In a city that paved over its history, Z.F. Taylor is putting it back on stage.
The idea for the Legacy Series didn’t start in a theater. It began with a conversation with local business owner Todd Wilson, who spoke of the King-Lincoln Bronzeville District as a place rich in history. He told Z.F. Taylor there were stories in the community that needed to be told, stories that could “really impact the present generation and the generations to come.”
For Taylor (pictured above), a playwright since the age of 12 and a man who admits he hasn’t had a real vacation in over 20 years, that idea became a mission. The Legacy Series, he says, was born from “the need to tell stories from days gone by so that people can get lessons to help them be better for days to come”.
This August, Taylor’s TaylorMade4U ArtsLAB Collective will stage its 2nd Annual Theatre Season, THE LEGACY SERIES, an ambitious dinner theatre event at the MadLab Theatre in Columbus. The concept is new to many in Columbus. Still, Taylor, who pioneered it locally, has a simple vision for it: give guests the chance to have a catered meal served to them while they enjoy a live, family-oriented show, all without the hassle of cooking. He saw an untapped market, noting that the only other dinner theatre company in the city caters to a specific demographic. Taylor’s goal is to create shows that can reach “all demographics, all ages, and classes of creed.”
If anyone can do it, Taylor can. Last year’s inaugural season, “City of Dreams,” was slated to be six original shows but exploded into 15 productions, from full-fledged musicals with original soundtracks to riveting plays – all of which he wrote himself.
“Do I sleep? Very little. I live and breathe this art,” Taylor says, a native of New Jersey.
That relentless energy is now focused on the three stories of the Legacy Series. Taylor is personally writing two of the plays: “Off-Air Chronicles” (Aug. 7th & 9th), about the trailblazing journalist Angela Pace, and “Twisted Beauty” (Aug. 15th & 16th), about the pioneering Willis Brothers of beauty supply fame, after conducting extensive interviews with the subjects.
The third production, “Inner Chocolate” (Aug. 8th, 10th, 12th) is a unique creative collaboration organized by its subject, Pamela O’Loughlin, about her life as a light-skinned Black woman adopted into a Black family.
But the work extends far beyond the stage. It’s about building a legacy of opportunity. “I’m also doing career development with youth and young adults,” Taylor explains. “They’re working in front of the stage, on the stage, behind the stage, with technology, multimedia”. This happens through the
TaylorMade4U ArtsLAB Collective, a voluntary group of professionals and creatives who work on each other’s projects. The collective, which is the engine behind all of Taylor Branding Co.’s productions, is currently accepting applications for its next cohort of members through its website.
It’s an immense undertaking, leading some to call him the “hardest working Black man in all of Columbus.” So, who supports the man driving all of this? Taylor is quick to answer. After God, it’s his wife, Elder Luanda Daniels-Taylor (Doctoral Candidate). She is his “partner in crime” who runs their six businesses alongside him and “sees me when I’m tired, sees me when I’m depleted.”
“She actually helps me become refreshed,” he says. “Without her, I don’t know if I would be able to accomplish as much as I do.”
With her support, Taylor is focused on the goal: to produce this series and finally “solidify our place,” creating a foundation that will honor those who came before and inspire those who come next.
The Legacy Series will run from August 7-16, 2025, at the MadLab Theatre, 227 N 3rd Street, Columbus, OH 43215. For more information or to apply to the arts collective, visit http://www.TaylorMade4U.org. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.madlab.net/tickets
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