**** Highly Recommended **** Teatro Zinzanni was an absolute blast!!!! Take the best of cabaret, burlesque and cirque, with artists from around the world, add about 50 pounds of sequins, shake it all up, add dinner and drinks served ringside, and that’s Teatro Zinzanni, where guests are invited to wear their own sequins and feathers! If you love the circus – or a good cabaret – this is the show for you! 4 BIG Spotlights
From the minute you enter the lobby of the Cambria Hotel until you get off the elevator, you’ll see people wearing sequins – lots of sequins – and treated like a special guest. Up on the 14th floor, the Teatro Zinzanni lobby has a full-service bar, a shopping area displaying plenty of bling, and several settings for photo ops. By the way, there is an opportunity to have your picture taken by a professional photographer.
Once you enter Spiegeltent ZaZou – a unique jewel box mirror tent – and get seated at your assigned table, the wait staff (all wearing black trimmed with red sequins) will take your order for drinks (extra) and dinner. While you enjoy your drink and some chips with a hummus dip, you can enjoy the silly antics of several clowns.
The brand new show, Wishes and Dreams, takes place in a fantastical ‘diner’ featuring chef Madam Z (Bethany Thomas) and the absolutely hilarious headwaiter Doily (Kevin Kent). Their ‘table-set’ with the assistance of several clowns is a hoot! When Madam Z and Doily make a wish on one of Doily’s false eyelashes, their wishes are answered when Doily’s son Phénix (Cunio) roars in on a motorcycle, singing Jim Peterik’s Ides of March hit, Vehicle.
I was thrilled to see the amazingly talented Bethany Thomas in the show. Her solo performance in a show called Songs for Nobodies at Northlight Theatre last fall drew rave reviews. Then she popped up as Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol at the Goodman. Her incredible vocal range was on full display here, with songs like Come on to My House, Baby It’s You and more.
Doily (Kevin Kent) is a trip. Her jokes and silly patter provide segues between the circus acts. She’s brilliant at the ad lib as she reacts to the people she pulls from the audience for her stunts, like turning two bald heads into extra-large cleavage or giving a guy from the audience a code response to a code name or using her Double D’s to dip for tips.
According to his bio, Cunio is called the spawn of Freddie Mercury and Janis Joplin. His sexy costumes, made of leather, feathers, studs – and a lot of skin – could have come straight from the fictitious Circus of the Damned in a book I once read. His duet with Thomas was beautiful, but when he belted out a rock song while hanging upside down from aerial tissue, he blew me away!
The circus performers:
- The Juggler - Noel Aguilar kept adding pins as he juggled, finally spinning 6 at a time through the air.
- The Contortionist – Marjorie Nantel emerges from a box, unfolding body parts, legs and arms in random spots until she’s finally out and standing. Just when you think she’s done, Cunio walked over to her, removed the aerial tissue draped around his body, fastens it to a hook. Nantel, grasping the tissue, is lifted high above the floor. She moves herself up and down the tissue with ease, doing both aerial and contortionist moves. Her most electrifying – a rapid drop as the tissue unrolls!
- The Basketball Juggler - Michael Evolution (Michael van Bleek) did a wonderful free-style basketball juggling routine at one point juggling up to 3 balls.
- Strength on the Trapeze - Duo Rose, Sylvia Friedman and Samuel Sion awesome aerial act requires strength, balance, discipline and gymnastic ability. Although Sion does hang upside down on the trapeze and occasionally hold his partner, she’s more likely to be using her own strength to move up, down and around his body while he does the same.
- Aerial Gymnastics – Elena Gatilova, a five-time national champion rhythmic gymnast from Crimea, starts her act as a clown. With a bit of leger de main, she sheds her clown duds to reveal a sparkling leotard, then demonstrates her strength and agility on a ring suspended over the crowd.
Chicago’s own Debbie Sharpe, the Goddess of The Goddess and Grocer, designed the delish menu. The Zinzanni Style Salad, kale, romaine, roasted chickpeas, watermelon radish, pickled onions, golden raisins and champagne vinaigrette, was sweet yet savory. For dinner, I chose the Shrimp Rigatoni Mezzi with spinach, cauliflower, petite peas and artichokes in a tomato basil sauce, which was delicious. Crista had Braised Pork Shoulder Agrodolce, with mashed Yukon potatoes, roasted vegetables, apricot mostardo and fresh herbs. She said she’d never eat it all, but did a better than average (for her) job. The menu also listed Herb-Roasted Chicken or Wild Mushroom Risotto Cake. Warning: if you ask about dessert options, you’ll be offered delish-sounding cake choices but they’re extra. The Flourless Chocolate Torte is included.
Note: Guests must show proof of vaccination before entering the theater. Guests are required to wear masks while inside the building.
Teatro Zinzanni is in the Spiegeltent ZaZou, located on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel Chicago, 32 W. Randolph, Chicago. Cocktail hour starts at 5:30 pm in the lobby. The Spiegeltent opens for seating at 6:00; the show starts at 7:00 p.m. Running time is just about 3 hours. Many people remained at the tables enjoying dessert after the finale.
Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:00 pm, Sundays at 12:00 and 7:00 pm. Tickets range from $109-$264. Front-row VIP tickets are available at a premium price. A $10 per person hospitality fee will be automatically added to the bill, which will be delivered to each table by a server. Gratuities are appreciated. FYI (312) 488-0900 or www.zinzanni.com/Chicago.