Teatro ZinZanni, on the brink last year, expands to Chicago

A year ago Teatro Zinzanni was homeless.

The 20-year-old Seattle dinner cabaret had lost the lease on its longtime home on lower Queen Anne. The hot real estate market complicated the search for a new Seattle home, and Zinzanni was forced to lay off its staff.

But earlier this year, Zinzanni’s fortunes turned. The cabaret announced a deal to take over the old Red Hook Brewery building in Woodinville.

And next April, Teatro Zinzanni will open its show “Love and Chaos” in Chicago, the organization’s first foray beyond the West Coast.

Zinzanni produced its first high-end dinner theater show in Seattle in 1998, in an ornate, antique tent that founder Norm Langill found in Europe. Langill put together a show that featured Cirque de Soleil-style acrobats, music, comedy and a menu created by restaurateur Tom Douglas. In 2000, Zinzanni expanded to San Francisco.

The company will premiere a brand new production in its new Woodinville location on November 1st.