Zero Hour reviewed in the Examiner.

Wonderful review by Valerie Smaldone.

Jim Brochu's writing is rich and colorful and during the one hour and forty minutes that he prowls the stage, we almost believe that Mr. Mostel has come back to life, or more likely that Jim Brochu is channeling the performer.

Simply put, Jim Brochu is brilliant, the show is brilliant, and the spot on direction by Piper Laurie is brilliant. If you are a fan of the theater, of great performance, masterful writing and top notch direction, Zero Hour is a must see for this theater season. And if you want to relive the artistry of Brooklyn born Zero Mostel, now is your opportunity to do it.

Jim Brochu -- The Stories Continue.

You might recall that Jim and Piper did a podcast with Joel Markowitz back when Zero Hour was playing in DC.

Part two of the podcast is now posted. Here is how Joel describes the interview:

When Jim Brochu was here with his solo show about the great Zero Mostel, he and his director Piper Laurie talked with Joel about creating Zero Hour.

There was more to the conversation which we’ve saved til now to celebrate Zero Hour’s opening Off-Broadway. So relax, and listen as Jim Brochu, surely one of the greatest storytellers ever, shares backstage stories about his encounters with Barbra Streisand, Katherine Hepburn, and the afternoons spent playing backgammon with Lucille Ball in the last year of her life which he later turned into a book “Lucy in the Afternoon”.

Joel had two stories he was dying to hear from Piper Laurie – how she began her flower diet, and her starring role in the movie “Carrie”, both of which she tells with great relish.

The interviews end on a high comic note as these two friends recall their worst moments on stage, and Piper shares her secret name.

Zero Hour plays through January 31st at St. Clement’s Theatre, 423 West 46th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues). For tickets, call 212 239-2969 or go to telecharge.com

Bialystock & Bloom!

At the Oscar Hammerstein Awards honoring Bock & Harnick, Jim poses with Jason Graae. Now, if that's not a great cast for The Producers, nothing is!

Opening night for Zero Hour

I have so many photos and so much video, I don't even know where to begin. Last night, Jim sang for the Bock & Harnick Tribute for the York Theatre Company. The night before was opening night with a party at Sardi's. I uploaded the photos to my Facebook account, and will be cross posting them here soon.

But this is Jim's first day off in what seems like an eternity. I have a feeling he's going to be sleeping all day long.

Meanwhile, from Theatremania, comes this photo of Jim posing with original cast members of the legendary musical, FOLLIES.

Celebrating after the show at Sardi's were three members of the original Broadway cast of Follies: Victoria Mallory, Kurt Peterson, and Harvey Evans.

Life Upon The Sacred Stage

An interesting blog entry about Zero Hour.

Reaching Across The Ocean for Caleb Rixon.

Way across in the ocean, in Australia, there is a young theater performer named Caleb Rixon, who was struck down physically. So, all the Austalian theatre stars are gathering together to do a benefit for him. Will Conyers, from Broadway At Bedtime radio show, asked me if they could sing "When You Care." Of course I said yes. Here is the press release.

MEDIA RELEASE

19 NOVEMBER 2009

A SECOND CHANCE – AUSTRALIA’S MUSICAL THEATRE STARS PERFORM

TO SUPPORT CALEB RIXON

Some of the biggest names in Australian Musical Theatre are banding together to perform at a Charity Concert to support Caleb Rixon.

Confirmed performers on the night include SHARON MILLERCHIP (Chicago), RHONDA BURCHMORE (Eurobeat), JAMES MILLAR (Company, Oklahoma), CHELSEA PLUMLEY (Sunset Boulevard), ALEX RATHGEBER (Les Miserable – West End) and many more - cast members from CHICAGO, WICKED, CATS, JERSEY BOYS and MAMMA MIA.

Caleb Rixon grew up in Geelong, graduated from WAAPA, had appeared in Altar Boyz and had just been cast in CHICAGO, when, on November 17th, at the age of just 23, Caleb suffered a Grade 5 Subarachnoid Haemhorrage (Stroke) due to a Dural Arteriovenous Malformation (DAVM- Cause of Stroke). What this indicates, is that he had the most severe grading, of a rare type of stroke, due to a tangle of arteries and veins that were weaving within the lining of his brain.

He had many complications after being in a coma, on life support and in a highly sedated state. Since then, Caleb has had to re-learn how to walk, talk, swallow, see and breathe again.
Ongoing treatments are often holistic in approach whilst he undergoes intensive rehabilitation. Caleb may require Major Surgery to help correct his paralyzed vocal cord, thus helping him achieve a more powerful speaking voice.

A Second Chance will be a night of celebrating Caleb’s amazing survival and resilient spirit and will help to raise funds for his continuing rehabilitation.

One night only - Chapel Off Chapel - Monday 7th December @ 7:30pm.

For bookings, call Chapel Off Chapel on 03 8290 7000 or via the web: http://sa2.seatadvisor.com/sabo/servlets/EventSearch?presenter=AUCOS&event=SECONDCH

All tickets just $49. All proceeds going to Caleb Rixon.

Media enquiries contact Neil Gooding Productions 0410 502110 or E: neil@goodingproductions.com

New York Reviews Begin to Flood In.

Links here are from BroadwayStars.com, which collates theatre stories.

[ Variety ] Reviewed by Sam Thielman

"Everything is less than zero," sang Elvis Costello in 1977, and if anyone would have wholeheartedly agreed, it was Zero Mostel. Jim Brochu paints a remarkably sympathetic portrait of the famously egomaniacal performer in his solo show Zero Hour, about the life and times of a guy who survived everything from the blacklist to a disagreement with an out-of-control bus and still managed to thrive. Writer-performer Brochu, who's been doing the show for years, nicely mimics Mostel's blustery style and tosses off an assortment of the actor's best Borscht-belt gags into the bargain.

[ BackStage ] Reviewed by Erik Haagensen

Jim Brochu not only creates an astonishing physical resemblance to Zero Mostel, capturing his distinctive body language and vocal patterns, Brochu goes deep under the skin to reveal the man's complicated psyche and conflicted soul.

[ TheatreMania ] Reviewed by David Finkle

Jim Brochu gives a remarkably accurate performance as actor Zero Mostel in this entertaining solo show.

[ CurtainUp ] Reviewed by Simon Saltzman

Zero Hour is an informed, absorbing, highly entertaining one-person play written by and also starring Jim Brochu. It happily serves not only as a showcase for the actor but also as a delectably insightful homage to the great comic/dramatic actor Zero Mostel.

Zero Hour in NY Vlog #2: Piper Arrives.

"Are You...?"

Last night, I was walking through the theatre district in front of a very popular show. Outside, they have barricades set up with guys standing behind them for crowd control, but it was early, so no one was in line yet.

As I passed by, one of them shouted, "Hey, Lawrence Olivier!"

I stopped dead in my tracks, looked over at them and said, "Is it safe?"

Why Actors Go Insane.

Want to know why actors go insane?

Last night, the audience -- about 2/3 full -- was the quietest we've had since arriving in the city. They were watching Jim as if studying him for an exam. The usual funny lines got laughs, but they were subdued.

And, contrasted with the night before, where the house was rocking with laughter as if attending a vaudeville, it was about as disconcerting as it gets. This is why live theater can be so maddening.

As a performer on stage, you can't read the audience's mind. All you can do is feel them. Or try to.

Watching Jim, I could tell he began working just a little harder. All actors do it, especially at the beginning of a run where you don't quite know what to expect. Quiet audiences tend to bring up a little panic inside. Are they hating it? Are they bored? What if I push this line here? Or make a bigger gesture there? (Jim told me afterwards that about halfway through act one, he gave up and just decided to trust the material. He knows he should do this anyway, but he's also the playwright, so the wheels are turning inside his head all the time, reassessing what's there.)

Anyway, eventually he gave up trying to "entertain" and just played the show the way he knows to play the show. The audience response stayed relatively the same.

Until the end.

At the black-out, it was like a bomb was set off.

The audience literally exploded. Shouts and hurrahs! Curtain calls. BIGGER than the night before, where they seemed like they were on a thrill ride.

People stayed after the show and practically mobbed him with praise and picture taking.

Afterwards, when we talked about the night, he said, "I've never been so surprised in my whole life. Was this the same audience? They exploded!"

Yeah, they did. But that's what happens when people are so into something. They don't really want to break the trance with laughter. They're beyond it. They're involved. They studying it. They intensely connected.

And that's why actors (and singers and jugglers and magicians) go insane. Because audiences make us insane.

Touching Article by Peter Filichia

When Jim sat down to be interviewed by Peter Filichia, they both realized they were witnesses to a New York/Broadway scene that has long died. So, the article Peter wrote on Theatremania is just beautiful.

Upates on Video & The Production.

I have shot a lot of video here, and I promise to upload it, especially for our friends who love just hanging out with us on this amazing time here in the City.

But the problem with video is that when you whip the thing out, it changes everything. Suddenly everyone feels like they have to be on their best behavior and they start performing for the camera. In many ways, reality shows like The Real World, and especially The Real Housewives, where the wives in each city seem to be competing with each other for which can do the most outrageous things to each other in order to make good footage.

Whether it's upending a table and yelling, pulling at wigs or snidely commenting "behind their backs," it's all a big show. They're performing for us. I don't want that. I like it best when we're all just being ourselves.

Real life happens off-camera.

Still, I love having these home movies, and I love making them. There's another little snag, too. It's not just "us" anymore. Now we're around a professional production with Union rules. Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-Union. I'm just saying it's more difficult.

Anyway, I'm saying all that because people have been asking for more video. I promise it will come.

Missed: Frances Sternhagen, one of the great actresses of our day, came last night. I knew it in advance but didn't bring the camera. For some reason, it felt wrong to make this into a video event. This was her first time to see "Zero Hour," and we were anxious to know how she really felt because she worked with Zero on Ulysses in Nighttown, mentioned in the play, where a bunch of blacklisted actors, led by Burgess Meredith, put on a show for themselves.

I mean SHE WAS IN IT. She was THERE.

She told me a funny story before the show. Zero had a reputation for pulling tricks and stunts on people during the run of a show, to get them to break up. Brochu did this to me all through "Big Voice," you might recall.

She told me there was a scene in Ulysses where all the actors in the cast except Zero were sitting on chairs facing the audience. Zero stood before them with his back to the audience. He would do whatever it took to break them up, especially because the audience couldn't see a thing that he was doing.

Franny Sternhagen has a twinkle and glimmer in her eye that just never seems to die out. And she was so gracious. She said Jim really captured Zero perfectly, and she agreed to participate in an event we have coming up on December 9th at the Barnes & Noble across from Lincoln Center. Copies of the play, now published by Sam French -- they have just begun using "publishing on demand" to get their licensed plays out quicker, and be more flexible with changes -- will be available.

There hasn't been an official press release, so I don't want to say too much, but it should be fun. Several other guests who knew or worked with Zero will be telling stories and possibly even reading scenes from the play.

Speaking of fun, that discussion I wrote about a few days ago, the "Survivors of the Blacklist" panel discussion is getting some heat. The seats were snapped up in an instant. No matter how far away you get from it, there are still people around who were greatly hurt by the blacklist, and it's like an open wound. You start picking at the scabs and it all comes out.

Officially, Zero Hour opens Sunday night. But the audiences are finding us, and we've already had a couple of sold out houses. The reviews will hit next week.

Fun!

Nobody Leaves New York.

Last night, we were walking to the Theater at St. Clement's, where Jim is doing "Zero Hour," when I remembered that "Big Night Out" would be holding their monthly "sing" at the club where we'll be hosting the salon on Nov. 29th, a place called Etcetera Etcetera. Since I hadn't been there before, I thought I'd go upstairs and say "hi" to the host, Jennifer Wren, whom I met back in 2006 when we were doing Big Voice here.

She told me how much she loves singing "Nobody Leaves New York," which is a song I wrote with Amy Lynn Shapiro for the upcoming "Manhattan Clam Chowder." Then she said she'd love to have it in her key.

So we went over to the piano. She gave me a note, and I found her key, which is G. It was originally written in C. So she's up a major fifth. And I was so proud of myself. I'm usually TERRIBLE about transposing on the spot, but we made it all the way through with few mistakes. And she sounded fantastic. I mean, like, FANTASTIC.

So, I told her I needed to be over at Zero Hour since we are having critics in all week on the run-up to the official opening night this Sunday. But that I might be able to zip back over if she'd sing it again for an audience. And that's exactly what I did.

Just as Jim was going on for the second act -- and he was GREAT tonight, by the way. He KILLED the audience; they were with him every moment of the play -- I slipped out and ran over to her event just in time to jump on the piano. And, again, she was amazing singing this song.

But, while there, the young man waiting tables came up to me and said, "Hey, I know who you are. You're Steve of Steve and Jim. The Big Voice. I'm David. I helped you carry your keyboard out to your car when you sang in Long Beach for the Unitarian Universalist national convention."

Small world. I remembered him. He was asking us about making in the business. I told him getting to New York is half the battle, and how happy I was to see him. Then the waitress came up and asked if she could have the sheet music to "Nobody Leaves New York," and I said absolutely. Of course, now I have to transpose it on the score, but I was going to do that anyway.

I love New York. It's like we never left.

Musical Salon November 29

A little announcement from Mark Janas.

Hello Saloners,

I'm happy to announce that Salon will return on Sunday, November 29 (the Sunday at the end of Thanksgiving weekend) at Etcetera Etcetera, 352 West 44th Street (near the corner of 9th Ave. on the South side of the street) 7PM - 10:30PM. Doors open at 6:15 with sign up beginning at 6:30.

The venue is upstairs in the Restaurant and is lovely. It has a grand piano, lights, a sound system and someone to run them, and has a wonderful Italian menu at reasonable prices. A $10 cash cover will be be collected by an "Etceterette" at the door, and there will be a $10 minimum on food or drink. The prices here are more reasonable, so I'm guessing that even with the cover, most of you will be spending the same or less than you did at the Algonquin.

The theme for the evening is "WE GATHER TOGETHER." Here's a chance to sing of things you are thankful for, and to celebrate the spirit of the Salon, or indeed, any gathering of kindred spirits. I know I have certainly missed our seeing each other, as so many of you have expressed over the past weeks. As always, the theme only a suggestion, and you may perform anything you would like.

Our wonderful co-hosts for the evening will be the ever-entertaining Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin, creators of the hit Off-Broadway musicals "The Last Session" and "The Big Voice: God or Merman." Jim is in town performing his award-winning original one-man show, Zero Hour, about Zero Mostel, which opens this Sunday, Nov. 22nd, at The Theatre at St. Clements on West 46th St. at 7 PM. Steve is returning to us after a wild success with his choral/orchestral work "New World Waking" which had its World Premier at Davies Symphony Hall with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus featuring Jennifer Holliday as soloist.

Peter Napolitano will be sending a reminder and more information next week. Please mark Nov. 29th on your calendars and join us for what promises to be a very exciting new beginning.

Yours,

Mark

Some of the best singers in New York come to Mark's salon, a mix of rock, jazz, cabaret, Broadway, both traditional and current, but very street level. from kids just starting out to some of the most accomplished singers, whose careers are still just bubbling under, to well known singers from jazz and Broadway and the whole New York scene.

Binding it all together is Mark Janas' genius musicianship on the piano. He can literally play anything, from the most difficult classical pieces, to opera to every show tune imaginable. In any key. I feel like a mouse up next to him.

Plus, I get to sing my own damn songs! And I'm inviting others to sing along with me. Here is a link to My Thanksgiving Prayer. It's a pdf file you should be able to print right from your computer.

And we get to host! That means

The First Blog Reviews.

From Upstage - Downstage.

Let me be unambiguous: Zero Hour is the best one-person play since I Am My Own Wife. It is as rich and compelling a story as you will see on or off Broadway right now.

From The Third New York.

We saw a play on Saturday night, another one of those absolutely striking one-man shows, this time about Zero Mostel, the actor and comedian best known for playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, and, of course, Max Bialystock in the movie the Producers. The play, written by an actor named Jim Brochu and also starring Brochu as Mostel, is amazing. For one thing, Brochu is nothing short of sensational as Mostel. He comes close to imitating him, but also does something much more important and moving: he captures Mostel's spirit, his explosive, larger than life anger, and his incredible, side-splitting sense of humor.

Jim Returns To Sardi's.