Review: DIXIE'S NEVER WEAR A TUBE TOP WHILE RIDING A MECHANICAL BULL at Des Moines Performing Arts

Over the years, since Des Moines Performing Arts started bringing productions to the Temple Theatre, there have been a few staple productions. One of those staples centers around Dixie Longate, a woman from Mobile, Alabama, who happens to sell Tupperware. While she has returned multiple times to sell Tupperware, I have not had the opportunity to see one of her performances. That changed this last week when I attended "Dixie's Never Wear a Tube Top While Riding a Mechanical Bull: and 16 Other Things I Learned while Drinking last Thursday" at the Temple Theatre. This engagement marks this show's second time has been at the Temple Theatre.

While these shows have been in Des Moines several times, I have yet to have the chance to see them. So, going into the show, the biggest question I had was if not having seen "Dixie's Tupperware Party" would impact my experience of the show. While there may have been some jokes throughout the show for those who have seen it, the show stands on its own. With the show being part of the Temple Comedy Series, I expected a show full of laughter, but I got so much more.  

When the show starts, we soon learn why we are visiting Dixie. This time, we are tourists on a bus, forced to stop at a honkytonk bar in Mobile, Alabama, due to a hurricane blowing into town. We learn that Dixie cares for the bar while her girlfriend is out of town. She shares that the best ideas come when people have been drinking, and she has a book with different things she and her friend had thought of. From there, an evening of laughter takes off. As the evening continued, there was audience participation, laughter, and heartfelt moments.

Walking into the theatre, you can't help but notice the set by Liza Orzolek, which takes the audience to a honkytonk bar with a mechanical bull on the set. One of my favorite moments of the evening came from the lighting by Charles R. Macleod. There was a moment when the lights went out that had me in stitches. 

What makes the evening so enjoyable is Dixie Longate. Throughout the show, she gets the crowd involved, whether it be a game on stage or a 60-second how-down with the entire audience. What blew me away that evening was the amount of lines she delivered throughout the show. Doing a one-person play on its own is challenging; having to deliver it at the pace she does was amazing to watch. Through the show, her delivery, as well as the script by Kris Anderson, does a terrific job of balancing the moments that get the audience belly laughing and the moments when the audience can sit back and contemplate the life lessons presented in the show.

If you are someone who has seen a Dixie Longate show before or someone like me who hasn't, you won't regret going to see "Dixie's Never Wear a Tube Top While Riding a Mechanical Bull: and 16 Other Things I Learned While I was drinking last Thursday. Everything from the sets to the lights to Dixie herself works together to make an evening that will have you laughing and having a wonderful time. To find out more about the show or to purchase tickets, visit https://desmoinesperformingarts.org/events/dixies-never-wear-a-tube-top/

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