Back in the ‘70s, Pat Towne was one of those boys who was out there listening for something out of the ordinary. As a prog-rock guy into Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes, Towne was fascinated by Frank Zappa’s abstract expressionist musical canvas. There was an anti-conformist message he found intriguing: “His music attacked those kinds of people and that kind of thinking. It appealed to me.”

He first connected with Zappa’s 1973 album “Over-Nite Sensation” in high school, but when a friend visited his dorm room with a copy of Joe’s Garage a few years later, Towne was hooked. It was a concept album that took on sweeping themes—religion, overzealous government, sex, consumer culture and was “full of all these funny snippets and side remarks. When I saw that the album said ‘Act I’, that stayed with me. I had images in my head of what scenes would look like.”

Towne finally is getting a chance to bring that dream to life on stage. Hollywood’s Open Fist Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Joe’s Garage, Zappa’s three-act rock opera, adapted by Towne (who is directing) and the show’s producer, Michael Franco. It’s been an obstacle course of sorts—from gaining Gail Zappa’s consent to evoking the right mood.

Chance put Towne in contact with the Zappas’ daughter, Moon (the voice of Valley Girl), in 2005. She played a part in a play that Towne had directed, and he worked up the nerve to ask her about approaching her mother to stage the piece. “Gail said he’d actually meant to have it performed,” Towne says.

Producer Franco says. “I think Zappa feared that America would turn into a fascistic theocracy, and we’re awfully close,” he says. While a couple of actors begged off early, saying that some of the content went “against their religious beliefs”, casting wasn’t the biggest hurdle. “There was no score,” Towne says. “We had to hire someone to listen to the album and transcribe the whole thing so the actors could rehearse.”

Now they are fine-tuning the seven-piece band and are considering adding a horn section. Franco has secured Carvin amps, the brand Zappa used, and he was still trying to find a Stratocaster with a whammy bar. And still, there is Gail, and her ultimate approval.
Towne says, “It’s complicated music. It has to be absolutely right. We’ll get a lot of feedback. We’ll have the Frankophiles.”