Spellbinding, thrilling, surprising and even incredible might all describe a first visit to Teatro Zinzanni. Equal parts circus and cabaret, a TZ experience can easily be considered a sustained three-hour spectacle tied together with a full course meal. With an ace comedic showman acting as master of ceremony, you’d think tossing a sterling diva of song into the brew might be overkill. In practice, it just adds another layer of extraordinary to the mix.
The last time we sat at a TZ table high on the 14th floor of the Loop’s Cambria Hotel, early November winds were leaning ominously into frigid and the crowd that weekend night was big and simmering with expectation. Despite a couple of nagging concerns, our review for that earlier version of Love, Chaos and Dinner glowed. After seeing the same show last week, there are questions about the sustainability of the model.
Likely, that concern is premature. Initially created in 1998 when organizers mounted a prototype for a two-month run in Seattle, they, as well as many observers, were caught off guard by the show’s reception. Sold out crowds kept it hot and in demand for well over a year. Proving the formula had a market, it was moved to San Francisco in 2000 and later a permanent show was created for Seattle in 2002. The show’s staying power on the West coast helped drive the decision to bring the extravaganza to Chicago late last year.
The second visit to Chicago’s Teatro installation on a Tuesday night in January had a different feel. A smaller crowd. A slightly diminished energy. The format of the production hasn’t changed yet. Promoters state it’s scheduled for overhaul and revamp every three months. One of the hostesses confided that staff was told the next new show would be ready in March. Love, Chaos and Dinner has been running since July of last year; six months. It’s time for a shush. Still, there were some big changes since we last entered the enchanted world of the mirrored tent.
Rizzo, a huge personality in a size 2 with a voice that blazes with the intensity of the sun, was gone. Former Prince protégé Liz Warfield replaces her in the role of diva supreme. Slated to be with the show until February 3rd, Warfleld’s got the voice and talent to go velvet smooth or fill a mega-stadium. And even though there might not have been the same charged energy that typified a Rizzo show, Warfield’s stage presence oozes with self-assurance and control. The rapport she strikes with the irrepressible MC, Doily (Kevin Kent), looks and feels mutually admiring; casting a comforting blanket of harmony over the extravaganza.
Other additions include Alseny Slylla, hailing from Guinea, and Adrian Poema. Using leather straps to lift him skyward, Slylla performed elegant mid-air routines demanding fearsome upper body strength and meticulous balletic grace. Poema, whose youth belies his experience and acrobatic accomplishments, has taken the place of one of the sensational body juggling team, the Anastasini Brothers.
Organizers would find benefit from stepping up their game on the dining front. If you first eat with your eyes, meal presentation could stand polishing. Colorless and stiff, the rigatoni was palatable and filling; but hardly noteworthy. The short ribs appeared slightly gray and slightly dry. And the salad, an unassuming and unremarkable tomato-less number, upset one of our party’s stomach; leaving it uneasy hours after the performance. For the rest of the table, the salad was just unanimously disappointing. Thanks to the waiter’s recommendation, the bone-in chicken was the only entrée that reasonably rose to the modest culinary challenge.
This was a far departure from the Fall visit when all of the meals were pleasing to the eye and admirably prepared; especially considering the constraints of the cooking staff. Service during both our Fall and Winter shows can only be called superb.
Despite the slightly altered buoyancy in the tent, performances remained wonderfully captivating. Kent, in his Doily role, managed to be even more scandalously sly and uproarious. We were reminded again that his is the kind of wit that could be deadly if it ever turned ruthless. Under the tent, it never goes in that direction and he always responds kindly (in a wickedly mischievous sort of way) to the distress of his victims.
The Robin to Doily’s Batman, the statuesque Manuela Horn, also has the professional mettle and creative talent to bring fresh sparkle to the two roles she inhabits during the show. One as a mildly naughty Little Bo Peep. The other, a towering dominatrix who only uses safe words that are in German and completely unpronounceable.
And it’s true, bald people seem to be a consistent target at the shows. If your pate is smooth, be prepared to grin and bear it because there’s really nowhere to hide. They will find you for that quick sight gag.
Still, the treats inside Teatro Zinzanni’s otherworldly tent of fascination retain their illusive allure. The upcoming Spring show may help determine the depths of its resilience.
Teatro Zinzanni
Love, Chaos and Dinner
Through March 2020
Spiegeltent Zazou
Cambria Hotel
32 W. Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 606
312-488-0900
tzchicago-tickets.zinzanni.com/eventperformances
