Hail Caesar! under a Tent on The Embarcasero
Dreya Weber as Cleopatra
Photo courtesy of Teatro ZinZanni
Teatro ZinZanni presents a lavish theatrical evening of “Love, Chaos & Dinner,” as they call it. With an overall food theme, their latest show Hail Caesar! uses interactions between actors whimsically based on ancient characters, exquisitely skilled acrobats, a juggler, a skilled wait-staff, and some members of the audience. HC! presents seven interrelated performances studded with servings of a five-course gourmet dinner, all in a jewel-box setting under a tent with live music by The Teatro ZinZanni Orchestra.
Old-world traditions come back to life in the Spiegeltent imported from Belgium and erected on The Embarcadero in San Francisco. The hyperactive, brightly costumed players move across the floor and through the tables while the audience sits at tables being served courses ranging from antipasto and soup with choice of entrée to desserts. But the imperialistic chef Caesar proclaims protractedly and loudly that his salad is the best. Master impressionist Frank Ferrante as Caesar exhibits no shame at all about having named his fabulous salad after himself. Then the salad is served. Timing the servings to occur between the acts, or at least during lulls in the frenetic activity of the cast, is an art form in itself.
Ferrante the chef emcee selects occasional audience members to join him on the floor for extended Q & A sessions. His victims ranged from a theatre reviewer to a pregnant kindergarten teacher. His improvisational abilities and effortless way of keeping the show moving are impressive. The audience members seemed to enjoy themselves.
Dreya Weber is a glamorous vamp in her Cleopatra costume. She’s a quick and witty actress. She is stunning in her aerial act with white ropes and abrupt drops. Her aerial red silk act is sensuous and beautifully choreographed. Although she is sometimes too focused on technique to relate to the audience, and one sequence featured a seemingly endless number of gyrations, her quick and surprising technique is flawless and her technicians made fantastically well coordinated hoists.
Tim Tyler in shorts and pith helmet plays Mr. PP, an anachronism explorer, charmingly funny. He interacts with Caesar and Cleopatra in what is assumed to be ancient Egypt, complete with Cleo’s onstage barge. Then he balances an egg and a chopstick on his nose, continuing the food theme of the show and the evening. His later act of spitting out ping pong balls – and perhaps even an egg – is impressive in the number of balls he must have swallowed, but the regurgitation connotations are not appetizing. Please! I’m eating.
Music in the show includes the Orchestra on a small circular stage off to the side of the dining and performance floor. Singer Christine Abraham has a lovely voice. Acrobatic gymnast Alexa Hukari uses seemingly effortless grace on the pole. “Vertical Tango” takes Sam Payne and Sandra Feusi in a sinuous dance in the air high above the tables. Tumblers Ming and Rui leap over and make graceful and challenging callisthenic movements on a dinner table. A large ensemble of costumed extras perform such vital functions as roll on Caesar’s chariot, carry on a sarcophagus in an operatic triumphal procession, bring on the barge, and erect the pole at the center of the tent with guy wires. The complicated technical timing of the production is flawless.
The show on San Francisco’s waterfront is a fine evening out and you don’t have to worry about getting something to eat beforehand. The acts are always entertaining and professional in cabaret and cirque vernaculars. The food is good and the staff and actors all seem to want you to have a good time.
Hail Caesar! plays through October 31 at Pier 29 on The Embarcadero (at Battery Street), San Francisco. The regular schedule runs Wednesday through Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets ($117 to $145; includes dinner) are available at the on-site Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and weekends from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., online at www.lovezinzanni.org or by phone at 415.438.2668.
More information can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-32303-SF-Performing-Arts-Examiner~y2010m8d9-Love-Chaos-andDinner-at-Pier-29-The-Embarcadero-San-Francisco.
Photo courtesy of Teatro ZinZanni
Teatro ZinZanni presents a lavish theatrical evening of “Love, Chaos & Dinner,” as they call it. With an overall food theme, their latest show Hail Caesar! uses interactions between actors whimsically based on ancient characters, exquisitely skilled acrobats, a juggler, a skilled wait-staff, and some members of the audience. HC! presents seven interrelated performances studded with servings of a five-course gourmet dinner, all in a jewel-box setting under a tent with live music by The Teatro ZinZanni Orchestra.
Old-world traditions come back to life in the Spiegeltent imported from Belgium and erected on The Embarcadero in San Francisco. The hyperactive, brightly costumed players move across the floor and through the tables while the audience sits at tables being served courses ranging from antipasto and soup with choice of entrée to desserts. But the imperialistic chef Caesar proclaims protractedly and loudly that his salad is the best. Master impressionist Frank Ferrante as Caesar exhibits no shame at all about having named his fabulous salad after himself. Then the salad is served. Timing the servings to occur between the acts, or at least during lulls in the frenetic activity of the cast, is an art form in itself.
Ferrante the chef emcee selects occasional audience members to join him on the floor for extended Q & A sessions. His victims ranged from a theatre reviewer to a pregnant kindergarten teacher. His improvisational abilities and effortless way of keeping the show moving are impressive. The audience members seemed to enjoy themselves.
Dreya Weber is a glamorous vamp in her Cleopatra costume. She’s a quick and witty actress. She is stunning in her aerial act with white ropes and abrupt drops. Her aerial red silk act is sensuous and beautifully choreographed. Although she is sometimes too focused on technique to relate to the audience, and one sequence featured a seemingly endless number of gyrations, her quick and surprising technique is flawless and her technicians made fantastically well coordinated hoists.
Tim Tyler in shorts and pith helmet plays Mr. PP, an anachronism explorer, charmingly funny. He interacts with Caesar and Cleopatra in what is assumed to be ancient Egypt, complete with Cleo’s onstage barge. Then he balances an egg and a chopstick on his nose, continuing the food theme of the show and the evening. His later act of spitting out ping pong balls – and perhaps even an egg – is impressive in the number of balls he must have swallowed, but the regurgitation connotations are not appetizing. Please! I’m eating.
Music in the show includes the Orchestra on a small circular stage off to the side of the dining and performance floor. Singer Christine Abraham has a lovely voice. Acrobatic gymnast Alexa Hukari uses seemingly effortless grace on the pole. “Vertical Tango” takes Sam Payne and Sandra Feusi in a sinuous dance in the air high above the tables. Tumblers Ming and Rui leap over and make graceful and challenging callisthenic movements on a dinner table. A large ensemble of costumed extras perform such vital functions as roll on Caesar’s chariot, carry on a sarcophagus in an operatic triumphal procession, bring on the barge, and erect the pole at the center of the tent with guy wires. The complicated technical timing of the production is flawless.
The show on San Francisco’s waterfront is a fine evening out and you don’t have to worry about getting something to eat beforehand. The acts are always entertaining and professional in cabaret and cirque vernaculars. The food is good and the staff and actors all seem to want you to have a good time.
Hail Caesar! plays through October 31 at Pier 29 on The Embarcadero (at Battery Street), San Francisco. The regular schedule runs Wednesday through Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets ($117 to $145; includes dinner) are available at the on-site Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and weekends from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., online at www.lovezinzanni.org or by phone at 415.438.2668.
More information can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-32303-SF-Performing-Arts-Examiner~y2010m8d9-Love-Chaos-andDinner-at-Pier-29-The-Embarcadero-San-Francisco.
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