"In manner, voice and mind he is unmistakably Zero Mostel...While the performance and the play are both thoroughly engaging, those who saw the previous two-act version may find this one a bit incomplete...But even in this shortened form, 'Zero Hour' effectively paints a portrait depicting the artist as he might like to be remembered; brilliant, defiant and highly entertaining."
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“For 90 enthralling minutes, Brochu dramatizes and enacts the remarkable life and career of that unforgettable performer…His sensational acting is matched by his heavily researched and very skillfully constructed script…The success of the production is abetted by Piper Laurie’s meticulous and creative direction…Every moment is staged with aesthetic focus and ingenuity, preventing the show from ever becoming static.”
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“Even those who already know this colorful rags-to-riches account of a poor Brooklyn boy whose father was a 'street rabbi' and whose mother never forgave him for marrying a 'shiksa' - or who don't think they need yet another iteration of the blacklist saga and the naming of red-tinted actors by Jerome Robbins and his ilk - will appreciate the illusion of hearing about it all from Mostel himself. I mean Jim Brochu, of course, but when you're watching him it's really one and the same.”
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"The absolutely best solo performance I’ve ever seen in my life...Those 90 minutes were the 100% most enjoyable hour and a half I’ve spent in years. Jim Brochu deserves a double A+ for impeccable playwriting and a flawless performance. Director Piper Laurie rates several hip, hip, hip, hurrahs for her discrete direction and for impeccably maintaining the ideal balance between Mostel/Brochu’s chutzpah and anguish."
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"A helluva piece of writing...This deeply researched piece, as personal as it is historical, illuminates Zero Mostel. Peppered with anecdotes, jokes, and insults, its serious depiction of reasons for the subject’s dark side provides affecting, whiz-bang dramatization...Brochu is so filled with energy, so present, it’s as if he’s performing early in the run of a new show...This is less a purposeful imitation than top-notch channeling...Laurie has done a wonderful job of utilizing the stage."
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"'Zero Hour' is a wonderfully funny evening of theater...The unseen hand in this performance is that of Piper Laurie, the stage and screen actress, who handled the directorial duties. Brochu was never still, but his movements around the stage all felt motivated and natural. I was impressed with how Brochu, alone on the small stage of the Theatre at St. Clement’s, drew me into a world that he created all through the strength of his storytelling."
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"Jim Brochu, who both wrote and performs 'Zero Hour,' seemingly channels the roaring bellowing rhinoceros Sam 'Zero' Mostel...What makes the revival of 'Zero Hour,' beautifully directed by Piper Laurie, so timely for audiences today is the nearly 10 year swatch of time between 1947 and 1956. This is when political repression and government scare tactics spawned a communist witch hunt that destroyed the lives of thousands of individuals."
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"Zero’s back in town, and the town is jollier for it...In this new incarnation, if anything, the author and star is more formidable, more unpredictable, more voluble—more Zero. He also resembles Mostel more than ever, to an almost scary degree...Director Piper Laurie entertainingly keeps him pacing and blustering and registering satisfaction when the audience laughs, which is also often...It’s a fully stuffed hour and a half. And a fun one."
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