This Tupperware Party Ain’t No Drag

By Tony Peregrin in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 17, 2011 6:40PM

Don’t try to contain the Tupperware Lady from Alabama—Dixie Longate, the fast-talking, booze addicted, mother of three has plenty to say when she returns to Chicago this March as part of a 20-city national tour.

Loaded with the most up-to-date Tupperware products available for purchase, Longate dishes with her audience on how she became the number one Tupperware seller in the world, as she educates her guests on the many “alternative” uses she’s discovered for her Day-Glo plastic products. (You’ll never look at ribbed mugs or collapsible bowls quite the same.)

The one-woman show is written by Kris Andersson, an actor who quickly realized he could make an actual living by selling Tupperware and hosting parties as Miss Dixie Longate.

We flipped our lids as Andersson stayed in character for our interview, which includes Dixie's thoughts on why Tupperware is empowering for women and how she avoids making Baby Jesus cry.

Chicagoist: For the uninitiated, describe Dixie’s Tupperware Party. (You’re not really selling Tupperware on stage—or are you?)

Dixie Longate: Well, how do you describe something that smacks a big old grin on your face for an entire night and makes you giggle and swear for the whole next week? I'm not describing the greased pig chase at the Duncan County Fair. No, that is just one night with me. I talk about all the great Tupperware crap that you always saw your grand-mama using, but I kick it up a notch. It's just a hell of a lot of fun! And then at the end of the show, you can actually buy what I demonstrate in the show. What kind of person would I be if I spent all night showing you the best crap on the planet and then didn't give you the opportunity to get some? That would just make Baby Jesus cry.

C: How did you get from a trailer park in Mobile to off-Broadway in New York City?

DL: I've been doing Tupperware parties for 9 years. Then someone told me that I should make it into a show and put it on stage. At first, I thought he was nuts. Then I figured, why the hell not? If I can sell Tupperware to a living room full of drunk ladies in a trailer in Mobile, then I can sell it on a stage! Then it moved off-Broadway, and then in 2008, I went on the road. And this time, I wasn't doing it just to escape the law.

C: Dixie, we love your Technicolor wardrobe, girl. Tells us how you pull all these fab outfits together. (Is there anything you wouldn’t wear on stage?)

DL: I make all of my own outfits. I'm a bit of a whiz with a sewing machine and an old table cloth. Sometimes the stuff at the stores just isn't sexy enough, you know? I like to dress fancy when I can, but I don't get the occasion all that often except at the Tupperware Jubilee—that's the big convention that they do every year. I get to dress in my most sparkly dresses. Sometimes my daughter helps me by gluing glittery things and shells to the dress. She is so creative when she drinks. What would I never wear onstage? Maybe a live chicken. I don't think I would wear one of those. It might peck my head off.

C: You’ve stated that Tupperware is actually empowering for women. How so?

DL: Way back when, women didn't hold the place in society that we do today. I mean, we still have miles to go, but we sure have come a long way since the early days. Tupperware, when it got started, wasn't just a plastic bowl company. It was a company that provided a way for women to make a living, to be independent, and create a life for themselves. Having had a few setbacks in my life, as you might say, I have had to pick myself up by the boot straps more times than I care to remember. I'm a strong advocate for women taking charge of their lives and kicking some serious ass.

C: What is the balls-out most outrageous thing that has ever happened at a Dixie’s Tupperware Party?

DL: I have definitely had people pee their pants a little at some of the parties, and I have helped a woman to her car because she started to experience contractions during a party. That made it a little confusing come order-taking time, but I gave her a 42 cup "That's A Bowl" to take with her in case she needed to deliver right in the car. The doctor said that it was all her laughing that got her to start contractions earlier than the due date, but since they didn't name the baby after me, I think I am taking that story with a rim of salt, just like a good shot of tequila.

Dixie’s Tupperware Party runs March 18—May 15, 2011 at the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St..