Arts & Entertainment
Teatro ZinZanni Returns to the Big Top After Hiatus
Teatro ZinZanni has returned with a dinner and show experience unlike any other in the city.
Under the big top, Teatro ZinZanni presents a performance that is Cirque du Soleil meets cabaret, with a little circus action in between.
“You can go and see any kind of music in Chicago and lots of different stories being told, but none of that will be anything like what happens here,” says Bethany Thomas, who plays Madame ZinZanni.
Comprised of circus performers from around the world, the unique dinner and show is reminding audiences what it’s like to consume live entertainment again.
Thomas is in her first year in the production. She grew up singing and performing throughout Chicago, but says nothing compares to this experience.
“I’ve been interested in watching the audience and seeing what they connect to and how,” Thomas said. “I really want to give them what they want, and say what can I do and be the best version. My job is to please you, not stand up for myself as an artist. I want to make you really have a good time right now.”
Unlike traditional theater shows or performances, Teatro ZinZanni relies on improv.
“We have just two weeks of rehearsal,” Thomas said. “So they’re like, ‘Let’s make sure no one doing stunts dies, and everything else we’ll figure out.’ We’ve added in songs, changed songs, reworked transitions. You don’t understand what’s going to work until you work with an audience. It’s been unconventional for what I’m used to, but now that I get it, I’m grateful for the flexibility.”
Samuel and Sylvia Rose, who perform on trapeze as Duo Rose, have been twisting and turning together for more than a decade. While their work has allowed them to tour the world, they say nothing is like this production.
“This one has a lot more story and integration with the cast,” Sylvia Rose said. “So we interact with the guests more here. Most shows we do our act and that’s it.”
“It makes the audience more appreciative because they see you as a human being and much closer up,” Samuel Rose said. “So by the time we get to our trapeze sets, we’ve interacted with them, talked with them. It creates more of a connection with us. They’re more surprised by it.”
The show’s performers train three to four days a week for about four hours a day.
“When we train, she’ll do her warm-up, set physical therapy goals, then we start with a routine,” Samuel Rose said. “We’ll run the act, do anything that feels off, practice sequences and then play. Then end with conditioning. Trapeze is a full body workout, and you get to have fun doing it.”
Performers say it’s great to be involved in a show where the ensemble extends beyond the stage.
“People are so grateful to be out and have fun,” the Roses agree. “In the past it took a bit to warm them up, but here they just want to play. They want to get into the joke and see what you’re doing. You’re getting more feedback. Interaction makes them realize how different live performance is from screens.”
You can catch this one-of-a-kind dinner and a show at the Cambria Hotel, 32 W. Randolph St., through August. For more information, visit zinzanni.com/Chicago.
Follow Angel Idowu on Twitter: @angelidowu3
Note: This story will be updated with video.
Angel Idowu is the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation Arts Correspondent.
