Thelma Houston to Star in HEARTS ON FIRE at Teatro ZinZanni, 2/4-5/16

Disco diva and Grammy Award winner, Thelma Houston, will once again grace the Teatro ZinZanni fabled spiegeltent as the legendary hostess from February 4 - May 16. She will appear in a new version of Hearts on Fire, a show that ran some eighteen months ago to great critical and audience acclaim, and which will span the celebratory month of March, which marks the Teatro ZinZanni's 10th anniversary in San Francisco.

Guests who attend the show in March will be able to join in the celebrations and enjoy a host of upcoming activities TBA that will offer insight into the magic of Teatro ZinZanni.

Since opening on San Francisco's historic waterfront on March 15, 2000, Teatro ZinZanni has become a permanent, unique fixture and an integral part of the lively entertainment and culinary scene in San Francisco. The show appealed to the public and the critics alike. The San Francisco Chronicle critic Steven Winn called it "Captivating entertainment," and had the Chronicle Little Man jumping off his chair. David Beck of the Mercury News raved: "An amazing spectacle, part circus and part nightclub ... like the Kit-Kat Club on acid. Plus you get dinner!" Hemispheres Magazine declared: "... Sizzles with European sophistication and savoir -faire ... An endearing mix that truly captures the soul of San Francisco."

The show features an ensemble cast of world-class performers, generally headed by a marvelous "hostess," ably assisted by a "chef de cuisine" who introduces each course and generally involves audience members in the action, while comedy and mayhem are supplied by a magical assortment of acrobats, jugglers, comedians, singers, musicians, and others. The list of acclaimed performers has included celebrated singers Joan Baez, Sally Kellerman, Liliane Montevecchi, Maria Muldaur, Melba Moore, Ann Wilson, among others.

Mississippi-born Thelma Houston got her start singing gospel in the late 1960s, when her emotive style and passionate vocal delivery caught the attention of industry moguls and she soon launched a pop and R&B recording career of her own. Best known for her 1977 smash hit classic "Don't Leave Me This Way," and became the first female artist to win a Grammy for "Best R&B Female Vocal Performance." Her hits include "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning," "I Can't Go on Living Without Your Love," "I'm Here Again," and "If You Feel It." She has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in pop and R&B, including Aretha Franklin, Mary Wilson, Phoebe Snow, Chaka Kahn, Patti LaBelle, Cher, Lou Rawls, The Temptations, and The Four Tops, to name a few, and she continues to tour worldwide, averaging 175 shows per year.

Teatro ZinZanni welcomes back several performers who have made their mark in the tent. Robert Lopez may be his name, but he's better known as El Vez, the Mexican Elvis -- El Rey de Rock ‘n' Roll, and the only "impersonator" ever sanctioned to perform by the notoriously tough Elvis Presley Enterprises. He has been taking care of business and preaching Elvis love and Chicano power since he was old enough to dress himself in gold lame. Audiences around the world swoon for his Latino renditions of Presley classics like "En el Barrio," "Está Bien, Mamacita," and "Viva La Raza." El Vez has numerous recordings under his studded white belt, including "Graciasland" and "G.I. Ay, Ay! Blues."

Actor, singer, director, and writer Christine Deaver is the only female chef ever to grace the ZinZanni tent. A Los Angeles native, she has been the nominee and recipient of numerous Garland, Ovation and L.A. Weekly Awards for her work in theater, and as a company member of Zoo District Theatre Company.

Others returning include Andrew & Erika, who fuse the daring strength of aerial acrobatics with passionate sensuality of dance; French acrobats Les Petits Frères - Gregory Marquet, Mickael Bajazet, Domitil Aillot - who met in 1993 at the internationally acclaimed Annie Fratellini Circus School in Paris; the glamorous Ukrainian contortionist Vita Radionova; and nationally and internationally renowned soprano Rachel DeShon.

The regular weekly schedule for Teatro ZinZanni is Wednesday through Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets priced from $117 - $145 are available at the on-site Box Office at Pier 29 on the Embarcadero weekdays from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and weekends from noon - 6 p.m., or by phone at 415/438-2668. Premium and preferred seating is also available. Tickets for Brevé, the Saturday brunch performance range from $63 - $78. For Groups, call 415/438-2669 Ext. 204.

For more information, visit www.zinzanni.org .

 

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