Some people think you haven't made it as a stage actor until you play Broadway. That's not a bad criteria but a better one would be this: You're nobody in the theater until you're friends with Jim Brochu.
And I guess I am. I've yet to play Hamlet or Tevye or even Dolly Levi (yet) but I do know Jim. We've been friends since around the time Jimmy Carter was President of the United States and if I've learned one thing about Jim, it's that he knows everyone who's ever been on or around Broadway. If I know two things about Jim, it's that he's ricocheted between being a playwright and a director and a performer, all with great success. If I know three things about him, it's that he has more trophies and award certificates in his living room than you'd find in six pawn shops.
Come to think of it, I know a lot of things about Jim but I didn't know as many as I thought until I read his new book, Watching From the Wings, which is crammed to the margins with anecdotes about the great, the near-great, the sorta-great and even a few not-great stars and all the ways in which Jim and they have interacted. If you saw my webcast interview of Jim, you already know he's a great storyteller. He's equally good in print as you'll see if you get a copy of said book, which you can do here. Because if there's four things I know about Jim, it's that he's written a book you'll enjoy.