| 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 2006 [1] one-person play written and performed by playwright and actor Jim Brochu and directed by actress Piper Laurie. [2] 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 . [2]
A play is form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of dialogue or singing between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from London's West End and Broadway in New York – which are the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world – to regional theatre, to community theatre, as well as university or school productions. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference as to whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play" can refer to both the written texts of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance.
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. One such person, one of the most famous in the world, is William Shakespeare, who lived during both the Tudor and Stuart eras of British history.
An actor is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs), literally "one who answers". The actor's interpretation of their role—the art of acting—pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character. Interpretation occurs even when the actor is "playing themselves", as in some forms of experimental performance art.
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". [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]
Theodore Meir Bikel was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist and political activist. He appeared in films including The African Queen (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952), The Enemy Below (1957), I Want to Live! (1958), My Fair Lady (1964), The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) and 200 Motels (1971). For his portrayal of Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones (1958), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The play premiered at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in Hollywood, California, presented by the West Coast Jewish Theatre and directed by Paul Kreppel. [1] [3] [4] It won the 2006 Ovation Award for "World Premiere Play." [3] 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. [5] [6] Bochu won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. [7]
The Drama Desk Awards are presented annually and were first awarded in 1955 to recognize excellence in New York theatre productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway. Broadway productions were excluded until the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theater distinction.
