You can never have too much Tupperware, so luckily for us, fast-talking Southern saleswoman Dixie Longate will be peddling her “fantastic plastic crap” here in Los Angeles. Starting July 8, the belle of off-Broadway will be bringing her hit show Dixie’s Tupperware Party to the Geffen Theater. To promote SoCal’s run of the hilarious production, the Alabama trailer park princess dialed us up and gave us a holler.
“A lot of times people will say, ‘Hey, I don’t wanna go to a Tupperware party. That sounds boring,’” explains Dixie. “Trust me, you’re gonna be laughing and giggling and having a good time. And I do games and prizes and raffles, and you can get up onstage and have some fun with that. Oh, it’s worth it. It’s gonna be a night you’re never gonna forget.”
If it’s anything like some of Dixie’s past Tupperware parties, ‘forgettable’ is the last word you’d use to describe it. She has a nagging tendency to attract drama wherever she goes, which she has no problem admitting.
“I did a nudist Tupperware party one time where everybody was naked,” says Dixie, “and I tell you what, they got to talking about storing their cucumber and it took a whole different turn. Then, one time, it was so funny, I was talking about a brand-new product that I had, and this old lady, she started chokin’ and coughin’ and we all rushed over to her. I said, ‘Oh my Lord, is she OK?’ I thought she was havin’ a heart attack. I was so concerned. It turns out she had been laughin’ so hard she coughed her teeth into her hand.”
“You never know what’s gonna happen,” Dixie continues. “I almost had a lady give birth one time. She was real, real close to givin’ birth, and I said, ‘Well, I got a big old bowl that we could store the baby in if it comes to that.’ But towards the end of the party, she actually did have to leave and rush to the hospital because she was givin’ birth.”
L.A. audiences can surely expect this caliber of crazy at the Geffen (something that doesn’t happen with every show, most likely), along with a hearty helping of Dixie’s signature fashion sense. She proudly creates all of her eccentric ensembles from scratch.
“Most of the stuff that I have, I’ve made myself,” she says. “I have this gingham dress that I wear a lot that I made from an old 4th of July tablecloth. I like to recycle, you know. I had to cut around some of the gravy stains that look so un-Christian, but it’s perfect. It’s so damn cute, I wear it sometimes to church. And I wear panties in that case, ‘cause Jesus is watching’, but every time else it’s so breezy, I just go with nothing.”
The Geffen has no clue the storm of Tupperware-sellin’ crazy that’s coming its way.
Dixie’s Tupperware Party
Geffen Playhouse
July 8 - Aug. 3
geffenplayhouse.com