Sealed for Freshness, Comedy Set at a Tupperware Party, Begins NYC Run Feb. 15
By Kenneth Jones
02 Jan 2007
A gaggle of Midwestern housewives will gather to bond at a Tupperware party in the new 1960s-set play, Sealed for Freshness, opening Off-Broadway Feb. 24 after previews from Feb. 15.
Doug Stone's comedy will play New World Stages in midtown Manhattan. Playwright Stone will direct. The cast has not yet been announced.
For the uninitiated, Tupperware is the brand name for plastic storage containers that give food an airtight seal. The products were uniquely distributed via grass-roots directing-marketing "Tupperware parties" where homemakers would get demonstrations of the product and place orders.
According the producers, "Set in the 1960s on a hilarious journey of self-discovery, Sealed for Freshness is the story of five Midwestern women who believe in being good wives, good mothers and good neighbors. They were raised to trade their dreams, hopes and desires for social norms…and now they want them back. These hermetically sealed, airtight lives unravel during a sidesplitting Tupperware party gone awry. The women of Sealed for Freshness are struggling with lost youth, missed opportunities — and
deviled egg containers. In other words, they're the original 'Desperate Housewives.'"
The creative team includes set designer Rob Odorisio, lighting designer Traci Klainer, costume designer Rob Bevenger and sound designer Ken Hypes.
The production is presented by Cannon Entertainment Group in association with Fresh Ice Productions.
Sealed for Freshness premiered in a 2003 limited engagement Off-Broadway at the Pantheon Theater and has since had regional productions.
Writer-director Doug Stone has been a freelance writer for Comedy Central and Time Warner. For four years he was a syndicated cartoonist with Creators Syndicate and his comic, "Raw Material," has been published in North American papers. His full-length plays include Leveling the Pulse, Betting the Longshot (finalist in 2002 Writer's Digest stage play competition), Blame and Glue Trap.
Sealed for Freshness was a finalist in the Writers Digest & Writers Network International stage play competition.
New World Stages is located at 340 West 50th Street.
The performance schedule will be Tuesday-Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM and 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM and 7:30 PM. Tickets are $65 and can be purchased by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com or at the New World Stages box office at 340 West 50th Street (Monday from 1-6 PM, Tuesday-Saturday from 1-8 PM and Sunday from 1-7:30 PM.
For more information, visit www.sealedforfreshness.com.
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According to production notes, "Tupperware was developed in 1945 by Earl Tupper (1907-1983) in the USA and comprised plastic containers used in households to contain food and keep it
airtight. The formerly patented 'burping seal' is a famous aspect of Tupperware, which distinguished it from competitors. Tupperware pioneered the direct marketing strategy made famous by the Tupperware party. Brownie
Wise (1913-1992), a former sales representative of Stanley Home Products, developed the strategy. During the early 1950s, Tupperware's sales and
popularity exploded, thanks in large part to Wise's influence among women who sold Tupperware, and some of the famous 'jubilees' celebrating the
success of Tupperware ladies at lavish and outlandishly themed parties. Tupperware was known, at a time when women came back from working during World War II only to be told to 'go back to the kitchen,' as a method of
empowering women, and giving them a toehold in the post-war business world. The tradition of Tupperware's 'Jubilee' style events continues to this day, with rallies being held in major cities to recognize and reward top-selling demonstrators, managers and distributorships. In 1958, Earl
Tupper fired Brownie Wise over general difference of opinion in the Tupperware business operation. It is believed that Tupper objected to the
expenses incurred by the jubilee (and other similar) celebrations of Tupperware."
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