Zero Hour (play)
Encyclopedia
Zero Hour is a 2006 one-person play
written and performed by playwright
and actor
Jim Brochu
and directed by actress Piper Laurie
. In a biographical reflection on Zero Mostel
, Brochu portrays the Jewish actor and comedian giving a fictional interview with an unseen New York Times
reporter shortly before Mostel's death in 1977. Brochu's Mostel recounts his life and career; he describes the impact of the Hollywood blacklist
on himself and his friends, including his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee
, as well as his success with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
, Fiddler on the Roof
and the original movie version of The Producers
.
A lifelong admirer of Mostel, Brochu found inspiration during his research into the adversity Mostel faced, including his parents' rejection of his marriage to a Catholic
woman and a bus accident that resulted in a severe leg injury, and how his "sense of humor saved him". Writing the play during intermissions of another show he was working on, Brochu also drew upon his own recollections of Mostel, including seeing the actor in Forum and visiting him backstage:
After seeing the play, Mostel contemporary Theodore Bikel
wrote to Brochu, "Thank you for bringing back a volcano that we thought was long extinct."
The play premiered at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in Hollywood, California, presented by the West Coast Jewish Theatre and directed by Paul Kreppel. It won the 2006 Ovation Award for "World Premiere Play." It began a limited Off Broadway run at St. Clement's Theatre beginning November 14, 2009, officially December 22, and running through January 31, 2010. Bochu won the 2010 Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Solo Performance.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
written and performed by playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Jim Brochu
Jim Brochu
Jim Brochu is an American actor, writer, director, and playwright. Born in Brooklyn, he studied at Carnegie-Mellon University and received his B.A. from St. Francis College. His stage debut was in a production of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew...
and directed by actress Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie is an American actress of stage and screen known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks and the films The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God, all of which brought her Academy Award nominations...
. In a biographical reflection on Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
, Brochu portrays the Jewish actor and comedian giving a fictional interview with an unseen New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reporter shortly before Mostel's death in 1977. Brochu's Mostel recounts his life and career; he describes the impact of the Hollywood blacklist
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
on himself and his friends, including his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
, as well as his success with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
, Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
and the original movie version of The Producers
The Producers (1968 film)
The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
.
A lifelong admirer of Mostel, Brochu found inspiration during his research into the adversity Mostel faced, including his parents' rejection of his marriage to a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
woman and a bus accident that resulted in a severe leg injury, and how his "sense of humor saved him". Writing the play during intermissions of another show he was working on, Brochu also drew upon his own recollections of Mostel, including seeing the actor in Forum and visiting him backstage:
I went down and Zero was outside of his dressing room reading the Riot Act to one of the other actors. The actor had upstaged him or done something. He was screaming at this actor and finished with, Now never do it again! The actor walked away and he looked at me and said, Well, hello!. How are you? Come visit me.
After seeing the play, Mostel contemporary Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
wrote to Brochu, "Thank you for bringing back a volcano that we thought was long extinct."
The play premiered at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in Hollywood, California, presented by the West Coast Jewish Theatre and directed by Paul Kreppel. It won the 2006 Ovation Award for "World Premiere Play." It began a limited Off Broadway run at St. Clement's Theatre beginning November 14, 2009, officially December 22, and running through January 31, 2010. Bochu won the 2010 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Solo Performance.