'Zero Hour' Scores a Full 10 at Barrington Stage 2
PITTSFIELD
This past weekend, with prophecies of Armageddon in the air, Saturday was a day of jokes and judgement, and the jokes won. You could say Harold Camping's prophecy that the rapture would take place was correct, sort of, only he had the location all wrong. That earthquake was one of laughter, and the only thing that got cracked up was the audience. And it will come as a surprise to the end-day prophets that the chosen few were at the Barrington Stage 2 theater on Linden Street, where Jim Brochu was performing 'Zero Hour.' Consider this: shortly after the play began, one by one, each person in attendance was lifted up by a cloud of laughter watching Brochu, who is a master actor and showman. 'Zero Hour' relates much of the life and times of famous actor Zero Mostel who was as unforgettable in person as he was on stage.
And you know, you almost never see people with strong personalities like Mostel here in the Berkshires. Even in New York City he stood out in a crowd. The huge hulk of a man, with flashing eyes and rapier wit was more than a handful. He could be impossible. Impossibly charming. Unbelievably infuriating. You’d think twice before inviting him to a wedding reception.The show is a bit of a miracle, both literally and figuratively. Brochu leaves his own mortal body and personality to enter that of Mostel. Mostel had the abilities of a Borscht Belt comedian, constantly coming up with unexpected zingers without a moment's hesitation. As is usual for Barrington's Stage 2, there was a full house present, this year with reserved seating. A freshened-up lobby greeted the audience, as did a new Mission bar with appetizers that was a clear winner and bubbled with activity until the lights flashed, signaling the start of the play.
Pre-show chitchat out of the way, it took only a couple of minutes for the audience to become totally involved in the happenings on stage. Brochu sets his play in Mostel's studio, to underscore the point that "Zee" was a painter who became an actor almost by accident. As the tale unwound, there were moments when you could hear a pin drop, especially when he related his experience of having been blacklisted, or how his leg was crushed to a pulp by a wayward bus.
But these serious moments had a running series of jokes and gags to compete with, balancing the dark with the light. When, after his horrific bus accident, Mostel was wheeled into a hospital amphitheatre full of doctors to be their example of reconstructive surgery, he evokes gasps from the assembled medical experts when he raises his pants leg. On the good leg. Ever playful, Mostel also carried grudges, the most famous being over Jerome Robbins (whom he worked with in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum") for having named names during the McCarthy-communist witch hunt years.
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"Come in. Quick! You're letting the flies out. So what's this interview for, putz? I call you a putz because I don't know your name. No, I don't want to know your name. This is an interview, it's not a relationship."
As Mostel, Brochu transforms himself with some clever hair combing, darkened eyes, and a New York City Jewish characterization that would pass muster on 47th Street. When he raises his arms in the classic "Fiddler on the Roof" pose, the audience could be heard murmuring its approval. When his fist slams down on his desk to make a point, they flinched. When he relates the death of his mother, we all sat in shocked silence. Yet even with large doses of serious events in Mostel's life, the play balances the tragic with the comic.
It is not at all surprising for Barrington Stage Company to find a totally original work to kick off a new season. What has become more and more its stock in trade is the ability to blend serious social commentary and slices of authentic life into escapist theater, giving audiences some food for thought along with the whipped cream of humor. Doing this in the intimate confines of Stage 2 is the cherry on top, since no matter the seat, you are experiencing it up close and personal.
Judgement Day may have come and gone for the Apocalypsians, but for theatergoers this heavenly show will continue on until June 5. The 90-minute play is the fastest hour and a half I have spent in the theater in a long, long time. On a scale of one to 10, "Zero Hour" gets a 10.
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