Grammy Winning, International Cabaret Star and Cornish Grad Lady Rizo Makes Teatro ZinZanni Debut The Hot Spot, Premiering February 5th
Bang! 2015 is off and running as Teatro ZinZanni gears up for a new show changeover in the illustrious speigeltent off Mercer Street. What began as sketches, brainstorms and a casting wish list some 10 months ago, transforms this month into a spectacle rich with music, food, dance, and most of all, love. With co-direction by Teatro ZinZanni founder Norm Langill, long-time performer and exquisite improvisational artist Kevin Kent, and director/choreographer Tobias Larsson, The Hot Spot stars Northwest-native and international cabaret star Lady Rizo in her Teatro ZinZanni debut alongside Seattle favorite Frank Ferrante, acclaimed aerialist and choreographer to the stars Dreya Weber, vaudevillian Wayne Doba, acrobat-dancer Andrea Conway Doba, funny-man Joel Salom, and show-stoppers, Vertical Tango.
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, “slapstick chanteuse” (Village Voice) Lady Rizo has come a long way since her graduation from Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts. These days, Lady Rizo is New York City’s cabaret crown-jewel – The New York Times declares her “sensational!” She is a Grammy winner for her 2010 collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma on the holiday album “Songs of Joy and Peace,” the winner of the inaugural Time Out London and Soho Theatre Award, a 2013 London Cabaret Award-winner, and she was received with critical raves three years in a row at the Assembly Festival in Edinburgh. A recipient of the New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, her original pieces have shown at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre in New York (where she was a resident artist for three years), Leister Square Theatre in London, and the Sydney Festival (nominee for a 2013 Helpmann award).
“Lady Rizo is an incredible story-teller and improvisationalist,” co-director Tobias Larsson commented. Larsson is a long-time collaborator, creator and performer within the ZinZanni family and is part of the team that brought Lady Rizo to the tent. “It’s a new thing to have someone like Lady Rizo in this show – she brings a new, dynamic style of comedy all her own. The creative process at the tent can be a whirlwind experience for those who haven’t done it before, but she is game for everything and has thrown herself whole-heartedly into the zany world of ZinZanni.” Lady Rizo may have a knack for improv, but combine that skill with her high-energy belt voice and you may just find yourself bewitched. In The Hot Spot, she will perform renditions of “I Only Have Eyes for You,” a mash-up of “Sweet Dreams” and “Tainted Love,” an original song of hers she wrote especially for this show with Teatro ZinZanni music director Hans Tueber, and a selection of other popular tunes.
The buck doesn’t stop with Lady Rizo; from out on stage, to behind the scenes, Teatro ZinZanni bleeds mega talent. Swedish born Tobias Larsson has returned to the tent to co-direct and choreograph The Hot Spot. An actor, singer, dancer, circus and cabaret performer, choreographer and director, Tobias made his international debut at Lido de Paris and toured Europe with several shows including performances with Tina Turner and Olivia Newton-John. Most recently he co-directed Hail Caesar: Forbidden Oasis at Teatro ZinZanni in 2013, and since we last saw him at the tent, he has been reunited with Tommy Tune in New York City where they’re currently developing a new production for Broadway.
The live band for The Hot Spot includes Hans Teuber (musical director, woodwinds, bass, and everything else); Jose Martinez (drums); Steve Moore (trombone, keyboards); Tom Kellock (piano); David Peterson (guitar).
The Hot Spot plays February 5-7 (press night February 19) at Teatro ZinZanni (222 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98101). Ticket prices start at $99 and can be purchased online at ZinZanni.com/Seattle, by phone (206) 802-0015, or in-person at the Teatro ZinZanni Box Office (open Tuesday–Sunday, Noon-7:00 p.m.).