As the miss firecracker contest opens, carnelle scott is practicing her talent routine for the upcoming fourth of july beauty pageant in brookhaven, mississippi. The play is set in the small southern town of brookhaven, mississippi, and tells an archetypical story of a young woman trying to reinvent herself. It got a production at the manhattan theatre club offbroadway in 1984 directed by stephen tobolowsky, who was henleys romantic partner at the time. Wandering into the chaos is carnelles seamstress, sweet and strange popeye, who falls in love with delmount. The scene opens in a dressing room at the beauty pageant. Determined to follow in her cousins footsteps footsteps,carnelle enlists the help of local seamstress popeye jackson in preparing for the miss firecracker pageant. In the miss firecracker contest, her comedy at the manhattan theater club, this. Carnelle mc wolfe, left is bent on winning the local beauty pageant, and popeye neda armstrong is her devoted. This boisterous and bold dark comedy, a true beth henley play, explores human nature through the slightly largerthanlife, and finds earnest humor and satire in many of the same places.
A small town beauty pageant sets the scene for the miss firecracker contest, a southern comedy by jacksons own beth henley. Miss firecracker is a 1989 american comedy film directed by thomas schlamme. Into the woods, daisy in sideshow, popeye in the miss firecracker contest. Fine arts faculty northwest mississippi community college. The town of yazoo city, mississippi, is agog over the annual fourth of july miss firecracker contest, and no one is more obsessed with winning this honor than carnelle scott holly hunter. Im not exactly a fan of beth henleys 1984 comedy the miss firecracker contest. The miss firecracker contest plot summary, character breakdowns, context and. The miss firecracker contest pops with charm orange. Eventually, delmount returns popeyes affections and finds her odd personality something worth loving. Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for popeye jackson from the miss firecracker contest. The miss firecracker contest is a southern literature play written by beth henley. It stars holly hunter, mary steenburgen, tim robbins, alfre woodard, and scott glenn. Maybe i should go on and get your measurements off you right now if ya dont mind.
Miss firecracker not a dud, but it misses key sad notes. Act go back for murder company velveteen rabbit act miss firecracker contest youre a good man, charlie brown all my sons fox on the fairway a year with frog and t. But shes determined to turn it around by becoming this years miss firecracker. Both charming and irreverent, the miss firecracker contest is a wistful take on southern beauty culture and the reallife facades it so eloquently symbolizes. Monologue from the miss firecracker pageant by beth henley.
Carnelle tells tessy that she needs popeye to fix her dress. Shes also had the pleasure of directing the fall play at germantown high. In new stage theatres production of beth henleys the miss firecracker contest, the characters from left popeye deja abdulhaqq, carnelle jessica wilkinson, delmount david lind. Assisting her in this venture is popeye jackson, an extremely odd and. The miss firecracker contest, along with other beth henley plays, is characterized as a southern gothic. A seamstress, popeye jackson, arrives and carnelle hires her to make a pageant costume. The film, set in yazoo city, mississippi, was written by pulitzer prizewinning playwright beth henley and is based on her 1984 play, the miss firecracker contest. When beth henley is really flying, her comic voice has the crazed yet liberating sound of a rebel yell. Popeye jackson from the miss firecracker contest summary. This is strictly confidential, but the word is out that the only real contenders for the miss firecracker crown are you and caroline jeffers.
Carnelle holly hunter enters the miss firecracker beauty pageant which her. In the miss firecracker contest, her comedy at the manhattan. Watch miss firecracker 1989 full movie free online. Instead, the film, written by beth henley from her play the miss firecracker contest, is a superficial and sporadically witty piece aimed at such easy targets as family squabbles, smalltown. Miss firecracker lights up the stage at germantown community theatre. Beth henleys sly comedy about a gawky gal trying to shed her reputation as the town tramp by winning the miss firecracker contest bursts with eccentric characters that define southern gothic. The miss firecracker contest ends with carnelle, popeye, and delmount watching the independence day pyrotechnics from a perch atop the.
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