The Miss Firecracker Contest
| The Miss Firecracker Contest | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Beth Henley |
| Characters | Carnelle Scott Popeye Jackson Elain Rutledge Delmount Williams Mac Sam Tessy Mahoney |
| Date premiered | May 1, 1984 |
| Place premiered |
Manhattan Theatre Club New York City |
| Original language | English |
| Setting | Brookhaven, Mississippi |
The Miss Firecracker Contest is a Southern literature play written by Beth Henley. It was originally produced in Los Angeles in 1980 at the Victory Theater directed by Maria Gobetti. It got a production at the Manhattan Theatre Club off-Broadway in 1984 directed by Stephen Tobolowsky, who was Henley's romantic partner at the time. It moved to a larger off-Broadway house, the Westbank Theater, where it ran for a year. Although not as popular as Henley's Crimes of the Heart, The Miss Firecracker Contest has been generally well received among critics. Set in Brookhaven, Mississippi, the play explores the themes of femininity, beauty, and the need to be accepted.
The Miss Firecracker Contest is set in Brookhaven, Mississippi during the midst of Carnelle's attempt to salvage her tarnished reputation as "Miss Hot Tamale" through entering the Miss Firecracker Contest, the town's annual beauty pageant held on the Fourth of July. Carnelle, who is an orphan, was taken in by her Aunt Ronelle and raised with her two cousins, Elain and Delmount. Aunt Ronelle died of cancer after receiving a pituitary gland transplant from a monkey, causing her entire body to grow long black hairs. Elain won the Miss Firecracker pageant at the young age of 17, compared to Carnelle who pushes the pageant age limit of 24. Elain married well, using her beauty to win a husband after junior college. Delmount was admitted to a mental institution and has been involved in quite a few scandals with exotic beauties who catch his eye. Carnelle recently recovered from syphilis, though not before giving it to the sickly Mac Sam. Carnelle has been attempting to redefine herself by volunteering for the cancer society, attending church, and taking an orphan to dinner every week. She now plans to win the Miss Firecracker Contest to prove to everyone in Brookhaven that she is a valuable and beautiful young woman.
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