Magazines » May/June 2009 Issue » Cirque du Saison
If anyone ever says they can give you a better beer experience than Seattle’s Teatro ZinZanni, they’re lying. In fact, Sam Calagione himself could pour 60-Minute IPA out of the barrel directly into your mouth, and it still wouldn’t compare to this cirque/vaudeville/cabaret/comedy/dinner/beer orgy.
The spectacle begins inside the elaborate, mirror-walled antique spiegeltent from Belgium. (The tent is a wonder itself: Developed in the early 1910s, it consists of more than 4,000 parts, but require no fasteners for construction, and can be raised by a team of four in one day. Only a dozen still exist.) The lights dim, and for the next three hours, the stage ruptures into pandemonium as acrobats, singers, contortionists, and jugglers -- some of whom turn out to be your waiters -- take over.
Teatro ZinZanni debuted in 1998 as the brainchild of Norm Langill and his production company, One Reel, and to describe it is as maddening as the show itself. Langill imports acts from around the globe and weaves the work of aerialists and comedians together with house band Orchestra De Ville into a performance that somehow manages to showcase a gastronomically delightful dinner. (The menu, helmed by James Beard Award-winning chef Tom Douglas, mingles French cuisine with local ingredients.) Each of the feast’s five courses is paired with selections like a perfectly tart Aspall Organic cider and effervescent Saison Dupont, and standouts include the golden, creamy La Chouffe and the extraordinary Samichlaus. When the show’s over, there’s still more beer to be had; an uncanny twist of fate placed a McMenamins tavern directly behind the tent, where ZinZanni-goers keep the magic alive a little longer.
New productions debut quarterly; currently, “Under the Gypsy Moon,” a romantic, slapstick story of a restaurant staff catering to a band of gypsies, is told through the comedy of a Canadian clown, the gasp-inducing moments of rola-bola and trapeze acts, and the perfection of Les Castors, a three-man Risley (body juggling) act. Fair warning: You may end up part of the show, too.
Teatro ZinZanni: Love, Chaos and Dinner
WHAT:
Cabaret/cirque/comedy dinner show
WHEN:
The current show, “Under the Gypsy Moon,” runs through June 21. Evening performances Wednesday through Sunday.
WHERE:
222 Mercer St., Seattle
TICKETS: $104 to $155 per person, sold up to eight weeks in advance.
LEARN MORE: 206.802.0015, www.zinzanni.org
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This article originally appeared in the May/June 2009 Issue of DRAFT Magazine
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