Looking for a laugh this May? Then you have got to check out Dixie Longate, America’s favorite Tupperware lady, at the Smith Center. Hailing from Mobile, Alabama, Dixie now travels the world delivering Tupperware and a good time. Dixie recently took the time to chat with Gay Vegas about her roots in the Tupperware biz, her love of Vegas, what you can expect at her show and more.

You’re going to be in Las Vegas at the Smith Center from May 17 to May 22. Tell me about that. I’m so excited. Everyone has been so neighborly each time I’ve been out there. They’re like, “You’re fun! Come on back!” I’m like, “Okay! I’m not drinking now. I’ll get on a plane.” Then I start drinking on the plane because, of course, I’m Christian – that’s what we do. But I love Vegas and every time I’m there everybody is so neighborly. The audience is just so wonderful. And I’m so grateful every time I pick up the phone – well I’m grateful every time I pick up the phone and it’s not my parole officer. So when it’s somebody calling from Vegas saying, “Come on back,” that’s even better.

So how long have you been hosting Tupperware parties? I started in Tupperware parties 15 years ago. It was part of the conditions of my parole. I got out of prison and my parole officer, she’s an adorable lesbian, she said, “You need a job in order to get your kids back.” And I was like, “Stop talking.” Because, you know, the kids were sticky and I didn’t want them back. I had just gotten out of prison. That was my freedom. You think I want to be straddled with my kids? I mean, what a pain in the ass. But she said, “You should do Tupperware.” And at first I thought she was crazy because Tupperware’s an old lady’s gig. But then I did my first party and I had so much fun. Everyone was so neighborly. I figured, “Oh my lord. You know what? I’m gonna stick to doing this.” And then I went to the Jubilee, which is the big Tupperware convention, and I saw all these ladies getting recognized and being put up on stage for all of the accomplishments they’ve done. And I thought, “I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to go full bore.” And then I did. I started working my tail off. And I went to the Jubilee and I got recognized on stage as one of the top sellers. It was one of just the most amazing things and I’ve just never backed down. 

A couple of years after that in 2004, I took my show to New York for the first time because a friend of mine that was a director in New York said, “You should put this on stage.” And I said, “Oh alright.” So we did. We did an itty-bitty thing called the Fringe Festival and that got me a lot of attention. It went from there. It went off-Broadway and I started doing the show off-Broadway, which is crazy. And that led to the tour, which started in 2008. I’ve been on the road since 2008. I love it because I have the best time and I don’t have to see my kids that much, which is great. 

What about your personal life? Do you have a boyfriend or a husband? Or are you single and ready to mingle? I’m single and ready to mingle. When I go to Vegas, you know I’m going to mingle just plenty. I’ve been married three times and all my husbands have sadly then died under mysterious circumstances. But I’ve gotten through my grievance, so that’s okay! And now I’m moving on. You know, I don’t really see myself getting married again because why milk a free cow when you get the free cow milk that has the free milk – or whatever that saying is. My momma told me I don’t listen all that much. For me, I’d rather just be like you said, “Single and ready to mingle.” Meet some people. Do some things. That’s what I’m looking forward to. 

This is your third time at the Smith Center. Had you been to Las Vegas many times before? I love Las Vegas. I’ve been there a bunch of other times. This will be my third time doing my program, but I have come there other times. Just to have a good time and see people and see shows. I love the shows there and everybody’s so nice. They have the best shopping and everything. And the food! Listen, I’ve been to my fair share of honky-tonks and mechanical bull bars all up and down the Eastern seaboard. I’ve never, in my life, seen some of the places like y’all have there in Vegas to drink in. It’s amazing. So you know me – I’m gonna drink it. I’m gonna take them up on it. And so I have the best time in Vegas every time doing just that.

What type of people go to your Tupperware parties? Everybody comes. Obviously the little old ladies who love the Tupperware and know it and grew up with it, those are the people that come all the time and just have the best fun. They just giggle and have a ball. But then we have date night people that come. Like boyfriends and girlfriends and husbands and wives. And then the husbands will look at me and go, “She’s so pretty.” It’s true, because Jesus was in a good mood when he made me. So that’s always fun. But then I get all kinds of different people. I get the homosexuals. They’re some of my favorites. Just wonderful people because they smell like glitter and they always look so put together. That would come and brighten up any day. So it’s a whole smatter of everybody that you could think of. A lot of times people look at it and they think, “Oh, a Tupperware party. That’s just for old ladies.” I’m like, “Oh no. Not just for the ladies. It’s for everybody.” You like to laugh? You’ll come and have a good time. Trust me. You’re gonna laugh your butt off, you’re gonna giggle, and you might even walk out with some new Tupperware, which is the best thing in the world because everybody needs creative food storage solutions.

Some readers of Gay Vegas have commented that they think your shows are hilarious. Why do you think people find your Tupperware parties to be so funny? I talk about some of the different uses for Tupperware that a lot of people don’t even think about. Like I didn’t know for those first two years that Tupperware was even supposed to be used in the kitchen. I thought it was for the bedroom. It wasn’t until one time someone came over and said, “Hey, what’s that plastic bowl doing underneath your bed? What’s that collar doing sitting there?” and I was like, “Why are you in my bedroom, Reverend? It’s not Thursday.” And so I took some of my favorite things that I’d been using in the bedroom and used them in the kitchen. I thought, “Well damn it all to hell, I didn’t know you could use this for that.” 

I talk not only about Tupperware, but also where Tupperware came from and sort of talk about the history of Tupperware and my backstory and everything. 

I try to make everybody lighten up and sort of drag everybody up and make them feel good about themselves. Because I don’t want anybody to leave the party who hasn’t had a great time because, after all, it is a Tupperware party. I underline the word party because it’s fun. But I also want to make everyone leave sort of feeling uplifted and feeling like they can go on and take on the world. I also want to let people know that they’re a little bit better than they give themselves credit for. 

Now they say that you have a lot of secrets. Do you reveal some of your secrets at your shows? Well I guess there are some things that might come out of my mouth because when I’m drunk it happens. I try to be real neighborly and “not stick out at school”, but sometimes I realize that I didn’t finish school, so I can stick outside of it if I damn well want to. So yeah, there’s all kinds of things that are gonna come out of my mouth. And I get people up on stage all the time, so you never know what they’re gonna say too. Because every show is a little bit different. You’re never going to see the show two times the same way. And that’s why we get a lot of people that will come back again and again and again, because that’s what they love about it. They love seeing something that’s going to be different every single time. 

So what is your number one seller right now as far as Tupperware goes? There’s so many things that I love. There’s my Jell-O shot caddy. It is so good to take Jell-O shots to church in. Because sometimes you need a little bit of extra juice to get you through that time because we’ve all heard these stories before. 

There’s this great wine bottle opener that we have that’s amazing. I keep one in my glove box. So that way if I’m driving and I get parched and need something to drink, I can reach into my glove box, I can reach for my backseat for my stash of wine, and I can open that damn bottle of wine before that light turns green. Oh my lord, it’s the best thing in the world. I love it. 

There are things that will blow your mind that you didn’t even know you didn’t know you didn’t need that you know that you need. 

Do you see an increase in sales where marijuana is legal? It’s funny. I’m here in Denver right now with my show and, surprisingly, all of our small little containers are selling like crazy. And at first I was thinking, “Why are these selling so well?” Well it’s because you can put some of the herbal things in it.

So yeah, we do real well every time we’re somewhere you can get things like that. Now someday it’s going to be legal all over, I’m sure, and when it does become legal, holy crap, then you’re just gonna see this stuff fly off the shelves because everyone wants to keep their stash fresh.

You know what else is sure to sell out? Tickets to Dixie’s Tupperware Party at the Smith Center – so get on them quick!

Tickets range from $33 to $40 and can be bought by visiting 

www.thesmithcenter.com