Island man in Ujima Theater production

by Dennis Keefe
Grand Island Dispatch, April 15, 2005

Island resident Dennis Keefe plays the role of a judge in the current Ujima Theater Company production of “A Matter of Intent.”

The play is on stage this month at Ujima’s TheaterLoft site at 545 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.

Keefe plays Judge James Gavin in the production directed by Philip Knoerzer and written by Gary Earl Ross.

“A Matter of Intent” is an intense courtroom drama set in the era when Kennedy and Nixon are vying for the presidency as lunch counter sit-ins spread throughout the South. Black women lawyers in Buffalo can be counted on a single hand. One of them, Temple Scott, played by Ujima founder Lorna Hill, is locked in the courtroom fight of her life. A young black woman the press calls the Negro Lizzie Borden is accused of murdering her employer. The lawyer must uncover the story behind the killing to save her client from the electric chair.

Keefe, as the judge, must keep the trial focused on the evidence.

Keefe has acted in numerous plays for Ujima, the Alleyway Theatre, the Buffalo Ensemble Theatre and the Theatre of Youth, all in Buffalo. He directed a play and acted in several productions for the Parish Players on Grand Island. Keefe also has been in two feature films.

“A Matter of Intent” is on stage at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 6 p.m. Sundays through April 24.

For tickets or more information, call Ujima’s box office at 883-0380. The Web site is www.ujimatheatre.org.