Dixie Longate

Dixie Longate is hosting a Tupperware party in Chicago and you are invited. This 2008 Drama Desk Award-nominated show is full of southern charm. Read on as Dixie pops her top in an exclusive ChicagoPride.com interview by Jerry Nunn.

JN: (Jerry Nunn) Howdy, Dixie!

DL: (Dixie Longate) So nice to meet me, isn't it?

JN: Well, yes it is. Is this your first time in Chicago?

DL: No, I have done a few little shows before. You are with the homosectional website right? Ever heard of Hydrate?

JN: Yes, you know Sean?

DL: Oh Jeezus, of course! I did a few shows there in the past. They are just angels there so we had a great time. But this is the first time we are doing the whole tour program. I can't wait.

JN: So this is world tour?

DL: Yes, this is our 42nd city. I don't care for people so the fact that I am doing it is amazing.

JN: You are here for a long time.

DL: We are here for eight weeks. If all goes well then we will talk about staying for a couple more days. You know I am real busy… from what I understand the Chicago audiences love the theater.

JN: My mom used to have Tupperware parties back in the seventies.

DL: She is a good person. That is why…

JN: She had them on top of the pool table in Tennessee.

DL: You can have them anywhere just throw a tablecloth down and there you go. It is so fun. You go into people's homes and push the baby stroller out of the way and set it up, You can really sell it if you have a good hostess.

JN: It is all about the hostessing? It doesn't just sell itself.

DL: You have to understand people's food storage needs. If you can get them to drink then it's even easier to sell.

JN: Refreshments are important then. It's not just lemonade?

DL: You know the saying, "When God gives you lemons put some vodka in it and drink until you fall over!"

JN: Do you have a favorite piece of Tupperware recently?

DL: The can opener is amazing. It is like Jesus came and sat in my hand. We also have these bowls that collapse down and pop up to stick things in that I like too. I love the Jell-o shot caddy.

JN: That would be good for Gay Pride.

DL: Pride? Hell, that's good for church! Sunday morning if you want to get through that sermon then have a shot first.

JN: I am sure that helped Johnny Cash when I went to church with him in the south.

DL: You went to church with him? Was he always as drunk then?

JN: My church was in the Walk the Line movie. He always showed up with a big entourage. It was like he was God because everyone paid attention to him.

DL: Then he would sing "Ring of Fire" when they were supposed to be singing "Joyful Joyful."

JN: Exactly! They wanted his money for the collection plate.

DL: See that's the thing, if you make money then they want it for the collection plate. When they found out I was doing well with Tupperware then the congregation that I was in wanted my money. I got in so much trouble one time. You know those shot glasses that they fill up with wine? I was slamming them.

JN: That is grape juice! We didn't drink real wine that I know of…

DL: You were at the wrong church. They gave me real wine! I started taking things out of the collection plate and they told me to put it back. I needed parking money!

JN: Well, it sounds like this party will be a lot of fun. Tupperware parties were so important for women back in the day.

DL: A lot of them didn't have an education or finish high school. People wanted to do things other than be housewives. I just came from a Tupperware convention in Vegas with all the top sellers where we launch new programs but lots of recognition for these women. One of the top sellers was a Hispanic woman that had been cleaning people's homes. In four years she went from basically nothing to a top director in the company. She has earned a trip for selling three years in a row. She went to Brazil, on a cruise to Alaska and never thought she would go anywhere.

JN: Tupperware changes lives!

DL: It totally changes them because the company is not just a plastic bowl company. A lot of people don't know the story of the company. If I can introduce that to young people then that's good. They just thumb their nose at everything. You can't all be Paris Hilton and weigh one pound and be rich because you are a whore!

JN: Do you have a favorite color of Tupperware?

DL: You know the colors change all of the time. Every time they come out with something new I always hate it at first but then I grow to love it. I had my old Jell-o shot caddy and it was blue on the bottom and sort of clear like frosted on the top. That is my very favorite blue with frosted.

JN: We used to have a popsicle maker.

DL: We have them. We have Mickey Mouse heads on them now.

JN: I forgot about those!

DL: Aren't they great?

JN: Yes but sometimes hard to get out the frozen popsicle without breaking them.

DL: Sometimes they were but then you would get them out and suck on them.

JN: It was made with Kool-Aid.

DL: Well, if that's what you want. I put alcohol in them because I am an overachiever. But yeah you can suck on it and sit in the living room watching cartoons until it gets on the couch and your momma beats the shit out of you!

JN: I got beat with a fly swatter!

DL: Ohhh, wasn't that fun? Isn't it funny how there are no fly swatters now? Where did all the flies go? Remember in the seventies when there were flies everywhere? Where the hell are they?

JN: I don't know. Are you going out on the town?

DL: I am in and out for this trip but when the show runs I will. The theatre is right by the homosectional part of town. I like Minibar and what is that place with the purple drinks?

JN: Sidetrack!

DL: I said, "I want that frozen drink and I don't care what it tastes like!" It tasted like heaven. Last time I was in town it was during the leather convention.

JN: During IML? That must have been crazy!

DL: I went to that hotel downtown, where they have the big event and I went to all of them vendor booths. They invited me to come on down so I thought I could pick up something for my grandma. I didn't find much for her but I found Christmas gifts for all of my friends. The things I learned down there! I got an eyeful that day and a pocketful of phone numbers.

JN: I bet you did. Talking to you has been like having my own little private show.

DL: You are a doll!

The southern belle arrives at the Royal George Theatre Cabaret, 1641 N Halsted, March 18

and stays through May 15. For more information about how you can attend the party log onto www.dixiestupperwareparty.com or www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com.