In a podcast exclusive, Brett Cullum gets to talk to legendary icon Dixie Longate. Dixie is in residence at Stages Houston until April 20th, doing her last round of a whirlwind tour that has been happening since 2008! Dixie is the creation of actor Kris Andersson who, in a rare switcheroo, allows QUEER VOICES to talk to him and Dixie in one session. You get all the sass of the plastic pusher as well as the insight from the man who made her. In the end, we find out that Dixie is a loving tribute to women everywhere who have to stand up for themselves. Also, Dixie was in a huge controversy after her run at the Kennedy Center, which sparked ire from some politicians. You can't get a voice any queerer than Dixie's or Kris'.
For tickets:
https://stageshouston.com/event/dixies-tupperware-party/
Dixie's Tupperware page:
https://mytwpage.com/dixielongate
Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here. Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond. Check out our socials at:
https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ and
https://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Dixie Longate has been selling Tupperware in her
theatrical party since 2007.
This has become a sensation and, believe it or not, you can
actually order Tupperware atthis theater show.
She actually sells this stuff.
It's hilarious, and all of itis the genius move of Chris
Anderson, who had a film and adrag career even before this
(00:22):
madness started.
Now Dixie is going to be atStages for a two-week run.
Tickets are already sellingfast about as fast as plastic
containers, to be honest.
So welcome to Queer Voices,chris, or rather Dixie, both of
you at once.
What?
I will flip back and forthbetween both voices.
This is a shock, because I'veonly heard Dixie, so Chris's
(00:45):
voice is very different.
That's amazing, chris.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I am so good.
What an honor to have you.
I am just amazed because I'veheard about this for years.
I mean, everybody always talksabout this show and how
wonderful it is.
Please tell me how all of thisgot started with this Tupperware
party.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It was interesting.
I went to a Tupperware partyyears ago in 2001 with a couple
of friends of mine and a friendof mine said oh my God, the
woman that was doing the partywas trying to basically recruit
everybody at the party and afriend of mine that was there
said oh, you should do it, you'dbe great, you'd do it in
character, that would be sofunny.
(01:24):
And he kind of dared me to doit in drag and so I created this
character, this kind ofSouthern housewife from the
wrong side of the tracks, andjust did a couple Tupperware
parties.
And it caught on and more andmore people were inviting me to
do parties and I was going upthe ranks of the Tupperware
Corporation as a consultant andselling more and more Tupperware
.
And I was going up the ranks ofthe Tupperware Corporation as a
(01:45):
consultant and selling more andmore Tupperware.
And it was interesting.
I would go to these.
I was living in LA at the timeand I would do a lot of my
parties in Orange County, whichis just south of LA, and
obviously, famously, the OrangeCounty housewives dominate that
area.
This is before that TV show wason, but the same women were
there, you know, and I would goto the parties and they would be
(02:06):
fascinated with me.
They would always ask me youknow, oh, tell me about you.
And I'm, you know, in fullcharacter.
I'm setting up my Tupperwaretable before the party and I
would say, oh, I'm Dixie, andyou know, this is my, you know,
I'm from Alabama and I've beendoing this.
And then I'd turn it on them.
I say, well, tell me about you.
And they would say, oh, well,you know, my husband does this.
And I'd say, okay, well then,tell me about you.
(02:26):
And they say, well, I've gottwo kids, you know, one's in
soccer, one's in ballet.
And I kept noticing how thesewomen would talk around
themselves.
You know, their identity wascompletely linked to other
people.
And so when I I I told a friendof mine who's a director in New
York, oh, I'm doing this thingnow, I'm doing these Tupperware
parties.
And he's the one who said, oh,this should be a show, you need
(02:48):
to turn this into something.
And so I kind of wrote it as alove letter to the unsung women
that don't see their ownstrength, and I put it together.
We took it to New York as partof the New York International
French Festival back in 2004.
New York as part of the NewYork International French
Festival back in 2004.
And that was seen by a numberof people.
That kind of had some influence.
They moved it up the food chainand I ended up having an
(03:12):
off-Broadway developmental runin 2007, which led to the tour.
And it was a very differentshow at that time because there
were a lot of hands on that showwhen it went into New York and
so it wasn't exactly the show Iwanted to do.
And so when the tour wasalready connected to it, but the
tour was going to end up beingtoo expensive the way they
(03:32):
wanted to do it, so I kind ofrewrote it and stripped it all
down to what it needed to be,which is a love letter to women,
and so that's how it ended upgoing on the road in 2008.
And the booker at the timethought we'd maybe get a year
out of it at most, maybe 18months, and 17 years later the
show is still going, and this ismy final year.
(03:55):
I'm wrapping everything up inthe fall.
So as far as the road isconcerned, I'm wrapping up.
I've got bigger designs pastthat, but that's how it all came
to be, and so it's a funopportunity to go.
You know people kind ofunderestimate what the show is.
They think it's going to be asilly little show about a
Tupperware party and it ends uphaving this message about
(04:17):
resilience and finding your owncourage and your own strength
and lifting yourself up.
And people are always kind ofsucker punched by that and it
inspires people to walk awayfrom the show, kind of valuing
themselves a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I mean, that's a lot, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I'm not good at one word answers, but no, that's
amazing though, but okay, and ifyou want to, you can answer
this as Dixie.
I would just like to know whois Dixie.
Where did you come from, dixie?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
She is.
Well, listen, I have had acouple of run-ins, I've been
married three times.
I have three kids that I knowof, you know, and there, yeah,
you know, I, I, I start.
I was doing things.
I never thought I would be atough word lady.
I was doing things thatnormally weren't.
You know, panning out from whereI was from, and you know my
mama said I'm not pretty enoughto work at this trip, but I was
(05:09):
bendy enough and so, but I wouldcome from a place that they
didn't throw dollars, they'dthrow quarters, and I wouldn't
want to go through my 20sgetting these little bruises all
over me.
So I said no, I'm on part ofthe conditions of my parole.
My parole officer, when I gotout one time, she said you know
you need a job in order to getyour kids back.
And I was like, who wants that?
That's no, you know, I didn'tmind the job so much, but
(05:32):
getting the kids back, that's alaw that needs to be changed,
obviously.
And so I started.
She's the one who suggested Istart SoundTepware and I did it
and I became top SoundTpperwarelady in the entire United States
and Canada, which is so crazy.
But I would go to thesejubilees, the big Tupperware
convention, and that's reallywhat got inspiring to me,
because I would watch all thesewomen get celebrated for what
they were doing you know,selling Tupperware and having
(05:54):
their own business and I waslike, oh, I want to be like that
.
I want to get up on stage andbe recognized like all these
other great ladies are being,and so that's what, what you
know, really got me going in thewhole Tupperware thing and to
be able to go into people'shomes and share some quality,
creative food storage solutionswith them and be able to laugh
and drink.
You know, this is the bottomline.
I get to drink for free at workand that's really why you do
(06:16):
any job.
If you don't get to do that,you need to really reconsider
what you're doing for a living.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You're doing something wrong if you can't do
your job.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, I know I mean, that's the thing I was like when
I went to my first party.
The host said would you like acocktail?
I said oh no, I'm working she'slike, but it's a party and I
said I'm staying in this jobforever.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Now, are you, like, related to Reba McIntyre at all,
because you look A lot likeReba.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Oh my God, that is the nicest compliment anyone's
ever given me, all the time.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
No.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
I'm not, I don't, I'm not related to anybody that I'm
aware of, and so you know it'sjust.
I'm just a southern redhead.
That's what happens, you know.
You get in the south andeverybody's kind of related to
everybody else, whether theyknow it or not, because you know
the population down there iswe're longing for something of
meaning, and so sometimes mamagets behind the dumpster and
(07:04):
finds something on a fridaynight.
You never know what you'regonna be doing.
You know how it is.
Nine months later mistakes aremade always now.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Okay, you were at stages until april 20th how did
you connect with stages?
How did they get dixie?
Longgate?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
well, I have been in houston a couple times before I
had been at the Tuts, presentedme the first time I came through
a theater under the stars atthe Hobby Center and then I was
brought back two different timesthere.
And then I've also playedGalveston at the Opera House
three times.
And then I think it was justMitchell Greco, who's one of the
(07:40):
members that runs the wholething, reached out and he said,
hey, you're pretty.
And I was like it's true, Ican't help it because of Jesus
or whatever.
And then he said you won't cometo your program here and I said
I'd love that.
That would be so fun.
So it was just about peopleknowing me from you know haven't
been here before and they werelooking for some fun programming
for their season.
And they said, well, we'd liketo try this because we had seen
(08:06):
the show over at the HobbyCenter.
We really we really got agiggle and we thought our
audiences over here would enjoythe show a lot.
So they said let's come on in.
So two weeks I'm here and I'mhaving a good time.
I mean, everything in Houstonis fantastic, so I'm having a
good time here and everybody'sso naively.
It's very interesting becausetheir audiences that go to the
Performing Arts Center aresomewhat different than the
audiences that go to stages, andso it's you know where I go to
the Performing Arts Center.
People know me, they're used tome because I've been there a
bunch, and so I'm sort of havingto rebuild an audience.
(08:30):
There's a lot of people comingover that have seen me before,
but there's a lot of people thatdon't know my show at all, over
the hobby and, sorry, at thestages, and so it's kind of like
building the reputation fromscratch, which is always an
interesting thing starting over,you know.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Now the scuttlebutt on this one is this is the last
tour for Dixie in thisTupperware party, and why end a
good thing?
I mean you got to go, and whyis this the last you know I have
?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
been on the road 17 years.
We never thought that.
You know, me and my team neverthought it would be this long,
and save for COVID when I wasoff the road for a little bit
because everything was shut down.
I've been hooking it for a longtime and I figured, you know
what, it's time to kind of windthe tour down on the road and
we're looking at taking the showto New York in the fall and
sitting it down off Broadway anddoing a long run there.
(09:19):
So that's going to.
You know, take me off the road.
But I said, you know I'm likeI'm not going nowhere, I'm just
going around.
But I thought, you know, I wantto kind of wrap it up and start
.
You know, end where I started,but be able to take the show
that I've been doing on the roadfor the last 17 years.
It's really kind of inspired meand inspired so many audience
members.
I want to take that and put itdown in New York and do it that
(09:41):
way to kind of book in the wholething.
So that's where I'm going.
But yeah, it's.
You know, I love being on theroad, but I think it's just time
.
You know, every chapter of yourlife ends and a new one begins.
I think it's time to write anew story.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Let's get serious here for just a second.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
So Kennedy Center you performed there, right, I did I
was very, very grateful.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
They invited me to do a month of shows last summer
and it was great, I mean it wasto be able to perform at such a
legendary venue and to be ableto I mean it was an honor.
It was an honor to step foot inthose hallowed halls and be
amongst the performers that havegotten to be there.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Now you're not invited back, are you?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Well, I don't know.
If you're aware, there's alittle bit of a scuttlebutt.
Yes, there is.
The president has decided thathe wants a very specific program
, and of which I am not countingmyself among, because they have
decided that they are going tocurate exactly what he wants to
see and not what the patronswant to see, necessarily, or
what people are used to.
(10:47):
I mean, the thing about artcenters is it's going to be a
diverse program and noteverybody's going to like
everything that's in there.
You're going to have opera andballet and you're going to have
poetry jams and you're going tohave musicals and plays, and not
everything is going to be yourcup of tea.
But the whole point of it isit's because everybody has
(11:09):
different artistic visions andthat should be able.
An art center should be able toshare all kinds of different
points of views and perspective,and the president doesn't seem
to think that that's a good idea.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I think that this is iconic.
Seriously, it is the biggestreason that I want to come see
you on this run and stages tosupport you, because this is
just amazing that they're tryingto even target this kind of
production or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, I mean it was very interesting to kind of be
called out basically personallyby the press why we can't have I
had done my show there and itwas in the name of the theater
there are six theaters in thebuilding in the name of the
theater that I performed in wascalled the Family Theater and
he's like, oh, we don't wantdrag shows for families.
(11:53):
And I was like, well, that's notwhat was happening.
It was the Family Theater, itwas my show and it's a show
about empowerment and it's alsoa show you never bothered to
step foot into the theater tosee.
So I don't know what you'retalking from, but it's again,
you know, it's an inspiring,empowering show and makes people
feel good and makes peoplegiggle, and so I'm not sure
what's wrong with that.
But that is, you know, I'm notable to.
(12:14):
I'm not able to fight past thatthing.
So that's I'm not going to be abad effect.
But you know what I'm gratefulto have been there.
The people that brought me inare sticking to the guns and
saying thank you so much forbeing part of our programming
and our legacy, and I'm veryhappy about that.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Well, I'm happy that you're going to be at Stages
through April 20th, because thatgives us a chance to see you
here.
I don't have to travel all theway to DC, yeah come on and see
you at some family theater.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
And the last night.
And so there's somebody cameout after the show and said I
got to see you in dc and that'swhy I came, because, like it was
a lady that lives here, butshe's like, I was in dc
traveling for work and the showpopped up there and I said, all
right, I'm gonna come and seewhat this show is.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
And then, because she had so much fun there, she came
to see it last night because, Imean, you're neck of the woods
you know I have to ask because II don't have a lot of it, but
if you have to buy one item ofTupperware, what do I need?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
You know it's all dependent on who you are and
what you do.
See my tumblers, you'll see, atthe program.
I have tumblers that are withme all the time and they have a
seal that you stick a straw inand so like, if you're drinking
and driving and you hit a babyor whatever, you're not going to
spill your drink because thelid on it is going to keep
anything from spilling, which isso nice, and you can drink
(13:25):
right through the lid, which isgreat.
That's something I couldn't bewithout.
I mean, and I put, like youknow, my morning vodka right on
the bedside table and then withthat, so if the cat walks on it
it's not going to get hair in itand it's not going to spill
over.
(13:46):
There's over, there's that.
There's my wine opener.
Like you'd be amazed whattupperware has.
There's everything's justplastic bowls, but there's so
much different stuff.
I have a wine opener that Ilove because I take it with me
in my glove box when I'm drivingplaces.
I get thirsty and parched.
There is a jello shot containerthat I take my jello shots to
church, to, you know, to servejesus and everything.
And there's so many good thingsthat you're going to see the
program you're going to be like.
I didn't even believe they hadall this.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
All right, I'm there and I'm ordering.
Finally, I want to ask Dixiewhat do you think of
Oreo-flavored Coke?
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Oh my God, Did you see that?
So people that know me, theyknow that I love Oreos and I
have all kinds of videos up onmy social media about different
Oreos.
Because Oreos have been goingthrough this thing in the last
couple of years where they'vebeen making all these different
flavors and they had this weirdcross-branding thing with Coke
where they did coke flavoredoreos and oreo flavored coke and
(14:33):
the coke flavored oreos.
The smell is a bit overwhelmingwhen you open up the package at
first, but this they actuallytaste pretty decent, but the
coke the oreo flavored coke is.
This is an abomination.
They should be ashamed ofthemselves.
They should sit in the cornerand cry until they know what
they did and what they unleashedon the rest of the world and
they need to understand and takethat accountability forward.
Because it is a flavor in yourmouth.
(14:55):
I had a bottle of it.
Let me explain to you.
It took me about four days toget through a single like 12
ounces, I think, because it theflavor is.
I've had things in my mouthbefore and this is not one that
I would repeat, you know, and Ikept it for so long because I
kept thinking that, well, maybeif I tried a different way.
It'll be okay.
Maybe if I tried in the morning, maybe I tried it after I've
(15:15):
already been drinking.
Maybe if I try it, you know,when it's flat, it will be
better.
No, no, it never improved, itjust got worse.
It just made the baby Jesus cryand it's already so moody.
You know you don't want to doanything to make it worse.
So, yeah, it was, it was.
It's something.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah you know, I I have to confirm.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I tried it, it was foul, it was really and you've
got to, you've got to wonder,because you know, companies this
big do all kinds of taste tests.
And I want to sequester thepeople in the room that was said
, oh, this is a good idea.
And that did that taste testand said this is the version you
need to put on the market, andI want to smack them upside the
head so hard.
Oh my lord, what's wrong withpeople that were like, oh yeah,
that'll be okay, you know, putthat out.
(15:54):
Oh no, no, what's wrong withpeople?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
well, what is a good idea is to go see dixie's
tupperware party at stagesthrough april 20th I believe
april 20th, yeah, next two weeks, two whole weeks, lots of shows
.
I even saw there's some ontuesday, wednesday, thursday.
I mean they, they're filling itevery day we have.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Monday is my day off, but we have every day of the
week and we've got matinee onsaturday and a matinee on
thursday, which is sointeresting you're doing
matinees on thursdays yeah, yeah, so sometimes, and thursday on
is very interesting, so you're,it's going to be like a luck of
the draw, you know, because theywanted to be able to give
people as many opportunities tobe able to see the show as
possible.
So they just like, do shows allthe time.
(16:33):
So I'm doing a Thursday matineetoo.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Okay, according to Chris's IMDB page, you have been
in some of my favorite movies,like Scream 2, hellbent, which
is this amazing gay horror flickthat everybody needs to see.
No, that's amazing and theiconic.
Of course, girls will be girls,with all of my favorite drag
(16:57):
queens so I'm wondering, youknow, when all of this wraps, if
dixie ever decides that it'stime to go, what's next for you?
Are you going to pursue morefilm?
Well, I mean, I say you're adancer, right?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, Well, I was back when my body moved.
That way I'm getting older.
So, you know, one of thereasons, one of the things I'm
looking forward to about takingthe show to New York, is to be
with people is to be with people.
You know, New York obviouslyhas a lot of theater, a lot of
film and TV, but also has a lotof resources for because I like
to create stuff.
So I mean I created Dixie, Icreated all the tours that I've
(17:38):
done.
I mean I've done four differentshows now under the Dixie
character, three of them liveand then one of them during the
pandemic.
I did a show called Dixie'sHappy Hour, which I went into a
small theater near where I livedand filmed it, and then we got
it streaming to 26 different artcenters around the country to
bring income in.
And so I, you know, and I'vedone all this stuff as Dixie,
(17:59):
but I'd like to create thingsand I want to be in a city where
I have access to more people,more resources, more ability and
opportunities to create otherthings.
So I have some things that I'mworking on, for sure, that are
in the early stages and mediumstages, and when I get there I'm
hoping to throw.
You know, throw out some widenets and meet some people and
(18:20):
collaborate on some things.
I don't see myself sitting downfor too long and just kind of
being lazy, so I'll be doing theshow every night there while
I'm there, but also during theday I'll be taking that time to
reach out and create a widersandbox with bigger toys to play
(18:41):
with.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Well, I look forward to seeing whatever comes next
for you, because Dixie obviouslyjust a beloved character and
just you've had an amazing run.
I really hope that you kind ofdo what some.
There's another performer thatcomes through stages a lot,
denise Fennell, and she does thesister shows at stages a lot,
but she also comes in as Denisesometimes and she'll do shows
(19:05):
where she's herself and she'lldo ones where she's sister and
it's amazing to watch her branchout and create new things and
always kind of spin things out.
So it's going to be amazing tosee what's next.
But I don't ever want Dixie togo away.
I definitely want her around.
We need someone to push thisTupperware.
(19:25):
Dixie will be here.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Even though I'm going to be off the road road, I'm
still gonna be very active onsocial.
I'll still be doing a lot ofstuff and, and you know, and
sharing smiles.
That's the one of the thingsthat I'm.
You know, and you talk to anyactor and any actor will say how
grateful they are if they getto do a long run of a show.
But to be a character that Igot to create and that's been
(19:50):
kind of inhabited my body nowfor, you know, 23 years, 24
years, it's, it's, it's great,it's great.
And the fact that people likeher probably more than they like
me, she's great.
I like her, you know, and it,but it's.
I'm very grateful, I'm verylucky to have created something
that's left kind of an indeliblemark on so many people's hearts
(20:11):
.
And so I don't, I don't foreseeher leaving necessarily anytime
soon.
She's just going to be off theroad for a while.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Well, Chris Anderson, where can we find you?
Where can we find DixieLongate's socials?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Dixie is all over social I am.
I have very limited socialbecause most of my life I've
been her.
I started this before socialmedia even existed, so it's
actually kind of funny.
So all my social is pretty muchher, except I have a small,
very small Instagram handle.
I don't even know what it isChris Anderson official but I
(20:44):
don't know, I don't know.
I've got to look at it becauseI don't even know.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
You've got to resurrect it now.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
It's funny because everybody knows Dixie but nobody
really gives a crap about Chris.
Let's save that Chris Andersonunderscore official and you know
most of the stuff I post on it.
It doesn't have a lot of stuffon it, but most of the stuff I
post on it is like, oh, apicture of me standing outside
an art center that Dixie's aboutto play.
So because she's the dominantforce in my life, she gets all
(21:13):
the attention.
But, yeah, you can find DixieLonggate on any of the social
platforms I'm not on.
Interestingly, I'm not onTikTok yet.
A lot of people have been like,oh, go on TikTok, go on TikTok.
There is a lot of my content onTikTok but none of it is.
But I've released people andlike, tagged it and stuff from
other platforms.
(21:33):
But and you know, I'm I'mhoping that I will probably
invest some time into creating aTikTok platform.
If it stays, I mean, nobodyknows what the hell's going to
happen with it, because everyother day there's another.
It might be going away.
It might be coming away, yeah,so, but I'm on all the old old
lady platforms Facebook,instagram, a little bit of a
blue sky account.
I don't use X that much becauseit's just become too divisive,
(21:56):
so you know, but I'm on air.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Well, chris, it was a pleasure to have you, and Dixie
was a pleasure to have you aswell.
I am so thrilled.
Thank you both for being here.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Thank you so much.
You are very kind, I appreciatethat.
Dixie Longate has been selling Tupperware in her
theatrical party since 2007.
This has become a sensation and, believe it or not, you can
actually order Tupperware atthis theater show.
She actually sells this stuff.
It's hilarious, and all of itis the genius move of Chris
Anderson, who had a film and adrag career even before this
(00:22):
madness started.
Now Dixie is going to be atStages for a two-week run.
Tickets are already sellingfast about as fast as plastic
containers, to be honest.
So welcome to Queer Voices,chris, or rather Dixie, both of
you at once.
What?
I will flip back and forthbetween both voices.
This is a shock, because I'veonly heard Dixie, so Chris's
(00:45):
voice is very different.
That's amazing, chris.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I am so good.
What an honor to have you.
I am just amazed because I'veheard about this for years.
I mean, everybody always talksabout this show and how
wonderful it is.
Please tell me how all of thisgot started with this Tupperware
party.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
It was interesting.
I went to a Tupperware partyyears ago in 2001 with a couple
of friends of mine and a friendof mine said oh my God, the
woman that was doing the partywas trying to basically recruit
everybody at the party and afriend of mine that was there
said oh, you should do it, you'dbe great, you'd do it in
character, that would be sofunny.
(01:24):
And he kind of dared me to doit in drag and so I created this
character, this kind ofSouthern housewife from the
wrong side of the tracks, andjust did a couple Tupperware
parties.
And it caught on and more andmore people were inviting me to
do parties and I was going upthe ranks of the Tupperware
Corporation as a consultant andselling more and more Tupperware
.
And I was going up the ranks ofthe Tupperware Corporation as a
(01:45):
consultant and selling more andmore Tupperware.
And it was interesting.
I would go to these.
I was living in LA at the timeand I would do a lot of my
parties in Orange County, whichis just south of LA, and
obviously, famously, the OrangeCounty housewives dominate that
area.
This is before that TV show wason, but the same women were
there, you know, and I would goto the parties and they would be
(02:06):
fascinated with me.
They would always ask me youknow, oh, tell me about you.
And I'm, you know, in fullcharacter.
I'm setting up my Tupperwaretable before the party and I
would say, oh, I'm Dixie, andyou know, this is my, you know,
I'm from Alabama and I've beendoing this.
And then I'd turn it on them.
I say, well, tell me about you.
And they would say, oh, well,you know, my husband does this.
And I'd say, okay, well then,tell me about you.
(02:26):
And they say, well, I've gottwo kids, you know, one's in
soccer, one's in ballet.
And I kept noticing how thesewomen would talk around
themselves.
You know, their identity wascompletely linked to other
people.
And so when I I I told a friendof mine who's a director in New
York, oh, I'm doing this thingnow, I'm doing these Tupperware
parties.
And he's the one who said, oh,this should be a show, you need
(02:48):
to turn this into something.
And so I kind of wrote it as alove letter to the unsung women
that don't see their ownstrength, and I put it together.
We took it to New York as partof the New York International
French Festival back in 2004.
New York as part of the NewYork International French
Festival back in 2004.
And that was seen by a numberof people.
That kind of had some influence.
They moved it up the food chainand I ended up having an
(03:12):
off-Broadway developmental runin 2007, which led to the tour.
And it was a very differentshow at that time because there
were a lot of hands on that showwhen it went into New York and
so it wasn't exactly the show Iwanted to do.
And so when the tour wasalready connected to it, but the
tour was going to end up beingtoo expensive the way they
(03:32):
wanted to do it, so I kind ofrewrote it and stripped it all
down to what it needed to be,which is a love letter to women,
and so that's how it ended upgoing on the road in 2008.
And the booker at the timethought we'd maybe get a year
out of it at most, maybe 18months, and 17 years later the
show is still going, and this ismy final year.
(03:55):
I'm wrapping everything up inthe fall.
So as far as the road isconcerned, I'm wrapping up.
I've got bigger designs pastthat, but that's how it all came
to be, and so it's a funopportunity to go.
You know people kind ofunderestimate what the show is.
They think it's going to be asilly little show about a
Tupperware party and it ends uphaving this message about
(04:17):
resilience and finding your owncourage and your own strength
and lifting yourself up.
And people are always kind ofsucker punched by that and it
inspires people to walk awayfrom the show, kind of valuing
themselves a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
I mean, that's a lot, that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I'm not good at one word answers, but no, that's
amazing though, but okay, and ifyou want to, you can answer
this as Dixie.
I would just like to know whois Dixie.
Where did you come from, dixie?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
She is.
Well, listen, I have had acouple of run-ins, I've been
married three times.
I have three kids that I knowof, you know, and there, yeah,
you know, I, I, I start.
I was doing things.
I never thought I would be atough word lady.
I was doing things thatnormally weren't.
You know, panning out from whereI was from, and you know my
mama said I'm not pretty enoughto work at this trip, but I was
(05:09):
bendy enough and so, but I wouldcome from a place that they
didn't throw dollars, they'dthrow quarters, and I wouldn't
want to go through my 20sgetting these little bruises all
over me.
So I said no, I'm on part ofthe conditions of my parole.
My parole officer, when I gotout one time, she said you know
you need a job in order to getyour kids back.
And I was like, who wants that?
That's no, you know, I didn'tmind the job so much, but
(05:32):
getting the kids back, that's alaw that needs to be changed,
obviously.
And so I started.
She's the one who suggested Istart SoundTepware and I did it
and I became top SoundTpperwarelady in the entire United States
and Canada, which is so crazy.
But I would go to thesejubilees, the big Tupperware
convention, and that's reallywhat got inspiring to me,
because I would watch all thesewomen get celebrated for what
they were doing you know,selling Tupperware and having
(05:54):
their own business and I waslike, oh, I want to be like that
.
I want to get up on stage andbe recognized like all these
other great ladies are being,and so that's what, what you
know, really got me going in thewhole Tupperware thing and to
be able to go into people'shomes and share some quality,
creative food storage solutionswith them and be able to laugh
and drink.
You know, this is the bottomline.
I get to drink for free at workand that's really why you do
(06:16):
any job.
If you don't get to do that,you need to really reconsider
what you're doing for a living.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
You're doing something wrong if you can't do
your job.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, I know I mean, that's the thing I was like when
I went to my first party.
The host said would you like acocktail?
I said oh no, I'm working she'slike, but it's a party and I
said I'm staying in this jobforever.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Now, are you, like, related to Reba McIntyre at all,
because you look A lot likeReba.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Oh my God, that is the nicest compliment anyone's
ever given me, all the time.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
No.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
I'm not, I don't, I'm not related to anybody that I'm
aware of, and so you know it'sjust.
I'm just a southern redhead.
That's what happens, you know.
You get in the south andeverybody's kind of related to
everybody else, whether theyknow it or not, because you know
the population down there iswe're longing for something of
meaning, and so sometimes mamagets behind the dumpster and
(07:04):
finds something on a fridaynight.
You never know what you'regonna be doing.
You know how it is.
Nine months later mistakes aremade always now.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Okay, you were at stages until april 20th how did
you connect with stages?
How did they get dixie?
Longgate?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
well, I have been in houston a couple times before I
had been at the Tuts, presentedme the first time I came through
a theater under the stars atthe Hobby Center and then I was
brought back two different timesthere.
And then I've also playedGalveston at the Opera House
three times.
And then I think it was justMitchell Greco, who's one of the
(07:40):
members that runs the wholething, reached out and he said,
hey, you're pretty.
And I was like it's true, Ican't help it because of Jesus
or whatever.
And then he said you won't cometo your program here and I said
I'd love that.
That would be so fun.
So it was just about peopleknowing me from you know haven't
been here before and they werelooking for some fun programming
for their season.
And they said, well, we'd liketo try this because we had seen
(08:06):
the show over at the HobbyCenter.
We really we really got agiggle and we thought our
audiences over here would enjoythe show a lot.
So they said let's come on in.
So two weeks I'm here and I'mhaving a good time.
I mean, everything in Houstonis fantastic, so I'm having a
good time here and everybody'sso naively.
It's very interesting becausetheir audiences that go to the
Performing Arts Center aresomewhat different than the
audiences that go to stages, andso it's you know where I go to
the Performing Arts Center.
People know me, they're used tome because I've been there a
bunch, and so I'm sort of havingto rebuild an audience.
(08:30):
There's a lot of people comingover that have seen me before,
but there's a lot of people thatdon't know my show at all, over
the hobby and, sorry, at thestages, and so it's kind of like
building the reputation fromscratch, which is always an
interesting thing starting over,you know.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Now the scuttlebutt on this one is this is the last
tour for Dixie in thisTupperware party, and why end a
good thing?
I mean you got to go, and whyis this the last you know I have
?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
been on the road 17 years.
We never thought that.
You know, me and my team neverthought it would be this long,
and save for COVID when I wasoff the road for a little bit
because everything was shut down.
I've been hooking it for a longtime and I figured, you know
what, it's time to kind of windthe tour down on the road and
we're looking at taking the showto New York in the fall and
sitting it down off Broadway anddoing a long run there.
(09:19):
So that's going to.
You know, take me off the road.
But I said, you know I'm likeI'm not going nowhere, I'm just
going around.
But I thought, you know, I wantto kind of wrap it up and start
.
You know, end where I started,but be able to take the show
that I've been doing on the roadfor the last 17 years.
It's really kind of inspired meand inspired so many audience
members.
I want to take that and put itdown in New York and do it that
(09:41):
way to kind of book in the wholething.
So that's where I'm going.
But yeah, it's.
You know, I love being on theroad, but I think it's just time
.
You know, every chapter of yourlife ends and a new one begins.
I think it's time to write anew story.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Let's get serious here for just a second.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
So Kennedy Center you performed there, right, I did I
was very, very grateful.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
They invited me to do a month of shows last summer
and it was great, I mean it wasto be able to perform at such a
legendary venue and to be ableto I mean it was an honor.
It was an honor to step foot inthose hallowed halls and be
amongst the performers that havegotten to be there.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Now you're not invited back, are you?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Well, I don't know.
If you're aware, there's alittle bit of a scuttlebutt.
Yes, there is.
The president has decided thathe wants a very specific program
, and of which I am not countingmyself among, because they have
decided that they are going tocurate exactly what he wants to
see and not what the patronswant to see, necessarily, or
what people are used to.
(10:47):
I mean, the thing about artcenters is it's going to be a
diverse program and noteverybody's going to like
everything that's in there.
You're going to have opera andballet and you're going to have
poetry jams and you're going tohave musicals and plays, and not
everything is going to be yourcup of tea.
But the whole point of it isit's because everybody has
(11:09):
different artistic visions andthat should be able.
An art center should be able toshare all kinds of different
points of views and perspective,and the president doesn't seem
to think that that's a good idea.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
I think that this is iconic.
Seriously, it is the biggestreason that I want to come see
you on this run and stages tosupport you, because this is
just amazing that they're tryingto even target this kind of
production or anything like that.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, I mean it was very interesting to kind of be
called out basically personallyby the press why we can't have I
had done my show there and itwas in the name of the theater
there are six theaters in thebuilding in the name of the
theater that I performed in wascalled the Family Theater and
he's like, oh, we don't wantdrag shows for families.
(11:53):
And I was like, well, that's notwhat was happening.
It was the Family Theater, itwas my show and it's a show
about empowerment and it's alsoa show you never bothered to
step foot into the theater tosee.
So I don't know what you'retalking from, but it's again,
you know, it's an inspiring,empowering show and makes people
feel good and makes peoplegiggle, and so I'm not sure
what's wrong with that.
But that is, you know, I'm notable to.
(12:14):
I'm not able to fight past thatthing.
So that's I'm not going to be abad effect.
But you know what I'm gratefulto have been there.
The people that brought me inare sticking to the guns and
saying thank you so much forbeing part of our programming
and our legacy, and I'm veryhappy about that.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Well, I'm happy that you're going to be at Stages
through April 20th, because thatgives us a chance to see you
here.
I don't have to travel all theway to DC, yeah come on and see
you at some family theater.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
And the last night.
And so there's somebody cameout after the show and said I
got to see you in dc and that'swhy I came, because, like it was
a lady that lives here, butshe's like, I was in dc
traveling for work and the showpopped up there and I said, all
right, I'm gonna come and seewhat this show is.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
And then, because she had so much fun there, she came
to see it last night because, Imean, you're neck of the woods
you know I have to ask because II don't have a lot of it, but
if you have to buy one item ofTupperware, what do I need?
Speaker 2 (13:04):
You know it's all dependent on who you are and
what you do.
See my tumblers, you'll see, atthe program.
I have tumblers that are withme all the time and they have a
seal that you stick a straw inand so like, if you're drinking
and driving and you hit a babyor whatever, you're not going to
spill your drink because thelid on it is going to keep
anything from spilling, which isso nice, and you can drink
(13:25):
right through the lid, which isgreat.
That's something I couldn't bewithout.
I mean, and I put, like youknow, my morning vodka right on
the bedside table and then withthat, so if the cat walks on it
it's not going to get hair in itand it's not going to spill
over.
(13:46):
There's over, there's that.
There's my wine opener.
Like you'd be amazed whattupperware has.
There's everything's justplastic bowls, but there's so
much different stuff.
I have a wine opener that Ilove because I take it with me
in my glove box when I'm drivingplaces.
I get thirsty and parched.
There is a jello shot containerthat I take my jello shots to
church, to, you know, to servejesus and everything.
And there's so many good thingsthat you're going to see the
program you're going to be like.
I didn't even believe they hadall this.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
All right, I'm there and I'm ordering.
Finally, I want to ask Dixiewhat do you think of
Oreo-flavored Coke?
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Oh my God, Did you see that?
So people that know me, theyknow that I love Oreos and I
have all kinds of videos up onmy social media about different
Oreos.
Because Oreos have been goingthrough this thing in the last
couple of years where they'vebeen making all these different
flavors and they had this weirdcross-branding thing with Coke
where they did coke flavoredoreos and oreo flavored coke and
(14:33):
the coke flavored oreos.
The smell is a bit overwhelmingwhen you open up the package at
first, but this they actuallytaste pretty decent, but the
coke the oreo flavored coke is.
This is an abomination.
They should be ashamed ofthemselves.
They should sit in the cornerand cry until they know what
they did and what they unleashedon the rest of the world and
they need to understand and takethat accountability forward.
Because it is a flavor in yourmouth.
(14:55):
I had a bottle of it.
Let me explain to you.
It took me about four days toget through a single like 12
ounces, I think, because it theflavor is.
I've had things in my mouthbefore and this is not one that
I would repeat, you know, and Ikept it for so long because I
kept thinking that, well, maybeif I tried a different way.
It'll be okay.
Maybe if I tried in the morning, maybe I tried it after I've
(15:15):
already been drinking.
Maybe if I try it, you know,when it's flat, it will be
better.
No, no, it never improved, itjust got worse.
It just made the baby Jesus cryand it's already so moody.
You know you don't want to doanything to make it worse.
So, yeah, it was, it was.
It's something.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah you know, I I have to confirm.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I tried it, it was foul, it was really and you've
got to, you've got to wonder,because you know, companies this
big do all kinds of taste tests.
And I want to sequester thepeople in the room that was said
, oh, this is a good idea.
And that did that taste testand said this is the version you
need to put on the market, andI want to smack them upside the
head so hard.
Oh my lord, what's wrong withpeople that were like, oh yeah,
that'll be okay, you know, putthat out.
(15:54):
Oh no, no, what's wrong withpeople?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
well, what is a good idea is to go see dixie's
tupperware party at stagesthrough april 20th I believe
april 20th, yeah, next two weeks, two whole weeks, lots of shows
.
I even saw there's some ontuesday, wednesday, thursday.
I mean they, they're filling itevery day we have.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Monday is my day off, but we have every day of the
week and we've got matinee onsaturday and a matinee on
thursday, which is sointeresting you're doing
matinees on thursdays yeah, yeah, so sometimes, and thursday on
is very interesting, so you're,it's going to be like a luck of
the draw, you know, because theywanted to be able to give
people as many opportunities tobe able to see the show as
possible.
So they just like, do shows allthe time.
(16:33):
So I'm doing a Thursday matineetoo.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Okay, according to Chris's IMDB page, you have been
in some of my favorite movies,like Scream 2, hellbent, which
is this amazing gay horror flickthat everybody needs to see.
No, that's amazing and theiconic.
Of course, girls will be girls,with all of my favorite drag
(16:57):
queens so I'm wondering, youknow, when all of this wraps, if
dixie ever decides that it'stime to go, what's next for you?
Are you going to pursue morefilm?
Well, I mean, I say you're adancer, right?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Yeah, Well, I was back when my body moved.
That way I'm getting older.
So, you know, one of thereasons, one of the things I'm
looking forward to about takingthe show to New York, is to be
with people is to be with people.
You know, New York obviouslyhas a lot of theater, a lot of
film and TV, but also has a lotof resources for because I like
to create stuff.
So I mean I created Dixie, Icreated all the tours that I've
(17:38):
done.
I mean I've done four differentshows now under the Dixie
character, three of them liveand then one of them during the
pandemic.
I did a show called Dixie'sHappy Hour, which I went into a
small theater near where I livedand filmed it, and then we got
it streaming to 26 different artcenters around the country to
bring income in.
And so I, you know, and I'vedone all this stuff as Dixie,
(17:59):
but I'd like to create thingsand I want to be in a city where
I have access to more people,more resources, more ability and
opportunities to create otherthings.
So I have some things that I'mworking on, for sure, that are
in the early stages and mediumstages, and when I get there I'm
hoping to throw.
You know, throw out some widenets and meet some people and
(18:20):
collaborate on some things.
I don't see myself sitting downfor too long and just kind of
being lazy, so I'll be doing theshow every night there while
I'm there, but also during theday I'll be taking that time to
reach out and create a widersandbox with bigger toys to play
(18:41):
with.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Well, I look forward to seeing whatever comes next
for you, because Dixie obviouslyjust a beloved character and
just you've had an amazing run.
I really hope that you kind ofdo what some.
There's another performer thatcomes through stages a lot,
denise Fennell, and she does thesister shows at stages a lot,
but she also comes in as Denisesometimes and she'll do shows
(19:05):
where she's herself and she'lldo ones where she's sister and
it's amazing to watch her branchout and create new things and
always kind of spin things out.
So it's going to be amazing tosee what's next.
But I don't ever want Dixie togo away.
I definitely want her around.
We need someone to push thisTupperware.
(19:25):
Dixie will be here.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Even though I'm going to be off the road road, I'm
still gonna be very active onsocial.
I'll still be doing a lot ofstuff and, and you know, and
sharing smiles.
That's the one of the thingsthat I'm.
You know, and you talk to anyactor and any actor will say how
grateful they are if they getto do a long run of a show.
But to be a character that Igot to create and that's been
(19:50):
kind of inhabited my body nowfor, you know, 23 years, 24
years, it's, it's, it's great,it's great.
And the fact that people likeher probably more than they like
me, she's great.
I like her, you know, and it,but it's.
I'm very grateful, I'm verylucky to have created something
that's left kind of an indeliblemark on so many people's hearts
(20:11):
.
And so I don't, I don't foreseeher leaving necessarily anytime
soon.
She's just going to be off theroad for a while.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Well, Chris Anderson, where can we find you?
Where can we find DixieLongate's socials?
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Dixie is all over social I am.
I have very limited socialbecause most of my life I've
been her.
I started this before socialmedia even existed, so it's
actually kind of funny.
So all my social is pretty muchher, except I have a small,
very small Instagram handle.
I don't even know what it isChris Anderson official but I
(20:44):
don't know, I don't know.
I've got to look at it becauseI don't even know.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
You've got to resurrect it now.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
It's funny because everybody knows Dixie but nobody
really gives a crap about Chris.
Let's save that Chris Andersonunderscore official and you know
most of the stuff I post on it.
It doesn't have a lot of stuffon it, but most of the stuff I
post on it is like, oh, apicture of me standing outside
an art center that Dixie's aboutto play.
So because she's the dominantforce in my life, she gets all
(21:13):
the attention.
But, yeah, you can find DixieLonggate on any of the social
platforms I'm not on.
Interestingly, I'm not onTikTok yet.
A lot of people have been like,oh, go on TikTok, go on TikTok.
There is a lot of my content onTikTok but none of it is.
But I've released people andlike, tagged it and stuff from
other platforms.
(21:33):
But and you know, I'm I'mhoping that I will probably
invest some time into creating aTikTok platform.
If it stays, I mean, nobodyknows what the hell's going to
happen with it, because everyother day there's another.
It might be going away.
It might be coming away, yeah,so, but I'm on all the old old
lady platforms Facebook,instagram, a little bit of a
blue sky account.
I don't use X that much becauseit's just become too divisive,
(21:56):
so you know, but I'm on air.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Well, chris, it was a pleasure to have you, and Dixie
was a pleasure to have you aswell.
I am so thrilled.
Thank you both for being here.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Thank you so much.
You are very kind, I appreciatethat.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com