There is a cadence to the kind of comedy made famous by performers like Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield: wry, histrionic, unmistakably Jewish and disarmingly funny.
Though he would ultimately win three Tony Awards as an accomplished actor, Zero Mostel was one of the originators of this broad comic style. Richmond favorite Jason Marks nails that cadence in his portrayal of Mostel in “Zero Hour,” now playing on Virginia Rep’s Theatre Gym stage.
Given Mostel’s stand-up persona, it’s not surprising that there are shouted insults, melodramatic anecdotes, and hilarious non-sequiturs peppered liberally throughout this one-man tour-de-force. What is disarming is how, amongst the antics, a portrait emerges of Mostel as a passionately committed friend, deeply wounded person, and unexpectedly triumphant artist.
The show takes place in Mostel’s Manhattan art studio (nicely appointed by set designer Todd Schall-Vess), serving as an introduction to the many contradictions of the actor’s life. Though famous for his very public circle of friends, Mostel regularly spent days alone painting and called visual art his true passion.
His solitude is broken by a reporter from The New York Times, arriving for an interview shortly before Mostel’s death in 1977. This framing allows the show to follow the actor’s life from his childhood as one of 8 children in an Orthodox Jewish family to his fame and fortune as the original Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”
The specifics of his success are overshadowed by two great tragedies. The show’s first act focuses on the Red Scare of the early 1950s that led to Mostel and many of his closest friends being blacklisted for suspected Communist sympathies, often with devastating effects. In the second act, Mostel recounts that, just as he was starting to get work again, he was hit by a bus, an accident that almost resulted in his leg being amputated.
These facts are delivered as Mostel rambles energetically around his studio, stopping occasionally to paint, pull an old photograph off a shelf, or teasingly insult the reporter.
Through it all, Marks is a marvel of immersive characterization. Even as he bellows, cries, pouts and preens, Marks always allows Mostel’s wounded humanity and fierce intelligence shine through.
The script by Jim Brochu brilliantly highlights elements of Mostel’s life that come together in “full circle” moments, like his combative relationship with director Jerome Robbins or his parents’ disavowal of Mostel for marrying someone who wasn’t Jewish. The resulting narrative avoids the pitfalls of a biographical play-by-play, instead delivering satisfying dramatic turns and cathartic moments.
Director Deb Clinton finds moments to expertly accentuate Marks’s natural comic charm and vocal dexterity. The lighting, however (also by Schall-Voss), seems designed to add dramatic underscoring to some scenes but distracts almost as often as it enhances.
This production of “Zero Hour” was originally staged at the Weinstein JCC and the harrowing details of how Jews were targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee may have been of specific interest to that audience. But theater fans of all stripes will enjoy behind-the-scenes details like how “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” overcame numerous rocky try-outs before its triumphant run on Broadway.
And any human with a heart will relish the story of an embattled performer stubbornly struggling back to his feet every time he’s knocked down.
“Zero Hour” is playing on Virginia Repertory Theatre’s Theatre Gym stage, 114 West Broad Street, through April 7th. Tickets and information available at https://va-rep.org/.
