Thursday, July 13, 2017

Laughing Stock: Retro Game Show

Posted By on Thu, Jul 13, 2017 at 9:00 AM


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At 6’ 6”, Tucson’s Patrick Holt is an imposing drag queen. But height’s the least of the assets he brings to his alter-ego, Tempest DuJour. There’s also the drop-dead fabulousness of her costumes, created by the head of the UA’s costume design program—Holt, himself. Her sass is comedy gold, too.

What doubtless earned Tempest a spot in Ru Paul’s Drag Race, though, is her megawatt charisma. As an emcee, her performance is brash, sophisticated, and funny, but it's as kind as it is subversive. Tempest openly cherishes the quirks and complexities of human nature.

Since her star turn as a “Ru girl,” she has scored gigs in Brazil, Australia and the UK among other drag hotspots. “The exposure is amazing,” Holt says. “We get booked regularly to perform all over the world.”

Yet Tempest still finds time to emcee the Retro Game Show, an original entertainment that Holt created with David Hoffman almost six years ago. Hoffman, a graphic designer, prop-builder and all ‘round creative mind also serves as producer. The format allows Tempest to cross over from traditional drag shows for gay audiences, to a format that can play to widely diverse audiences, anywhere.

“It's not a drag show,” Holt says. “(They’re not) going to see someone lip-synching. It's a game show that happens to be hosted by a drag queen. Some of our more popular shows are Sassword, The Wheel of Misfortune, The $9.95 Pyramid. We just added BattleMimes. It’s like charades, but you have to wear a mime mask and a beret and white gloves.” It’s also original and exclusive to the Retro Game Show.

“My favorite is Sassword because it was the first thing we ever did, and it's really so much about the contestants. I love that the most.” Holt says it’s impossible to profile a perfect guest, but “If I call their names and they walk up to the stage with a cocktail in their hand—I pray for those.”

See Retro Game Show at 7 p.m., the second or third Saturday of every month at Club Congress, 311 East Congress Street. Follow Retro Game Show Night on Facebook for each month’s schedule and advance ticket information. Admission is $12 for the “splash zone” an $10 for available seats and standing room the evening of the show.

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