Teatro ZinZanni

 As my mom's trip winds up, I was looking for a play or performance that I could take her to, as a fun, one last thing to do at the end of the trip. None of the current plays appealed very much to me, and so I decided to look for something more magic or musical-like. For the record, I strongly dislike musicals and prefer my dialogues spoken and not sung. But this wasn't for me. I found something called 'Teatro ZinZanni' or as it's described 'Kit Kat Club on Acid'. Coincidentally we had been watching the season five finale of Schitt's Creek and this felt intriguing. So I did a little research, looked for discounted tickets and took the plunge -- the tickets were a pretty penny, this whole venture cost me two hundred plus. I am trying to shift my discretionary spending away from shopping and towards experiences so...

It wasn't the best day to head downtown because the Chicago Marathon was taking place and we had to walk a couple of blocks in the truly windy city. Once we reached the venue, there was an actual red carpet towards the elevator. We headed upstairs, there was coat check and a photo booth and a boutique store to buy things and a bar. I've been trying to be more fiscally wise and I was pretty determined to not buy random things (and tbh as much as I love my booze, noon on a Sunday was a bit early for me). We got 'upgraded', which was the obvious result of the show not being sold out but hey, I am not complaining. 


We were led to our table, which had our hummus and pita chips appetizer. The ticket cost included a four-course menu. The show started a little late, which was kind of boring wait time. While we had the option to order drinks/coffee at the table, I did balk a little at the prices and decided to refrain from unwise decisions. 

Overall it's a pretty entertaining show. Would I recommend spending this amount of money if you could purchase a ticket at.. say Windy City Playhouse or a musical you've been dying to watch? Absolutely not.

The performance was part burlesque, part drag and part circus. There were lots of double entendres and risque jokes. As anticipated, there was what I would call 'picking' on the audience -- others may not, but I have a horror of those things. I have to say, everyone they picked on was a great sport, especially the last guy who the person playing Dolly (originally Kevin from New Mexico I believe) mock seduced and put a dress on, crowning him Queen Christina. He hammed it up a little, which really added to the show. God bless the folks who can do this, because I certainly can't. 

The set was circular, set up like a restaurant. The performances were happening in the middle and the aisles. It was a small set and when you are that close, you can see all the stagehands and machinery that goes into making the magic happen. It's not a bad thing but it does lessen the experience for me a little. Still, everyone shone in a different way. The acrobats were magical (I always find them magical). The main hostess? (Lady Rizo) was phenomenal -- she was acerbic and charming and an amazing singer and magical to behold. I highly recommend clicking on the link and learning more about here. The cast was from all over the world including New York, Chicago,. Lithuania, Argentina, France and New Mexico.

The red hue is all the lighting

Okay so the food. The hummus was fine, the kale salad unexpectedly delicious - it was drenched in dressing and the dressing was something delicious. The main course was seriously crap, especially the Asian chicken salad I had. The Thai red curry was only marginally better. A lot of the experience focus was on the food, so this was disappointing -- they sang about the upcoming courses, the waiters danced in with the plates. At that point, I expect tasty food. I recognize that others may not feel this way. What was interesting is that even though we didn't order anything else, there was a sixteen dollar service charge plus space for a tip. I will say the service was really good, but I'd rather they have taken the service charge with the ticket. I wanted an experience for my mom, and this performance delivered on that front, if a little slowly. But I've never met any show quite as enchanting as a Cirque de Soleil show, and I've seen three of those now and Teatro ZinZanni didn't change my mind. Since I watch SO MANY plays in Chicago, I've decided I am going to start rating them (anyone hiring a part-time reviewer ha?). I'd give this four out of five: