Playbill News: Dixie's Tupperware Party Will Burp Its Way Across America; Tour Launches in AZ
By Kenneth Jones
24 Jul 2008
Dixie's Tupperware Party, the Off-Broadway comedy that is part interactive play and part Tupperware party, starring 2008 Drama Desk nominee Dixie Longate, will be seen on a 20-city national tour starting Sept. 16 at Tucson's Invisible Theatre.
Produced by Down South LLC and written by Kris Andersson, the show "brought Tupperware-mania to Off-Broadway."
Directed by Patrick Richwood, Dixie's Tupperware Party stars Longate "as the fast-talking Tupperware Lady, who has packed up her catalogues, and left her children in an Alabama trailer park to journey across America."
The "good ol' fashioned Tupperware Party" is filled with outrageously funny tales, heartfelt accounts, free giveaways, audience participation and the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold on a theatre stage."
The show is "loaded with the most up-to-date products available for purchase." According to production notes, "See for yourself how Ms. Longate became the No. 1 Tupperware seller in the U.S. and Canada as she educates her guests on the many alternative uses she has discovered for her plastic products!"
The show will feature costumes "designed by Miss Longate" and lighting designed by Richard Winkler.
The comedy was originally produced at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival. A more fully realized production played Off-Broadway's Ars Nova in 2007.
For more information about Dixie's Tupperware Party visit www.DixiesTupperwareParty.com.
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For the uninitiated, Tupperware is the brand name for plastic storage containers that keep food fresh by providing an airtight seal. The "burping seal" is a famous aspect of Tupperware. The products were uniquely distributed via grass-roots directing-marketing "Tupperware parties" where homemakers would get demonstrations of the product and place orders.
Doug Stone's Sealed for Freshness, a comedy about Midwestern housewives at a Tupperware party, had a brief life Off-Broadway in 2007.
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A partial list of the tour cities and play dates for Dixie's Tupperware Party follows:
TUCSON, AZ
Invisible Theater
Sept. 16-Oct. 5
www.invisibletheatre.com/
DES MOINES, IA
Temple Theater
Oct. 8-19
www.civiccenter.org/index.php
MADISON, WI
Capitol Theater
Oct. 22-Nov. 2
www.overturecenter.com/
WEST PALM BEACH, FL
Kravis Center
Nov. 11-16
kravis.org/dix
HUNTSVILLE, AL
Merrimack Hall
Nov. 18-23
www.merrimackhall.com
CLEARWATER, FL
Ruth Eckerd Hall
Nov. 25-29
www.rutheckerdhall.com
MELBOURNE, FL
The King Center - Studio Theater
Dec. 2-7
www.kingcenter.com
MESA, AZ
Nesbitt/Elliott Playhouse
Jan. 7-25, 2009
www.mesaartscenter.com
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
River Room
Feb. 3-8, 2009
www.browardcenter.org
AURORA, IL
Copley Theater
March 5-15, 2009
www.paramountarts.com
CHARLOTTE, NC
Booth Playhouse
March 24-29, 2009
www.blumenthalcenter.org
ASHEVILLE, NC
Diana Wortham Theatre
March 31-April 5, 2009
www.dwtheatre.com
STUART, FL
The Lyric Theatre
April 14-18, 2009
www.lyrictheatre.com
BIRMINGHAM, AL
The Virginia Samford Theatre
April 21-May 3, 2009
www.virginiasamfordtheatre.org