Opening the ZipperZ

Composer Nathaniel Stookey (who is not dead at all), wrote up a musical setting of the poems. Stookey, a SF resident, is at this moment of fame between having a wikipedia page, and having content in it. His Junkestra might be the best reason to visit the Sunset Scavenger website. His ZipperZ music carries forward the torch of Bernstein: there were hints of West Side Story in this, quite appropriately since it's a love story. (What's more, the program concluded with Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet). We enjoyed the playfull stand-up bass lines which gives the piece its backbone, and while the music feels contemporary, it won't ruffle any feathers.

The two protagonists go through the motions of dating. It does not avoid some cliched tropes: How long to wait before he calls her? But the eventual cell phone call gives way to a hilarious moment of humorous orchestration, complete with dialing tones for flutes and woodwinds. Sue Gilmore wrote a preview of the concert, comparing ZipperZ to When Harry Met Sally. We found the comparison apt: both are pleasant enough, if short of being masterpieces. We thought Swingers would be a more appropriate reference, since ZipperZ is more hip and edgy. Eisa Davis and Manoel Felciano have charming on stage chemistry. Both of them are so cute, with so many acting credits to their names, we were surprised they could actually sing (they were amplified, they're no opera singers).

We thought of illustrating this post with the picture on Eisa's MySpace page captioned "I don't get mad, I get indigestion," but we're not so sure on the copyright situation. The relationship between the two gets steamy, but we found the warnings "ZIPPERZ deals with adult subject matter and may not be appropriate for younger audiences" in red around the theater to be a bit over the top: it's as raw and raunchy as an episode of Friends.

George Antheil's Jazz Symphony, as a curtain raiser, sounded too thin in the cavernous Paramount Theater. We love the beautiful art deco style, but what a barn! It looks like there is an amped up version of the jazz symphony (the original one, before Antheil took a second go at it) which would fit the space better. The orchestra was larger for the Romeo and Juliet Suite, in a dynamic interpretation. The audience did seem a bit fidgety during the slowest movement: turns out ZipperZ is a tough act to follow!