The circus is in town!

The entrance to the Cambria Hotel on West Randolph Street in Chicago is so nondescript as to be almost invisible. Barely wider than its revolving door, you could walk right past it and not even know it was there. Once inside the tiny lobby, you’re directed to the back where a beautiful woman stands by an elevator door, preset to take you to the fourteenth floor. It’s the first indication that something here is out of the ordinary.

LiV Warfield

Nothing, however, can prepare you for the moment you step out of the elevator into the art deco magnificence of the Teatro ZinZanni lobby. The lighting, the decor, the magnificent bar running the back length of the space, the staff, both in dress and affect, combine to produce an effect that is in a word, transporting.

Samuel Sion of Duo Rose

Originally from Seattle, Teatro ZinZanni is a mélange of cirque, cabaret, and slapstick. Set inside a Spiegeltent Zazou — a stunning early-20th-century portable circus tent with hand-carved wooden detail and lavish stained glass and mirror work — the ambience of the show is simultaneously raucous, rambunctious, and romantic.

Christine Deaver

The ringleader of this new iteration of Love, Chaos, and Confusion at the ZinZanni is Christine Deaver, a hilarious comic who performs in character as Tina, a New Jersey native visiting Chicago because of its connection to the new Pope. Deaver is an old hat here, returning to the show after a brief absence. In her capacity as ringmaster, she is ably aided by powerhouse vocalist LiV Warfield, who’s as slinky and seductive on stage as Deaver is brassy, bawdy and brilliant.

Duo Rose

The cirque performers are all phenomenal but I have a special fondness for Samuel Sion of Duo Rose, if only because his goofy and charming comic persona on the floor is so at odds with the romantic intensity of his highwire duo act with a pitch-perfect Sylvia Friedman, who matches him every step of the way. Also terrific is another returning crowd-favorite, Cassie Cutler, who has such exquisite comic timing as squeaky-voiced Edna that I suffered a moment of cognitive dissonance when she shifted into her cirque persona in the final routine of the evening. “Edna” could have walked off that stage and into a classic Hollywood screwball comedy with no effort at all.

Cassie Cutler

And none of this would work as well as it does without the terrific band led by jazz pianist Theodis Rodgers, Jr, who, on occasion, contributes (stellar) vocals to the proceedings.

Theodis Rodgers, Jr

This is not a theatrical experience that my uptight self is accustomed to. Normal rules of theatre etiquette are ignored (take photos, just no flash, please), there is a lot of interaction between performers and audience. Deaver is particularly good at getting audience members to loosen up and play along but really, the irrepressible bonhomie of the performers is infectious; I objected only slightly when I was dragged into the center to slow dance with my date, and by the midpoint of the show, I was bellowing (offkey) along to “Volare” with the rest of the audience and gazing at the acrobatics with the wide-eyed wonder of a child. Leave your pretensions at the door, have a drink (or two), enjoy the delicious food, and take in the circus.

Note: Coulrophobes rejoice: there isn’t a clown in sight.

Christine Deaver

photos by Kyle Flubacker

Teatro ZinZanni
Cambria Hotel, 32 W Randolph St
now in permanent residency
for tickets, visit Teatro ZinZanni

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago