Teatro ZinZanni sends its clowns and showgirls to Woodinville
Longtime Seattle dinner cabaret Teatro ZinZanni has found a new home on the Eastside.
This spring Teatro ZinZanni officials plan to sign a 10-year lease on the old Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, across the street from Chateau St. Michelle.
A year ago, Teatro ZinZanni's future looked bleak. The upscale cabaret closed its vintage velvet tent on lower Queen Anne after Seattle Opera sold the property Teatro ZinZanni had been leasing.
New owners declined to extend the lease. High real estate prices made it very hard to find a suitable site in Seattle, so Teatro ZinZanni shut down operations.
Teatro ZinZanni reopened in the fall at Redmond's Marymoor Park, and founder Norm Langill said Eastside audiences embraced both the show and its international cast.
"All the young Russian, Indian, Chinese communities — they're all on the Eastside," Langill said. "To see them come to the tent, I feel like we're the portal for American culture."
The relocation also opened Langill's eyes to new possibilities for Teatro ZinZanni, which has been located in Seattle since 1998.
The Redhook Brewery property is large enough for the organization to consolidate its administrative and artistic operations for the first time; Teatro ZinZanni also plans to offer classes in circus arts for children and adults.
Teatro ZinZanni's Marymoor Park show, "Love, Chaos and Dinner," is scheduled to close April 29. The new space opens with a holiday-themed production in early November.
