Zero Hour (play)
| Zero Hour | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Jim Brochu |
| Characters | Jim Brochu as "The Artist" (Zero Mostel) |
| Date premiered | July 7, 2006 |
| Place premiered | Egyptian Arena Theatre, Hollywood, California |
| Subject | The life and career of Zero Mostel |
| Setting | Mostel's art studio on West 28th Street, New York, NY, circa 1977 |
Zero Hour is a 2006The Producers.[2]
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
bus accident that resulted in a severe leg injury, and how his "sense of humor saved him".[2]
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.[1]
After seeing the play, Mostel contemporary Theodore Bikel wrote to Brochu, "Thank you for bringing back a volcano that we thought was long extinct."[1]
The play premiered at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in
Off Broadway run at St. Clement's Theatre beginning November 14, 2009, officially December 22, and running through January 31, 2010.[5][6] Brochu won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.[7]
References
- ^ Weekend Edition Sunday. NPR. 27 August 2006. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ a b c Padget, Jonathan (28 August 2009). "'Zero': A Sum Of Many Parts". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ Playbill.com. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ "West Coast Jewish Theatre 2005-06". West Coast Jewish Theatre. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- Playbill.com. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ "'Zero Hour' at the Internet Off-Broadway Database listing lortel.org, retrieved May 24, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Red, Memphis, Bridge, Fences and La Cage Win Drama Desk Awards" Archived March 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 23, 2010