Jim Brochu stars in “Zero Hour: The Zero Mostel Story” for the Invisible Theatre this weekend. The play is set in the legendary actor’s painting studio as a
naïve reporter attempts to interview the famously volatile artist, prompting an explosion of memory, humor, outrage and juicy backstage lore. Mostel, born Samuel Joel Mostel to Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn, is best remembered for his comedic genius in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (on Broadway and later on film), Broadway’s “Fiddler on the Roof” and the film “The Producers,” but in the 1950s he was equally known for his place on the infamous Hollywood blacklist.
Brochu wrote “Zero Hour,” which he premiered in 2006 and has performed more than 600 times across the country. He is the only actor in America to have won the New York Drama Desk Award, the Washington, D.C. Helen Hayes Award, the Los Angeles Ovation Award, the South Florida Carbonell Award and the Palm Springs Desert Star Award, all for Best Actor in a Play.
The production is directed by actress and activist Piper Laurie, who has been nominated for three Academy Awards, won a Golden Globe for her role in “Twin Peaks” and has been nominated for nine Emmy Awards, winning for her role in “Promise,” a Hallmark Hall of Fame special.
“Zero Hour” will play for two performances, Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 13 at 3 p.m., both at The Berger Performing Arts Center, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd. For tickets, visit www.invisible
theatre.org or call the IT box office at 882-9721.
