Dixie's Tupperware Party

Visit Dixie's Online Tupperware Store

Dixie Longate, the fast-talking, redheaded parolee from Alabama, brings “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” to the Lied Center October 20-25. 
 
Dixie is a hot Hazard County incarnation of Australia’s Dame Edna. Part Mary Poppins and part Oprah Winfrey. She’s a tall drink of water with fiery red hair and a tasteful polyester rodeo dress adorned with half-naked cowboys. As the story goes, Dixie packed up her catalogues, left her three children back in an Alabama trailer park and is now traveling the country gathering all of you lovely ladies and handsome gents together to talk all about your food storage options.  
 
In an interview, Dixie gave her alter ego, Kris Andersson, credit as the show’s creator and writer. “He is such a sweet angel,” she gushed. “He came out and helped me put this together, so it wasn’t just me rambling around. He situated it all in a pretty package. He’s a good writer — and so handsome.” Dixie’s party started in 2001 when Andersson, an actor in Los Angeles, attended a Tupperware party and accepted a dare from a friend to host one himself — in drag. People loved it, and Andersson adapted the party for a stage show, which premiered at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival. “Dixie’s Tupperware Party” opened off-Broadway in 2007, earning Andersson a Drama Desk Award nomination (outstanding solo performance), and in 2008 started touring. 
 
The way Dixie tells it, she started selling Tupperware as a condition of her parole. “My parole officer said, ‘You need a job in order to get your kids back,’” she says. “That’s one thing about prison: You get out, and you think freedom, but they give your kids to you.” And as for why she’s on parole? ” Anything I’ve been taken to prison for has always been little things. Nothing big.” 
 
When guests arrive at her party, they’ll find a Tupperware catalog at their seats and piles of Tupperware products onstage. (And you’ll realize this Tupperware party might be a little more bawdy than most.) Onstage, Dixie tells the audience a little about the origins of Tupperware, now a cultural icon as fixed in your memory as that red-orange pitcher your mom or grandma used for serving Kool-Aid. Tupperware products, created by Earl Silas Tupper, were introduced in the late 1940s. The containers were made from plastic, which wasn’t commonly available, and their airtight “burping” seals were inspired by paint-can lids. In the show, Dixie draws upon the example of Brownie Wise , a pioneering Georgia divorcee who was largely responsible for the success of Tupperware through her ingenious idea to sell plastic bowls and cups at home parties. In 1954, Wise became the first woman to appear on the cover of Business Week magazine – and a role model for generations of women to come. “Brownie was told her idea was dumb and that she had no business being in a male-dominated world.” She was determined to prove them wrong. “Dixie is not far off from the Brownie Wise model,” Andersson says. “She’s been talked down to by society. She’s been told she’s good for nothing. She has been on the losing end of a lot of moments in her life. Just like a lot of women who come to see our show.” The message they hear from Dixie, Andersson says, “is that you are not beholden to anyone else’s idea of who you are supposed to be. You, too, can pick yourself up by the bootstraps and make a better life for yourself. People want Dixie in their lives because she represents a kind of strength they maybe don’t have or see in themselves.” 
 
Dixie herself has peddled more than $1 million in Tupperware products over the years, ranking as the company’s top sales representative. People aren’t required to buy Tupperware at her parties, but they’ll still walk away with something valuable, Dixie promises. “It’s fun and lively, and you’ll get some giggles,” she says. “It will make you feel better about yourself. You’ll walk away feeling a bit of empowerment, ready to see what you can do in the world.” 
 
Recently, Dixie has taken the show OFF the road and into people’s homes through social media. Some people help their community with food or monetary donations, others serve in essential industries like healthcare or law enforcement. Then there are the select few like Dixie, whose main commodity is laughter. Dixie says she enjoys providing comic relief to those who may be struggling during this stressful time. From how to keep the kids busy to ways to cope with social distancing, Dixie shares hilarious tips that serve more as entertainment than actual advice. Her main goal is to use her gift of comedy to help people feel connected while lifting their spirits. “On my Facebook I’m doing a bunch of stuff, so if friends want to come on and just chat with me, I’m keeping everybody light,” said Dixie. Dixie reminds us that we’re all just doing our best, and that no matter what you’re going through you will eventually get through it. As the saying goes, laughter is the best medicine. Dixie would also argue that vodka helps too.  
 
So, after seeing her fantastic show at the Lied Center October 20-25, if you find yourself wanting more Dixie in your life, join her on social media for a virtual happy hour that’s sure to provide plenty of CHEERS.