Jim Brochu: Character Man

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Never too late-Jim Brochu

Jim Brochu (“Zero Hour,” “The Big Voice: God or Merman?”)will debut his new solo show Character Man at the Triad Theatre on Monday,October 1st at 9pm for one performance only. Jim Brochu’s trajectory into show business started on thealter. As an alter boy, he thought theater and church were very similar. He wason a “stage” and there were costumes, and lights, and wonderful music. 
The first time he ever got a laugh, he was five years old innursery school in Bayridge, Brooklyn. He was a magician, he screwed up a trick,the audience roared and he thought, “Gee, I like thatsound.”

David L. Lander and Jim Brochu, The Front Page

Jim was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He grew up in theCatholic Church, knowing that he was going to be the first Brooklyn born pope.When Jim was thirteen, his father introduced him to his friend Ethel Merman. 
Meeting Ethel Merman after a matinee of Gypsy,which was a religious experience for Jim in which the path ahead of himbecame very clear. 
At that defining moment, Jim’s church became the theater.
When it comes to working on his craft, Jim is a nightperson. Steve Schalchlin, Jim’s partner of twenty-eight years, is completelythe opposite. He gets up each morning around four AM to write. He writes, andcomposes, and does his lyrics. Jim doesn’t start working until about ten PM.That’s when the ideas seem to come and he works for a couple of hours. Hedoesn’t have a set routine. He waits for real inspiration to hit. Until then,he watches The Real Housewives of NewJersey.The advice that Jim would give to anyone who wishes tofollow in his footsteps is to focus. He thinks one of the reasons it has takenJim so long to achieve what he has achieved is that he has loved writing, hehas loved directing, he has loved producing. He has produced thirty two shows.He has directed twenty plays. His main love has always been acting and being onstage. He has always put that aside to do other things. If someone wants acareer in the theater, his advice to them is to be absolutely laser focused. 

THE BIG VOICE – Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin. Photo by Ed Krieger

Itis not always talent that wins out. It is that drive, that incredible singulardrive. Keep your eye on the prize and go for it and put blinders on until youarrive and then enjoy the view.Jim and I spoke over the phone around three PM on Sundayafternoon, September 23^rd. I asked Jim what work he had done THATday on his craft and/or career. He had just had a meeting with his director,Robert Bartley  to discuss his nextappearance, Character Man, to bepresented Monday night at The Triad (See below for more details).   In 2006, Robert created Broadway Backwards, an annual event forwhich he continues to direct, choreograph and write special material. He isalso directing this new off-Broadway show called Bedbugs. The team was over, including one of my favoritemusical directors John Fischer. He is an old friend of Jim’s. 
Jim and John worked together about ten years ago. They have remained friends. Jim says thereis nobody better than he is. The team was over because Jim actually debutedthis show recently on a cruise ship. About two weeks prior to this interview,they were caught in thirty foot seas for six days in a row and they missed twoports. They needed extra entertainment and the cruise director asked Jim if theCharacter Man show was ready. Of courseJim told him yes and they plowed through it. Everyone came over on the morningof the 23^rd to see a video of that show, Jim’s producer, JeramiahPeay and his stage manager, John Myer, and, of course, Steve. They worked on itand Jim was given notes and ideas. That was the work of the day. Jim is very proud of a show that opened last night inLondon, The Last Session. It is ashow that was born out of a lot of heartache. It deals with Steve’s ownpersonal struggles with HIV and it was written at a very dark time in theirlives. It is a story about triumph and hope. They had a nine month off-Broadwaywith it with Bob Stillman.   “Bob Stillman’s nervy performance is like a live wire thatboth holds the show together and electrifies it.”-Feingold, Village VoiceFifteen years later, it is now being done in London. Jim andSteve were able to go over and meet the cast and watch the rehearsals. 
Jim saysthey are all sensational. Steve is in London for last night’s opening. It hascome full circle. Jim is also proud of ZeroHour, truly one of the best biographical shows I have ever seen. This isJim’s show about Zero Mostel which is an idea which took about thirty years tocome to fruition. Back in January of 1970, Jim did an off-Broadway show called Unfair to Goliath. Back then, Jerry Tallmerwho wrote for The New York Post, said,“If they ever do the Zero Mostel story, Jim Brochu should play the part.” Aboutten years ago, Jim started to really think about this idea. He was approachingthe age Zero was when he died. He died at the age of sixty two. Zero was in hislate fifties and thought that if he was going to do it, he might as well do itthen. He started reading everything he could get his hands on. He talked toanybody he could talk to who knew Zero. The script kind of wrote itself. He wassupposed to do six weeks in Los Angeles which has now turned into six years andalmost six hundred performances.

Zero Mostel - King Of Kings

When Jim was working on ZeroHour, he studied Zero’s paintings. He was very fortunate one night. A totalstranger in the audience came up to Jim after a performance and told him thather father shared a studio with Zero. They had “bought” each other’s paintingswhen they were low on money. They exchanged paintings instead of givingcharity. Her father accumulated a lot of Zero’s paintings and she gave Jim one.He is fortunate enough to have an original Mostel hanging in his living room!  Jim also listens to music when he is workingon a show. Music is his great inspiration. Linda Purl provided this next question for me. Who do you pray to when you are in trouble?Jim’s answer is Ethel Merman! St. Ethel.And the one thing that Jim would pray for is turning back tothe way things were in this industry. When Jim first started out in thisindustry, there was a way for actors to make the rounds and see castingdirectors and agents. Now, there is a security guy at every building. You needan ID and you need an appointment. He wishes we could go back to the old dayswhere it was a little bit more social and less scary. He also wishes ticketprices will go down. When Jim is putting together a show, he works with the endin mind. That’s where he starts. He tries to figure out where he desires theshow to go. In the ten straight plays that he has written, that’s what heusually starts with. How does this end? Then he starts at the beginning withthe characters. Sometimes, it doesn’t get to where he originally envisioned. Itmay have a completely different ending. That is his process.   Jim is usually at a lucky place when it comes to attractinghis audiences. He is normally at a place in which his producers take on thatresponsibility. They usually have a publicity plan and they still rely onnewspapers and the printed word to get the word out. They take out ads. WhenJim is doing a show like Character Man,which I am happy to say is almost sold out…Monday night; he uses social medialike Facebook, Email, and his mailing list, to let people know that way.
Whenhe works with a producer, he goes back to that word “focus”. He needs to keephis eye on creating the show, being there and being present, and let someoneelse do that kind of work.
Leading up to show time, Jim plays poker till show time,clears his throat, and walks out on stage. If there are no poker playersaround, Jim does a crossword puzzle until about fifteen minutes before showtime. It is almost a form of meditation. It gets Jim out of the world and intohis mind and he’s using his brain.  I asked Jim if there is any show throughout history that hewishes he had seen. He would have loved to have seen the original production ofOut of This World, the Cole Portershow that starred George Gaynes and Charlotte Greenwood and Davey Burns. Jimthinks it is one of the best forgotten scores. It wasn’t a big hit of Porter’s,but the cast was absolutely spectacular. The original cast album is sowonderful and funny. David Burns sings a song with Charlotte called Cherry Pies Ought to Be You. It is ariff on a song performed earlier in the show by William Redfield and BarbaraAshley as a real love song version. David Burns and Charlotte Greenwood sanglyrics like “Shooting Pains Out to be you. When it rains, it ought to be you.” It was quite a clever show. That is the one show he would have liked to have seen.     

Charlotte Greenwood

I asked Jim if he had any vocal remedies for throat issuesfor my singer friends that read this blog. Jim says he doesn’t have sorethroats, usually. He is of the Ethel Merman School of singing. It’s always beenthere. He clears his throat before going out on stage. When he did the showrecently on the ship, he had a sinus infection. People told him he soundedbetter than ever. Jim’s fondest memory among many is the day he met Steve. Itwas twenty- eight years ago. Steve was playing One More Kiss from Follieson a ship. Jim was singing by himself with drink in hand. At the end, Stevewent over to Jim and asked how he knew that song. 
I hope that you’ll join me next Monday night for Character Man, but ACT FAST! 
Jim tellsme this is a very personal show about these great character men of whom we’llnever see the likes of again. These men all influenced Jim. Steven Schwartz isalso scheduled to be there. The last song of the show is For Good from Wicked. Thereis a line from that song that goes, “Because I knew You, I’ve been changed forgood.”  Because Jim knew Davie Burns, LouJacobi, Jack Gilford, Jack Albertson, and Charles Nelson Reilly, he has beenchanged for good. I can say the same thing about Jim Brochu, MY favorite character man!
“Character Man” is a salute to the great supporting playersof Broadway, filled with touching backstage stories and personal recollections.Written by Brochu, the show spotlights the work of Jack Gilford, JackieGleason, Robert Preston, Zero Mostel, George S. Irving, Cyril Ritchard, BarneyMartin and Brochu’s own mentor and friend, two-time Tony Award winner, DavidBurns.
                Withdirection by Robert Bartley (creator/director of “Broadway Backwards” and theupcoming “Bedbugs: The Musical.”) “Character Man” features the songs of Kander and Ebb, Bock and Harnick,Meredith Willson, Stephen Sondheim, Bob Merrill and Stephen Schwartz amongothers. John Fischer is musical director.                 Brochu,who will share photos and videos from his own collection during the eveningsaid, “There would be no Broadway without these men who supported the greatstars and got the laughs without getting the girl. I began my own career as acharacter man at a time when I got to know these men and learn from them. DavidBurns was like a second father to me and I grew up backstage hanging out withhim and Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford and Charles Nelson Reilly and JohnCarradine. They were amazing, dear, funny

Jim Brochu as Zero Mostel. Photo credit: Michael Lamont

men and I don’t want them to beforgotten.”                “CharacterMan” will have an Off-Broadway run next year after Brochu has wrapped upcommitments to his “Zero Hour” tour. Steve Schalchlin and Jeramiah Peay arepresenting the one-night only Triad Theatre performance. Tickets are $20.00(cover charge) plus two drink minimum and are available at Brown Paper Tickets(800-838-3006) or Online at: TriadNYC.Com.

Thank you Jim Brochu for the gifts you have given to the world and continue to give!


With grateful XOXOXs ,

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The Autumn Season isUpon Us! THIS is the show to Catch!
I'm celebratingPamela Luss on Saturday,October 20th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Pamela with Houston Person at TheMetropolitan Room in NYC
Just The Two Of Us and FriendsHope you can makeit. It’s going to be a party! Reserve today ifthat date is available! Call me if any questions!Richard Skipper845-365-0720Check out the clip below of Pamela performing on The Jerry LewisTelethon:
http://youtu.be/JmUgcuT_WM8And a review from her last timearound: http://nitelifeexchange.com/review/cabaret-reviews-mainmenu-27/2007-luss-is-luscious-at-metropolitan-room.html


TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAYRichard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com                            
 
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