Burning Opera

Whatever you think, it’s not what you think.
This is an opera. Well-​rehearsed, well-​produced, imaginatively staged, nipple-​tinglingly choreographed, heart-​tuggingly scored, researched in blood and sweat and other psychotropic fluids, and oh yeah, it’s funny, too.
The seats are closer to the action than the usual TZ setup, which means no where to prop your elbow (no tables in the inner ring) but overall better sightlines. Plus, virtually no wait for the bathroom.
Get there early and mingle, especially if you’re virgins like us. Give to anyone carrying a basket — these kids are buying their own glowsticks and eyelashes. That’s worth a little tip for a card reading.
Hope they take this on the road. If you get another chance to see it, do.

It’s a great show, especially for the money. It’s inspiring, educational, fun, everything I wanted. It brought back many Burning Man memories, good, bad and plain weird. If you’re looking for a memorable, singable theater experience that’s fun to talk about later over cocktails, this is for you.

An exuberant, madcap trip through the Burning Man looking glass. I loved the costumes and the writing and the varied musical score. A sarcastic trickster-​bunny wields a megaphone and channels William S. Burroughs; three witches stir up sandstorms and high emotions; three newbies wander the Playa confused. And that’s just the beginning. I’ve never been to Burning Man, but I really enjoyed the show.

I’ve never been to Burning Man and still enjoyed this show. Teatro ZinZanni is the perfect location and the audience was as excited to be there as the cast was to perform for us. All in all a great time!

So, you wanna know what Burning Man is like but the idea of a week in the hot, dusty desert puts you off? Then go see «How to Survive the Apocalypse» in a limited run at Teatro ZinZanni.
This is the rock opera version of Burning Man and includes a little history along with the voyage of 3 Burning Man virgins as they attend their first Burning Man.
The music and the casting is first rate. (The first solo by the dreadlocked greeter could have closed any rock concert… almost too good to be that early in the show.) The story meanders a bit and spends a little too much time on the history of Burning Man (for my taste). Then there’s the whole transformative nature of Burning Man, which I don’t disagree with, but I don’t think it necessarily requires either sex or drugs to experience. But the bones of the show are excellent and with a little trimming they seriously could have the next «Rocky Horror Picture Show» on their hands.
If they added dust, fire and lots more art… well, it still wouldn’t be Burning Man, but it’d be close. (There’s no fire as Teatro ZinZanni is an antique speigeltent (or something along those lines… basically it’s cloth, it’s historical and they can’t allow fire.) And how can they not have a symbolic burning of The Man at the END?! (everyone’s a director, eh?)
So, while you can go see «How to Survive the Apocalypse»…it’ll be hitting the road for Los Angeles soon and a year or two from now you’ll be kicking yourself for not having gone sooner.
Besides, for the quality of the show in such a small venue, the ticket price is a bargain!
One caution: Unlike Teatro ZinZanni’s regular show, this is not a dinner show. You can get bar food and drinks, but there isn’t a full dinner. Just a warning if you’ve been to TZ’s performances before and expect a similar structure.

I went to Burning Opera last night with my boyfriend and had an amazing time. Absolutely amazing.
The venue, Teatro ZinZanni, was easy to get to on public transit which is a big plus for me. Entering the tent was like entering a mixture of a circus and a boudoir– very sexy and fun. Drinks were pricey, which I anticipated anyway, and the bar tenders took a while to serve each drink, but it just gave us more time to mingle with the other Burners.
Seating was a little complicated– we were told to sit in seats without a pink cable tie on it, which took a little doing by the time we had gotten drinks and headed in to be seated. Sitting on small chairs when I couldn’t lean back (I was in a corset) was… interesting. However, as soon as the music started, I wasn’t paying attention to anything else.
The performance was amazing. I’m not an old skool Burner or anything, but I know the history, and I felt that this opera summed it up well while being fair to everyone involved. The journey of discovery, while definitely played for chuckles, also really touched me, because I know that moment too. The costumes were great (but, it’s a bunch of Burners, of course they were), the music was fantastic and varied, and the lyrics were at times hilarious and at times moving, much like the event itself. I loved the little dance party in the middle and at the end, and there were all these little touches that just made it really work for me.
It seems like if you wanted to go to a performance at Teatro Zinzanni, this is the one to hit! I definitely recommend it.