Zephyr

A tough female singer from The Zinger a stage musical written in 1976 but set in the future of 2008. It was written by singer Harry Chapin (of "Cat's in the Cradle" fame), his wife Sandy, and Brother Jonathan Ringkamp, an actual Fransciscan monk.

It ran for one month at the Performing Arts Foundation (PAF) Playhouse in Huntington Station, Long Island, near where Chapin lived at the time. It starred Ben Vereen, Beverly d’Angelo, and Christine Lahti, but the role of Zephyr was played by a pre-fame Pat Benatar! She gives a thumbnail sketch in her intro to "Shooting Star" at the Harry Chapin Tribute Concert (performed December 7th 1987, released 1990):

I met Harry in 1975, in a small pub in Huntington, Long Island, where I was singing cabaret and trying to make a living. He said "Kid why don't you come back, we're having auditions for the show that I'm doing at the PAF Playhouse."

I said "Sure" - I've never seen a famous person that close before. So I went over there and the show was The Zinger and The Zinger took place in a futuristic time. It was kind of futuristic rock 'n' roll. The character I played was Zephyr and she was a kind of rough and tough, rock 'n' roll singer of the future. The problem was I hadn't really learned how to sing rock 'n' roll, so I was a little out of place.

I remember at rehearsals, they would come back, Harry and Steve and everybody, and they'd say, "You're doing really great, but you've got to rough it up a little. You gotta get this a little tougher." I said, "Okay, okay." So, Harry, I know you're listening and probably smiling, but I finally got it. We miss you!

External Links

• "2008: A Rock Morality Musical," The New York Times, Barbara Delatiner, March 28, 1976
• The Zinger in Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story, by Peter M. Coan, Citadel Press, 2001