Review: DIXIE'S NEVER WEAR A TUBE TOP WHILE RIDING A MECHANICAL BULL at Starlight Theatre KC

Dixie's Never Wear A Tube Top While Riding A Mechanical Bull and 16 Other Things I Learned While I Was Drinking Last Thursday.

Now showing at the (heated indoor stage) Starlight Theatre KC the hilarious antics of Dixie Longate. This show, created in 2014, continues the saga of "a simple girl from Mobile, Alabama" as she tidies up the bar after a big party the night before. However, with a hurricane blowing into town, the bus pulls up and lets the audience into the hottest honky-tonk around where Dixie Longate, the mistress of the mixed-metaphor, spews homespun wisdom like lettin' the cat out of the bag on a hot tin roof.

Dixie has definitely been around the block when it comes to being the queen of the Tupperware party and now she's entertaining the crowd in the midst of a torrential downpour of wit. Dixie gives plenty of "practical" advice faster than a hot knife moving through a stick of butter. In all her humor there is still a simple message... that everyone should go through life like they are in the ring riding a mechanical bull to really be livin'. Amid all of Dixie's adventurous crazy kitsch, she may prove to be the best motivational speaker around, and she has the fireflies to prove it.

"Dixie" is a great show to gather a few friends, or your "lover", but leave the kids at home. Dixie Longate's show, by playwright Kris Andersson, marks their 5th collaboration and I can't recall a recent show that had the audience laughing with such gusto. How a single performer tackles such a tornado, like Dixie, is not only a joy to behold, but is a side-splitting exercise workout for the audience. Longate never misses a beat even when temporarily veering off script to engage with the audience, Not many performers can balance such a well-crafted character with the impromptu quick thinking required when ad-libbing with the audience, like the darling Dixie.

So be prepared to strap on a smile, toss your hair a bit, kick up your dancin' boots and have some fun. And, if you're too much of a stick in the mud to do that, "then...go have a moon pie and get on with your life!"

February 13-18, 2018

Location: Cohen Community Stage House at Starlight Theatre (the indoor theatre) Recommended for audiences age 16+

Gates Time: open one hour prior to show time with a nice compliment of concessions and other libations.

Duration: 90 minutes (there is no intermission)

Single tickets to Starlight events and Broadway season tickets may be purchased:

• Online 24/7 at kcstarlight.com

• By phone: 816.363.7827

• In person: 4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, MO 64132

(the address of the theatre)

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