BenDeLaCreme Joins Teatro ZinZanni's Summer Show in Chicago

Award-winning comedian and RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar BenDeLaCreme has been announced as a special guest performer and creative consultant for Chicago's Teatro ZinZanni. The upcoming summer show will take place May 30 through July 19, 2025.  

From LA’s Dolby Theater to Carnegie Hall, BenDeLaCreme has starred in, directed, written, and produced some of the most successful original drag theatre work of all time. Before she became a global touring sensation and breakout star on two seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, DeLa got her start on the Chicago scene as a drag and burlesque performer while she pursued a BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Teatro ZinZanni brings BenDeLaCreme back to the city that helped shape her artistry, with an exciting new role that’s so uniquely DeLa. 

Teatro ZinZanni’s new show debuted on April 25 and is an ode to all things Summer in Chicago. Kevin Kent directed the new show and stars as Doily through May 25. The summer show also features the incomparable LiV Warfield as Madame Z, the sensational hula hoop artist Vita Radionova, astonishing aerial straps and capoeira artist Raphael Nepomuceno, renowned Chicago-based trapeze duo Duo Rose, and the incredible hair aerialist artist Danila Bim.

Teatro ZinZanni’s summer performances will run until September 27. Teatro ZinZanni recently announced a permanent residency in Chicago with performances all year long. Tickets are available here. Teatro ZinZanni is located on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel at 32 W. Randolph St. in the heart of Chicago’s Loop. 

ABOUT BENDELACREME

BenDeLaCreme is an award-winning theatre and film producer, comedian, director, writer, and global drag icon who continues to reshape and build the drag industry on a major scale.

The producing powerhouse first rose to international acclaim following superstar runs on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6 (2014) and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 (2018) during which she broke multiple series records and earned a spot among the show’s “15 Fan Favorites of All Time.” Harnessing that energy, BenDeLaCreme took her career where no queen has gone before, founding her own production company, BenDeLaCreme Presents, under which she went on to write, produce and direct multiple sold-out international tours of “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show” (winner of the 2024 Queerties Award for “Best Live Theatre”) as well as her critically acclaimed, award winning solo works “Terminally Delightful,” “Cosmos,” “Inferno A Go-Go,” and “Ready To Be Committed,” countless plays and variety shows, and the cult classic holiday film, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special. 

She's also the director of Monét X Change's one-woman show "Life Be Lifin'' which premiered at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 to rave reviews, and directed + co-wrote Jinkx Monsoon's sold-out Carnegie Hall show on Valentine's Day 2025. 

DeLa is a comedian known for her quick wit and sharp mind, as well as her work as a puppeteer, live singer, choreographer, production and Costume Designer, and ravishing beauty. DeLa strives to make politics, philosophy, science, and literature all more accessible through entertainment. 

BenDeLaCreme has continued to utilize her massive platform to fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and legislation in the U.S. with appearances at The Daily Show, MSNBC, and NPR. DeLa educates audiences on how politics and dangerous rhetoric negatively impact the queer and trans community on a global scale, as well as offers a message of hope to keep fighting. 

ABOUT TEATRO ZINZANNI CHICAGO

For over 26 years, Teatro ZinZanni has welcomed audiences to intimately staged productions featuring over-the-top theatrics paired with lavish food and drink. While each Teatro ZinZanni signature show is unique, the recipe is consistent: a dash of circus, a hint of Vaudeville, a whisper of cabaret, finished with TZ’s signature, not-so-secret ingredient: LOVE!

Founded in Seattle in 1998, Teatro ZinZanni’s productions unify the immeasurable talents from the best-of cirque, music, comedy, magic, and entertainment. In 2019, Teatro ZinZanni’s signature antique Speigeltent was erected on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel in downtown Chicago, and TZ opened their first show in July of that year in the heart of Chicago’s Theatre District. In April 2025, Teatro ZinZanni announced a permanent residency of their signature show in Chicago, as well as Club ZinZanni, a presenting series highlighting the best of Chicago, national, and international talent – from music to drag to comedy to magic to cirque.

Each Teatro ZinZanni performance is distinctly interactive and playful: to attend Teatro ZinZanni is to be a part of Teatro ZinZanni. As of today, Teatro ZinZanni has entertained over 2 million guests and has staged over 120 distinctive original productions. A venerable institution that continually flips the script, Teatro ZinZanni is synonymous with a perfect night out - a sentiment shared by USA Today, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The  Seattle Times, and more. 

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