Joan Baez for Dinner on The Embarcadero
Joan Baez as Madame ZinZanni
Photo Credit: Mark Kitaoka
Photo Credit: Mark Kitaoka
Yevgeny Voronin as The Maestro and Svetlana Perekhodova as the Puppet
Photo Credit: Tracy Martin
The newest offering from the irrepressible, ever-zany Teatro ZinZanni, Maestro’s Enchantment, brings back two long-time favorites for another five-course-dinner spectacle under the tent on The Embarcadero.
The Maestro, played by the eerie Ukranian illusionist Yevgeny Voronin, is the leader of a mixed band of weirdoes who serve only to entertain you while your meal is being served. Joining Voronin, singer Joan Baez returns for the fifth time as Madame ZinZanni. The evening of song, live music, aerial acts both comic and graceful, and magic serves as a delightful accompaniment for scrumptious dining among friends and party people.
ZinZanni shows are loosely themed and largely free of plot. An attentive wait staff serves a respectable menu, while the cabaret show distracts you from your plate. While you are still savoring that last bit of cheese, salad or entrée the singers and acrobats demand your attention. In this new show, The Maestro, when he can be found, superciliously keeps the action moving with his precise timing and startling sleight of hand. In a cast of ten, he leads the strongman, the juggler, the trapeze artists, the magician, and Joan Baez.
Madame ZinZanni is somewhat recalcitrant, but she and Voronin dance romantically while the salad is being served. Miss Baez has a beautifully distinctive voice. Her songs to the live Teatro ZinZanni Orchestra include the Italian funicular tune and Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.”
Acts continue while you eat. Some are understated. The pacing of the floor show is closely aligned with your consideration of the next course and the intensity of the stage action. When you first are served your next dish, the activity is low-key. By the time you are finishing that delicious zucchini-squash soup, the action picks up.
Aside from magicians, acrobats and jugglers, the acts include some beautiful singing by soprano Kristin Clayton, the human cannonball who fizzles and a spectacularly intimate aerial silk artist (Bianca Sapetto.)
Voronin takes over as the master for Russian contortionist Svetlana Perekhodova as the Puppet who pops out of a valise. With her pink bob hairdo, her tiny pouty red lips and her vacant stare, she wordlessly does fake pliés while Voronin in his formal jacket with eyeballs for buttons is burning the book Puppetry for Dummies. She adopts some unlikely positions and speaks when he kisses her.
Artist Kristin Clayton, a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler scholarship training programs, is identified here as “Opera Diva.” She presents a lovely solo aria during the entrée and gives ample voice to her acting talent as Isabella (EES-a-bella), a screaming woman with an Italian accent who rushes on seeking the eerie Maestro. If you can tear your attention away from the salad long enough, you might notice the entwining of a slight romantic entanglement.
The voices and musicianship are a rich background for a sumptuous feast. Baez and Clayton flow together in a duet of Louis Armstrong’s “When You’re Smiling” that seems to be one effortless voice. Clayton’s physical instrument is reaching the peak of her performing power, a mighty force with her acting ability and stage presence. The voice of old folkie Baez has substantially withstood the ravages of time. In her closing solo number of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” her voice is trademark distinctive and whole.
Fun and indulgence are smoothly accommodated. While you are still nibbling that last bit of cheese, salad or entrée the singers and acrobats demand your attention. But don’t delay. Melanie Stace takes over from Baez on August 4.
The Maestro, played by the eerie Ukranian illusionist Yevgeny Voronin, is the leader of a mixed band of weirdoes who serve only to entertain you while your meal is being served. Joining Voronin, singer Joan Baez returns for the fifth time as Madame ZinZanni. The evening of song, live music, aerial acts both comic and graceful, and magic serves as a delightful accompaniment for scrumptious dining among friends and party people.
ZinZanni shows are loosely themed and largely free of plot. An attentive wait staff serves a respectable menu, while the cabaret show distracts you from your plate. While you are still savoring that last bit of cheese, salad or entrée the singers and acrobats demand your attention. In this new show, The Maestro, when he can be found, superciliously keeps the action moving with his precise timing and startling sleight of hand. In a cast of ten, he leads the strongman, the juggler, the trapeze artists, the magician, and Joan Baez.
Madame ZinZanni is somewhat recalcitrant, but she and Voronin dance romantically while the salad is being served. Miss Baez has a beautifully distinctive voice. Her songs to the live Teatro ZinZanni Orchestra include the Italian funicular tune and Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released.”
Acts continue while you eat. Some are understated. The pacing of the floor show is closely aligned with your consideration of the next course and the intensity of the stage action. When you first are served your next dish, the activity is low-key. By the time you are finishing that delicious zucchini-squash soup, the action picks up.
Aside from magicians, acrobats and jugglers, the acts include some beautiful singing by soprano Kristin Clayton, the human cannonball who fizzles and a spectacularly intimate aerial silk artist (Bianca Sapetto.)
Voronin takes over as the master for Russian contortionist Svetlana Perekhodova as the Puppet who pops out of a valise. With her pink bob hairdo, her tiny pouty red lips and her vacant stare, she wordlessly does fake pliés while Voronin in his formal jacket with eyeballs for buttons is burning the book Puppetry for Dummies. She adopts some unlikely positions and speaks when he kisses her.
Artist Kristin Clayton, a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler scholarship training programs, is identified here as “Opera Diva.” She presents a lovely solo aria during the entrée and gives ample voice to her acting talent as Isabella (EES-a-bella), a screaming woman with an Italian accent who rushes on seeking the eerie Maestro. If you can tear your attention away from the salad long enough, you might notice the entwining of a slight romantic entanglement.
The voices and musicianship are a rich background for a sumptuous feast. Baez and Clayton flow together in a duet of Louis Armstrong’s “When You’re Smiling” that seems to be one effortless voice. Clayton’s physical instrument is reaching the peak of her performing power, a mighty force with her acting ability and stage presence. The voice of old folkie Baez has substantially withstood the ravages of time. In her closing solo number of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” her voice is trademark distinctive and whole.
Fun and indulgence are smoothly accommodated. While you are still nibbling that last bit of cheese, salad or entrée the singers and acrobats demand your attention. But don’t delay. Melanie Stace takes over from Baez on August 4.
Maestro's Enchantment plays through October 9 at Pier 29, The Embarcadero, San Francisco. Tickets ($117 to $167) are available online at http://tzsf-tickets.zinzanni.org or by phone at 415.438.2668.
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