Carol Ostrow and Joan Finkelstein present

ZERO HOUR

Starring JIM BROCHU
Directed by PIPER LAURIE
Featuring JOHN FISCHER, Musical Director

Technical Director: ROBERT COPPOLA
Stage Manager: JERAMIAH PEAY
Public Relations: KATIE ROSIN, Kampfire Springs Public Relations
Print/E-Media Producer: DANIEL C. MILLER
Temple Staff: LARRY ROBERTS, ANGEL VILLODA

The Actors’ Temple
399 West 47th Street (between Eighth & Ninth Avenues)
Monday, November 5, 2018

The Actors’ Temple has performed a great service by bringing back Multiple-Award-Winning Jim Brochu’s ZERO HOUR one day before the mid-term elections. This one-night-only show chronicles the tumultuous life of beloved star Zero Mostel, and Brochu has the flamboyance, the sarcasm, and the droll delivery down pat. Within seconds, you believe you have been transported back to the 50’s and are actually watching the Master himself. You will learn that Mostel’s passion was painting even though he was celebrated on Broadway stages and Hollywood screens. Insider stories of celebrities, along with personal anecdotes, provide a glimpse of this larger-than-life gentleman.

As Brochu recounts the McCarthy era, Mostel’s House Un-American Activities Committee testimony, and the 10 years of blackballing he endured, one cannot help but draw comparisons to the chaos and conflicts of today. Shortly after the worst attack on Jews in the United States at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the prejudices that inflame violence, racism, and religious persecution are making their ugly presence known again. Sixty-plus years later, it is difficult not to lose hope. But The Actors’ Temple brilliantly started this production with an audience-participation rendition of God Bless America. And it worked. Tears spring to your eyes, pride swells your chest, and you are reminded that the values that built this country are worth fighting for.

- Laurie Lawson -