ZERO HOUR, Jim Brochu's acclaimed play about the life of theatre legend Zero Mostel, will celebrate its 200th performance Sunday August 29th. ZERO HOUR recently reopened at the Actors Temple Theater (339 West 47th Street) following sold-out engagements at Theatre at St. Clement's and the DR2 Theatre. For his performance in ZERO HOUR, Jim Brochu received 2010 Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Awards.
Three-time Academy Award nominee Piper Laurie directs ZERO HOUR, which is set at Zero Mostel's West 28th Street painting studio where a naive reporter attempts to interview the famously volatile actor, prompting an explosion of memory, humor, outrage, and juicy backstage lore. It is July 1977 and the actor is giving his final interview before leaving for the pre-Broadway tryout of The Merchant in Philadelphia. Mostel only played one performance as Shylock before his sudden death at the age of 62.
ZERO HOUR traces Mostel's early days growing up on the Lower East Side as the son of Orthodox Jewish immigrant parents, through his rise as a stand-up comedian, from the Borscht Belt to Manhattan's most exclusive supper clubs, and from the devastation of the blacklist to his greatest Broadway triumphs, most notably as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and working through his love-hate relationship with Jerome Robbins.
"Plenty of big laughs as well as hushed drama" - New Yorker
"Singularly captivating. Zero Hour is a success. Brochu is the spitting image of the bearish Mostel, down to the strands of hair barely covering his head. His wildly expressive gestures are particularly spot on. It brings Mostel back to life, just the way his fans want him." - The New York Times
"Very funny! Brochu's living restoration has brought Mostel's larger-than-life personality back into the spotlight for a laugh-filled, much-welcomed presentation." - Associated Press
"Frequently funny and always engaging, Brochu evokes the kind of prickle on the back of the neck usually delivered by David Lynch movies." - Variety
ZERO HOUR is produced Off-Broadway by Kurt Peterson and Edmund Gaynes in association with The Peccadillo Theater Company.
The playing schedule for ZERO HOUR is Wednesday at 3pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2pm . Tickets from $36.50 to $59.50 are available at Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.
For more information about ZERO HOUR, visit www.ZeroHourShow.com.
