Lisle native directs premiere of 'Book of Merman' — yes, 'Merman'

Posted January 16, 2015 5:00 am

By Scott C. Morgan

For more than three decades, Lisle native David Zak has been a prominent artist on Chicago's theater scene.

“I grew up in downtown Lisle right by St. Joan of Arc Church,” Zak said. “It's been great to be able to have a professional career that's been close to home and that people I grew up with or went to school with, or taught or were taught by, have been able to see the shows I've been working on through the years.”

And there have been a lot of shows.

His latest endeavor is directing the world premiere “The Book of Merman,” a musical comedy (and takeoff on “The Book of Mormon”) by Jeff Award-winning playwright Leo Schwartz (“Under a Rainbow Flag”) for Zak's itinerant theater company Pride Films and Plays.

“Merman” focuses on two proselytizing missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who encounter a strange woman who may or may not be the Tony Award-winning star Ethel Merman. Zak say the show is full of Schwartz's parody tunes, which no doubt are inspired by Merman's roles in the original Broadway productions of “Anything Goes,” “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Gypsy.”

Schwartz's musical could ride the coattails of “The Book of Mormon,” which returns to Chicago starting Feb. 25.

“'The Book of Merman' is really fun,” Zak said. “And since it's in Mary's Attic, it's a great place to see a show, get some food and have a drink because we're performing right next to the bar.”

Zak, a Jeff Award winner and theater educator, is primarily known for running the former Bailiwick Repertory Theatre from 1982 to 2009, which presented many important premieres like “The Christmas Schooner,” “Animal Farm” and the U.S. debut of “Jerry Springer: The Opera.” But Zak left Bailiwick when he grew tired of maintaining repairs on its former physical space at 1229 W. Belmont Ave.

His Bailiwick legacy lives on, however, in the hands of other artists and entrepreneurs. The Bailiwick's former space has been renovated and reopened as a three-theater complex called Theater Wit. And former Bailiwick performers received Zak's permission to use the moniker to form a new itinerant theater company called Bailiwick Chicago.

“The wonderful thing about Chicago is you cannot only see big Broadway in Chicago-style shows, you can also see musicals in really small spaces with a different aesthetic,” Zak said.

Zak started the nonprofit Pride Films and Plays in 2010, which is dedicated to nurturing and occasionally producing new works through writing contests, readings and full-fledged productions.

“The seeds of what we do are the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) themes, but the plays are really for all audiences,” said Zak. “I think it's really important for all people to understand that that's essential and the company exists to some extent because we feel like there's still lots of LGBT stories that need to be told in this complicated time where we've had so many breakthroughs but also a lot of pushback.”

Lisle native David Zak is the director of "The Book of Merman" for Pride Films and Plays, a company he founded to focus on works by and about people in the LGBTQ community. Courtesy of Bob Eddy

&#8220;The Book of Merman&#8221;

Location: Pride Films and Plays at Mary's Attic, 5400 N. Clark St., Chicago, (800) 838-3006, <a href="http://pridefilmsandplays.com">pridefilmsandplays.com</a>

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 15

Tickets: $25-$30; $20 students/seniors

Article Comments

Article Categories
Chicago Communities Entertainment Lifestyle Lisle News Performing Arts Region Theater

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.