Knievel signs off on rock opera”Break a...

Knievel signs off on rock opera

“Break a leg” will take on a new meaning in the world of theater if “Evel Knievel: the Rock Opera” comes to fruition.

Its creator is Jef Bek, winner of a couple of Ovation awards for his work as a musical director and composer with the small L.A. theater company Zoo District. Recently Bek, after working two years on spec, flew to Clearwater, Fla., hoping for Knievel’s blessing.

Knievel rose -- and sometimes fell -- to fame in the 1970s by jumping his motorcycle over cars and canyons. A career in professional daredeviltry left him with 37 fractures, both legs included, before he quit while he was ahead in 1980.

Knievel, 64, says he was instantly taken with Bek and his seven-song demo and signed over exclusive rights to stage his story. “I think it’s a wonderful compliment,” Knievel said.

Bek, 40, envisions the rock opera not only as a homage to Knievel but to the musical spirit of such bands as the Who, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd that were riding high during the 1970s, when Knievel’s near-death experiences earned him the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Why Evel Knievel? When he was a 12-year-old in Des Plaines, Ill., that’s who Bek wanted to be -- until his nascent career as a stunt rider ended when he got banged up (no fractures) riding his Schwinn into a tree stump.

“He was a living superhero,” Bek says. “He knows I get him, and he knows I understand what’s really significant about his legacy.”

-- Mike Boehm