'Dixie's Tupperware Party' sets up shop at Elgin's Grand Victoria Casino

Whenever a new Tupperware catalog or product line is released, you can bet that the drag star of “Dixie's Tupperware Party” will be dreaming up new gags.

Kris Andersson - better known by his stage name “Dixie Longate” - has made a lucrative career of pushing plastics around the world while starring as a rags-to-riches Southern belle.

“I think people everywhere need food storage,” said Dixie, who prefers to do interviews in character. “If you're going to get some, you might as well have fun while you're doing it, right?”

“Dixie's Tupperware Party” returns this week for two shows only at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin. The acclaimed 2007 off-Broadway solo comedy show had previous stops in Aurora in 2009 and an extended run at Chicago's Royal George Theatre in 2011.

But don't expect the show to be exactly the same. And heed the print ads warning: “Adult Content for Audiences 21 Years Old and Up.”

“A lot of people will come back and see the show again and again because they know that every time it's going to be a little bit different,” said Dixie, emphasizing how the interactive show keeps things fresh via raffle prizes and folks called up on stage to do demonstrations.

“And every time I see a new product, I think, 'Good Lord! What can I do with that in the bedroom?'”

Despite all the adults-only laughs, “Dixie's Tupperware Party” is an actual sales event. That's why Dixie is one of the world's top Tupperware sellers.

Dixie often joins with other top reps at Tupperware's annual Jubilee, dubbing it “the Academy Awards of Plastics.”

In 2014, Andersson created a non-Tupperware sequel: “Dixie's Never Wear a Tube Top While Riding a Mechanical Bull (and 16 Other Things I Learned While I was Drinking Last Thursday).”

“I wanted to do something to keep myself creative and tell more stories,” Dixie said. “It's all done from the bottom of a Jack Daniel's bottle - life's a little bit rosier that way.”

Dixie could just have fun playing up stereotypes and the pop cultural camp of Tupperware. But the show also stresses the historical significance of a social networking product like Tupperware, and marvels at the home party sales techniques perfected by the late Brownie Wise.

“I love the story of Brownie Wise and think she was amazing. She led the path for so many other women to have their own careers,” Dixie said. “My use of her in the show is to let her be a conduit for other people to say, 'Hey, I can do that, too. I can go out and do something amazing.'”

Dixie notes the show's success is also tied to nostalgia.

“You have grandmamas from the 1950s who still have Tupperware, with their name written on the bottom with a Sharpie, and who take it with them to the church social who say, 'Enjoy my ambrosia salad, but if you take my Tupperware, I'll cut off your hand,'” Dixie said. “They love that Tupperware because they have a relationship with it, and you don't get that from the stuff at the grocery store.”

“Dixie's Tupperware Party”

<b>Where:</b> Grand Victoria Casino, 250 S. Grove Ave., Elgin, (847) 531-7749 or grandvictoriacasino.com/dixie

<b>When:</b> 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10; doors open at 7 p.m.

<b>Tickets:</b> $50-$55; $65 early 6:30 p.m. admission and onstage seating. For mature audiences ages 21 and older.