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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">‘Dixie’s Tupperware
Party’ an airtight, raunchy affair<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>10/9/09</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Tupperware lets out a
burp when the plastic airtight seal is broken from its patented preservation of
leftovers.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So will audience members
when watching <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Dixie’s Tupperware
Party,</I> the scripted but largely improvisational bit of traveling performance
art currently on stage at the 14<SUP>th</SUP> Street Theatre.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">It may be
indigestion, the result of consuming fast-paced, deep-fried trailer park patter
for 90 minutes.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The steady stream
of raunchy sexual references, white-trash talk and fun at others’ expense can be
a bit unsettling.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">But then again, it
may be the result of gasping for breath from non-stop laugher. This is a very
funny show.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Dixie’s Tupperware
Party</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> is a clever concept
brazenly executed by Kris Andersson, the play-as-home retail party’s creator and
hostess. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">As Dixie Longate, the
queen of food storage, the drag queen Andersson congers up a very endearing
character—part sincere and knowledgeable spokesperson for plastic paraphernalia
and part worst nightmare for those women who subscribe to “Better Homes and
Gardens.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">For the straight men
in attendance, Dixie is a walking, talking contradiction—a guy who looks good in
a dress and heels, offering up a glimpse of what happens when the girls get
together to drink, chat and shop.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Her high-energy sales pitch is a late-night TV infomercial from
hell.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">As with <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Tony and Tina’s Wedding</I> and <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">We Gotta Bingo</I>, where audience members
play guests at a contrived event, theatre-goers are an active part of Dixie’s
Tupperware presentation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They are
brought on stage, which is adorned with little more than two couches and a table
loaded with colorful plastic containers, to help demonstrate the products.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They are also sought out in their seats
and subjected to Dixie’s unique brand of well-intended verbal
abuse.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The abuse is the best
part of the show, with audience members simultaneously hoping to be spared and
looking to be called on.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>With a
year of national touring under his belt, and having performed this show since
2004, Andersson is equipped with a full arsenal of hilarious barbs and comebacks
for any occasion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He effortlessly
transitions from scripted banter to impromptu exchanges, complete with quirky
catchphrases and local references. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The inventive Earl
Tupper, who created the plastic de jour in the 1940s, and the clever Brownie
Wise who marketed it, have nothing on Andersson.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Like Tupperware itself, he has created a
unique product that we can certainly live without but, thanks to its packaging
and playful presentation, is strangely appealing.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Can a Mary Kay
Cosmetics make-over musical [burp] be next?<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">"Dixie’s
Tupperware Party" runs through October 18 at the 14<SUP>th</SUP> Street Theatre
in downtown Cleveland.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets,
which range from $10-$35, call (216) 241-6000 or visit <A href=""><B><FONT
color=#000066>www.playhousesquare.org</FONT></B></A></SPAN></I></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>