Fifteen years after his death, Frank Zappa is undergoing a renaissance. Son Dweezil and band are touring the nation as Zappa Plays Zappa, and Zappa’s rock opera “Joe’s Garage” is receiving its stage premiere, a mere 29 years after the albums’ release. Yes, albums. Act 1 was released as a single LP, shortly followed by Acts 2 and 3 in a two-record set. I bought both (or all) of them when they came out in 1979, for what felt at the time like a healthy chunk of change for a guy still in high school. I haven’t listened to them in years; I remember thinking then that “Joe’s Garage” didn’t have any single song as good as anything on the previous album, “Sheik Yerbouti” (which I still listen to). That said, I have no intention of missing its stage debut, especially because it’s being done at Open Fist, one of my favorite theatres.

While we’re on the subject of Frank Zappa, here’s a piece from today’s LA Times about Zappa’s widow Gail and her efforts to safeguard his legacy. Something I once read that Zappa said about his marriage to her directly led to a play of mine, “Remember Frank Zappa”:  Zappa said the secret to their successful marriage was that they never talked. Hey, whatever works.

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