Whether modeling a fashionable house-arrest bracelet, sporting an alarming Speedo or just wandering (drink in hand) through the night looking for his pal Randy, Keefee has been a fixture of the Tallahassee gay bar culture for longer than anybody cares to remember. He was born in Florida, and everybody expected him to die there. Well, life's funny, isn't it? For reasons even he isn't sure of, Keefee now finds himself in Las Vegas dealing blackjack at Shenanigans, a low-rent casino just off-off-off the Vegas Strip.
On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21 at The Paradise Theatre School, he's not just any dealer; he's your dealer in "Keefee's House of Cards."
Using state-of-the-art technology and a little bit of magic, The Paradise Theatre School will be transformed into Shenanigans, referred to in several Vegas tourism guides as the "Gaming House of Broken Dreams." Take a stroll past Shenanigan's 23-hour-a-day buffet, where the motto is "If It's Fried, It's Fresh!" Watch lucky audience members belly up to the table and play blackjack live with Keefee in this thoroughly unique theater-going experience. Keefee deals a mean game of blackjack while he rambles, sasses and shares stories from a love life lived fully - if not wisely or well. But please, don't tell the pit boss.
This creation of local theater artist Stephen Hando has been delighting and raising the eyebrows of Seattle audiences for years with short snippets of his alcohol-fueled Southern misadventures. It's high time he got his own feature-length platform.
"The Paradise Theatre School is thrilled to be presenting the first full-length show to showcase this decidedly un-PC creation," said Pattie Miles Van Beuzekom, co-artistic director of The Paradise.
Hando has collaborated with director Jennifer Jasper and performer Erik Van Beuzekom, who plays Keefee's nemesis, Pit Boss.
Stephen Hando is the artistic director of Printer's Devil Theater, which has produced 10 new works by Seattle authors since he took over in 2001. Hando has written and performed two solo works: "Stephen Hando's Late Night Porn Show" and "Cruisin'." He is also a member of the dance duo Juliet and Stephen, which focuses on creating and performing original dance/theater pieces. Recently the duo's work was featured as part of the Northwest New Works Festival at On the Boards in Seattle. As an actor, Hando has production credits with many local companies, including Seattle Children's Theater, Book It Repertory Theatre, Piece of Meat Theater, Greek Active, and Printer's Devil.
Jennifer Jasper has been performing and directing in Seattle for almost 20 years. She was cofounder of Kings Elephant Theatre and cofounder of Pulp Vixens. She has been performing her own work in various forms, including stand-up comedy and monologues, and is now developing a one-woman show for 2010. Most recently, she can be seen hosting Von Foxies burlesque as the scotch-swilling "Maggie."
Please note that no real gambling takes place in this show. No money changes hands. No prizes of any kind will be awarded.
"Heck, we're not even gonna use a professional blackjack table because doing so would be against regulations, and we're law-abiding citizens as well as artists," said Hando. "If the night gets to be a little too much for you, don't worry, Shenanigans has a defibrillator. Somewhere. I'm sure Keefee knows where it is; he used it last week to fend off that creepy guy from Omaha."
Both performances start at 8 p.m. Tickets, $12, are available at brownpapertickets.com, at The Food Co-op, 414 Kearney St., or by calling 800-838-3006. The Paradise Theatre School is located in the old country chapel with the red roof at 161 Center Road in Chimacum, 500 feet south of the Beaver Valley and Center crossroads. Contact Pattie Miles Van Beuzekom at 643-3493 or info@theparadisetheatreschool.org.
