Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The paper-thin script is a little too tame and sometimes confusing (we're told that Merman died in 1984, yet the action is clearly set in the present). When it comes to music and lyrics, though, Schwartz proves adept at tweaking both The Book of Mormon and standards from Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun, and others. The performances in David Zak’s high-spirited staging for Pride Films and Plays have all the requisite charm and cheese, particularly Libby Lane’s hail-fellow-well-met take on Ethel."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Yet, Libby Lane as Merman starts at an immediate disadvantage since director David Zak felt it important to screen actual Merman performance clips before the show and at intermission ( no doubt as a refresher for audiences unfamiliar with the Broadway legend who passed away at the age of 76 in 1984 ). Compared to the real Merman on screen and possible other imitators incorporated into the show, Lane's performance is notably lacking in oversized brassiness and characteristic Merman vocal tics."
Northwest Indiana Times - Highly Recommended
"...If you want something fun, entertaining and performed with true talent, this is a ticket that doesn't disappoint and you leave smiling from ear to ear."
HollywoodChicago.com - Recommended
"...The play/revue is song heavy, with only bits of dialogue between, including a funny running gag about Merman trying to get to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Once the cloud passes about the Mormon angle, the show gets kicky about the relationship between Aaron and Jacob, and uses the Merman vision as a kooky matchmaker. The second act is more about the parody songs – “You’re the Best” for “You’re the Top” and “Better Than You” for “Anything You Can Do” (Cole Porter and Irving Berlin actually wrote songs with Merman in mind) – and audience participation fun, which brightens the proceedings considerably."
Edge - Highly Recommended
"...Lane is perfectly cast as Ethel Merman. She emulates as opposed to impersonates. She is the only performer without an understudy because in this production she is absolutely irreplaceable. With the consummate musical and performance direction of Robert Ollis and David Zak, respectively, Lane uses her vocal ability to full advantage. She is as endearing as the real latter-day Ethel Merman, but she is much more pleasing to the ears. Doing a faithful impersonation of Merman would gild the lily, as well as be a bit difficult to sit through."
Theatre By Numbers - Somewhat Recommended
"...David Zak and Leo Schwartz have conjured up a laid-back musical crafted for an audience that is much the same; unconcerned with the minor details that comprise their theatrical mash up, just happy to see a big, brassy diva hob-nob with a couple of chaste Mormon boys, and inspire them to re-direct their hopeless, godly devotion to musical theater and each other."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...It's up to Libby Lane's ebullient, earth-mother Ethel to teach them (via strategically familiar but not quite copyrighted standards from Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun and Gypsy) that the goddess is not godless. They just need to "Be a Merman" because "You're The Best" (here updated). In no time at all "Everything's coming up Merman!" In turn they update her act: Helping her to forget the fiasco of her 1979 disco album, Aaron gets her to rap to Gilbert and Sullivan, no less ("Ethel's Big Come Back"). You haven't lived until..."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...If you love Ethel Merman (as I do) or were charmed by The Book of Mormon and/or you love Broadway musical (as I do), then get to Mary's Attic in Andersonville to take in The Book of Merman. It smart, well sung, and loads of fun. This show is one of those shows with such a large appear that it could easily "get legs" and become of those long running Chicago shows because its charm, wit and sweetness has a universal appeal. It is a terrific date night show or a girls (or boys) night out show. It is funny and most entertaining."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...There are times when it is difficult to determine if a production is in reality a play or a cabaret review. This is one of those times! Pride Films & Plays has just moved its latest production, “The Book of Merman” from Mary’s Attic in Andersonville to the newly remodeled Studio of The Apollo Theater on Lincoln Avenue. This is a unique little 85 minutes of comedy and music revolving around one of Broadway’s largest egos (and voices) and the very funny and comical “The Book of Mormon”, which is now back in the area. By the way, this is a World Premiere (perhaps it is now a World Premiere, once removed) conceived by its director David G. Zak with a book and music and lyrics by Leo Schwartz."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Featuring a tuneful array of songs that parody both “Book of Mormon” and almost every Merman classic, such as “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Gypsy” and “Anything Goes,” Leo Schwartz’s exuberant new musical parody is lively and lighthearted. Directed and performed with pizzazz and polish, this entertaining show will especially appeal to Broadway musical aficionados, as well as to LGBT audiences and their straight sidekicks looking for a breezy, feel-good show to warm up the winter evenings."
Irish American News - Highly Recommended
"...Libby Lane, as the iconic singer, perfectly embodies the best and worst attributes of a spiteful, yet beloved pre-Madonna. Lane supremely belts out each lyric with the ‘buzz saw’ quality of Merman. Merman’s self-mythologizing is aptly complimented by the talented vocal skills of Sam Button-Harrison, and Dan Gold. As the devotee, star struck believer, Button-Harrison brilliantly mimics his idol, and, arguably, upstages her."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...After seeing The Book of Merman, I am going to have to rethink my previous stance on caftans. A timeless Ethel Merman made me a believer. You, too, can weigh in on this topic if you choose to go see the new production of The Book of Merman, now playing at the Apollo Studio Theatre in Chicago. And I urge you to go see Ethel and the Mormon boys who ring her doorbell, especially if you need to laugh, tear up, and belt out There’s No Business Like Show Business like you mean it. I’m still humming the catchy tunes and wondering if I can find frilly bloomers to go with my flowing flowery robe."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...As far as silly spoofs go, this is enjoyable and fun. It's not really much more than that, but then it doesn't try to be. It's silly, fluffy fun that is best enjoyed by fans of its source material. And yet, as one who doesn't really know the library of Merman's work, I thoroughly enjoyed the performance as a whole. Sam Button-Harrison's turn as Aaron, a conflicted Mormon missionary who wants to be on Broadway, is quite pleasing and his own Ethel Merman impression may be the best in the show. As Jacob, Dan Gold is the stick in the mud foil to Aaron. It's his transformation that drives the action of the show, and by the time he embraces Merman's greatness, so do we all."
