Put A Lid On It
concept: Tupperware Party benefit for Santa Monica’s Highways Performance Space, hosted by self-described “Jewish lesbian folk singer” Phranc.
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The pitch: “Hey, I’m your Tupperware lady/Yeah, I’m your Tupperware lady/You can buy it from me/It’s got a lifetime guarantee.” OK, it’s not “This Land Is Your Land,” but it gets the audience clapping. As Woody Guthrie wrote songs for the power company to pay the rent, so Phranc, the buzz-cut, guitar-strummin’ sapphic minstrel, now sings the praises of plastic to make ends meet. Donning a “Tupperware Lady” apron, bow tie and Army boots, she explains that the company lets its reps hold benefit parties; as much as 40% of the take will go toward the performance space. Two decades of experience as a performing folkie endows Phranc’s presentation with plenty of zest (in fact, she flings plastic citrus peelers into the crowd so that everybody can make their own). While much of her patter on salad spinners and freezer bowls is company-issue, her demo of the turkey baster would make Martha Stewart gag. “Let’s Shop,” Phranc announces, and there’s a dash for order forms.
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The tally: “There’s something about Phranc that’s very down-to-earth and humorous,” says documentary filmmaker Barbara Malcolm. She and her partner, Kas Adams, eager to support both Phranc and Highways, order raspberry-colored Freezer Mates. “It’s see-through and it won’t get damaged from freezing and warming,” Malcolm notes. But these products aren’t only for domestic partners. “Tupperware is for everybody,” says Phranc, who moves more than $4,500 worth of merchandise this afternoon. “It crosses all boundaries.” Katherine Chrisman runs a company that markets jewelry by using Tupperware-like parties. Her two young sons accompany her. “I like to expose them to different people and different environments,” she explains. “I said, ‘This guy has a business like Mommy’s, and he has to be one heck of a showman.” Her gender confusion aside, Chrisman grasps the underlying message: “I think we’re getting the cheese grater,” she says. “It’s always a mess in my kitchen when I make tacos.”
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What’s the score?
CELEB QUOTIENT: It’s a tiny avant-garde performance space, not the Muscular Dystrophy telethon; no rating.
WOW FACTOR: Unlike a whole lot of performance art, this was actually entertaining, and so practical, too.
CHOW LINE: Yummy cakes courtsey of Cake Divas; two days later, they are still fresh and moist.
