea of theater of, by and for farm workers. >> brown: that was the beginning of el teatro campesino-- a bilingual theatre group of farm workers who performed short plays for other migrants, often on flatbed trucks in the middle of california fields. valdez continued to write and produce larger works as well, becoming known as "the godfather of chicano theater." in 1977, he was asked to create a new production for the mark taper forum. he chose the story of pachuco culture-- mexican-american urban street life-- and a sensational murder trial from the 1940s, in which more than a dozen chicano gang youth were convicted, followed by riots. valdez used actual transcripts and news headlines from the era. the original production helped launch the career of many chicano actors, including edward james olmos.

luis's brother, daniel valdez, and rose portillo were also part of the original cast, playing the young lovers at the heart of the drama. >> it was ahead of its time. very few chicanos were already in the acting business, so for us you know, so young a cast that was coming together, we were people off the street, making our first mark on the industry. but seeing the reactions of the audience and seeing what the audience responded to, because zoot suit's much more than a play, it's an event. in many ways it was a spiritual experience in that sense. >> brown: it was also putting people on the stage and a story on the stage that most audiences haven't seen. >> they hadn't seen characters like this. they'd not seen, i want to say hispanic, latino, chicano, whatever you want to call us, mexican-americans on the stage, and it was a moment where several things were going on. one is you don't always know what you're missing until you see it. so to suddenly see this play and

the stage filled with people that looked like us was, "oh my god, i didn't realize i was missing that." and so that sense of pride and"" i belong here", too. >> all you men are all alike. >> brown: all these years later, they still belong-- this time playing the parents of the young protagonist, henry reyna. i asked how it felt to return. >> when i walked into the audition room and it was the same room that i walked into 38 years ago, and this person was also at the other end of the table and luis was on the other end of the table... >> brown: looking just the same as all those years ago. >> exactly the same. we had not changed at all, and i just took a breath and i put my bag down and i went, "a moment, please, this is so surreal." >> yeah, i would say it's" groundhog day." >> brown: now a new generation

of younger latino actors has taken the stage, joined by one of mexico's leading film and tv stars, demian bichir, who fell in love with the zoot suit story as a teenager. >> i wanted to be in it, it was my idea. i pursued it. >> brown: you heard about it and you said, ¡i have to do this'? >> that's pretty much the way it happened. >> brown: bichir plays what would become the most iconic role in ¡zoot suit' el pachuco, a kind of trickster spirit-figure who hovers around and over the action, connecting the streets of 1940s los angeles to a mythological and spiritual past. >> he's the story of us, he is every mexican from the beginning of times up until now. he's a devilish presence, he's an angel, your best advisor, our best friend, your worst enemy. >> ♪ mada mada mada boogie. >> brown: taking on the role, says bichir, was irresistible. but like others we spoke to, he

had another reason he wanted to take part in the new ¡zoot suit': for moments like this one, from a defense lawyer in the 1940s trial. >> i've tried to defend what is most precious to our american society. a society that is now at war against the forces of racial intolerance. >> a big part of me making that decision was precisely the time we live in right now and how this is a classic, it's a masterpiece of american it's about discrimination and it's about we mexicans being a target for so many years. >> brown: "zoot suit" plays through march 26th. from the mark taper forum in los angeles, i'm jeffrey brown for the pbs newshour. >> woodruff: and we'll be back shortly with a look at one effort to keep our fowl friends warm. but first, take a moment to hear from your local pbs station.

>> woodruff: with the late winter storm bearing down on massachusetts, one group of plucky individuals in milton, massachusetts, got together to help out their neighbors across the road. from pbs station wgbh, cristina quinn has the story. >> what happens when the chicken across the road is cold? you ask your neighbors to knit him a sweater which is what she did when she noticed a rooster started shivering when the temperature dropped. >> i discovered sarama roosters normally would give very close to the equator, and they are not well suited to this climate in new england. >> so max called up nancy kerns who lives at fuller village, a retirement community across the

street, and asked her if she and her knitting group could help prince peep. >> i said, let's give it a try. we went online to a very wonderful site called pinterest, and i typed in the words called chicken sweater, and found a pattern from england. >> reporter: they ladies knit for charities who donate blankets to homeless and sick children. knitting for the chicken came with trial and error. >> the pattern was for big chickens. prince peep in particular is a miniature. >> reporter: weighing in at roughly one pound, he's certainly diminutive. but it worked out perfectly since many he understand were molting making them vulnerable to the elements. >> you look marvelous! >> reporter: on this particular day, erika couldn't find prince peep's sweater. so we found another easy going chicken to try one on. >> we have changen and a sweater. we're going to attempt to put a sweater on a chicken. >> we are going to attempt.

this beautiful hen is not used to having sweaters put on her. but this is her first time, so we can give her a little credit for being nervous. but it's certainly a fetching sweater. >> it's lovely. yeah, very pretty. as it turns out, putting a >> that really suits you. chicken, this really suits you. >> woodruff: you have to love it. i wonder what those chickens did before they have sweaters. on the newshour online right now, in honor of pi day, an unofficial holiday celebrating the mathematical constant, it's a perfect time to play games involving circles. we have some pro tips on hula hooping and yo-yoing like a mathematician. all that and more is on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight.

on wednesday, our leading edge team takes a look at new computer interfaces that allow people wh paralysis to communicate. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.

>> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

(vehicle starts up) >> and i - you could be out on the highway and i could hear my dad when he cranked that truck up and it made all this noise. >> he would shift with his foot, he would kick the gear, you know, the - kick it into gear when he was driving it. >> i had white friends. i had black friends. we all went out together. >> most of my friends were all white as kids. yeah, all of them were. i'd play with albert frank and all them. they just - just enjoy 'em and everything. and when it come time to go to school we thought we was going to the same school, all of us going together, you know. mom, we're going to school tomorrow, is school starting tomorrow? she said, yes, it does. but we're not going to his school. we were going to our school, we went to our black school, you know. we didn't know anything about this, you know. we though we was going to alb frank and them's school. (instrumental music) >> and mother was laying back in bed. i said, "mom, what's wrong?" she said, "honey, i got a pain in my stomach." said, "if i can get this pain