Harry’s Place Arts

I had the very great pleasure of sitting front and center at the Open Fist Theater in Los Angeles for the Saturday evening performance of Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage .

In my opinion Joe’s Garage represents the very best of everything Frank Zappa created through a career marked by densely packed, sometimes inaccessible avant-garde compositions that were often controversial and packed with raw humor. It was a tightly composed and highly melodic voice speaking out against greed, censorship, prejudice, religious extremism, indoctrination, consumerism and the use of sex and technology as tools of oppression and control. The album represents the best of a man who was arguably one of the most unique voices of his generation who ripped aside the barriers between rock, jazz and classical music and spoke out forcefully in defense of civil liberties and human individuality. Sitting in the audience and seeing this masterpiece brought to life on stage was breathtaking.

For those of you who have never had the pleasure of immersing yourself in the satirical dystopia that is Joe’s Garage let me fill you in. Joe, skillfully played by Jason Paige, is an everyman who discovers that joining a Rock & Roll band will get you laid. By indulging in subversive guitar playing he falls prey to the music industry, the feds, the Catholic Church (the CYO led by a twisted father Riley), L. Ron Hoover and the Church of Appliantology, Lucille from Jack In The Box, a VD infested toilet, Sy Borg (played by South African Glen Anthony Vaughan), a XQJ-37 Nuclear-Powered Pansexual Roto-Plooker (destroyed during a golden shower) and Bald Headed John. Even the love of his life, Mary the virginal Catholic girl in white, becomes a crew slut and lands up lost and alone in Florida. Government sanctioned fetishism, mindless consumerism and the eradication of music drive Joe to madness and ultimately break his spirit. At the end we see Joe as part of the machine pooting out little green rosettas in the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. For a complete plot description feel free to visit Wikipedia.

Key to the tale is the Central Scrutinizer – a menacing robot head suspended above the audience like a sword of Damocles. He is a bit like the Greek chorus and represents a government that attempts to homogenize and control society by turning every citizen into a criminal. This is achieved by making every pastime enjoyed by normal folks into a crime. Sound familiar Tipper Gore?

The key to this great stage adaptation of Zappa’s original play has to be the band and they were quite brilliant. Gail Zappa, Frank’s wife and the guiding force behind the Zappa Family Trust, obviously took great care ensuring that the musicianship was at a level that Frank would almost certainly have approved of. They were pitch perfect and as true to the album as it is possible to get. Faithfully rendering Zappa’s solos and riffs was Ken Rosser, a veteran guitarist who has performed over the years with the likes of John Cage, Todd Rungren and Smokey Robinson to name but a few. It was fun seeing guitarist and percussionist Ben Thomas moving between stage and band seemingly tying the elements of script and score together.

Frank Zappa apparently requested that no other musician ever play Watermelon in Easter Hay so at that point in the show the lights went down, the theater was plunged into total darkness and the original recording of this beautiful and haunting composition was played. For those 9 minutes it felt as if the great man were present in the theater and his music filled every inch of the space in a way a visual tribute could never do. It was a personal moment for every member of the audience and remains one of the highlights of the show for me.

Those unfamiliar with Zappa’s work may find the show salacious and vulgar with girls spraying mouthfuls of semen and Joe appearing bare arsed in a yellow apron for most of the show but his work goes well beyond those simple dismissals. He holds up a mirror to modern society and forces you to look at what we have become and where we are headed. Pat Towne, the plays director, writes that the three albums were always meant to be a stage show and that it has more relevance today than when it was written 30 years ago. I could not agree more. It is worth noting that Zappa’s railing against the rise of religious and corporate fascism in the USA had him branded a freak. Today it makes up a good part of Ron Paul’s political platform. Over the years the problem has grown and the mega churches continue to increase their influence and steer the outcomes of elections. No American candidate for President has a snowballs hope of grabbing the brass ring without loving Jesus and taking cash from the corporate elite.

For all these reasons and more this outstanding production needs to be seen in as many theaters inside and outside the United States as possible. So take to the streets, write letters and send emails to the Zappa Family trust imploring them to bring Joe’s Garage to your city immediately. You’ll love it! It’s a way of life… and of course they’ll introduce you to Warren.

For more information about the play or to purchase tickets if you happen to be in L.A. please visit the Open Fist Theater Company.