The New Village Arts theater in Carlsbad put on the play The Miss Firecracker Contest.
It 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.
The play takes on our concepts of female beauty, the need to be accepted, and the struggles we all have in our lives to get beyond our past, and the need to be loved.
“He has a checkered past” is one of the phrases used a number of times. Yet, the story us mostly about the spunk and spirit of the orphan Carnelle, a 24-year-old girl who wants to overcome the dubious reputation she acquired when she fooled around with one too many boys in her youth ending up with the name Miss Hot Tamale.
Carnelle was raised by her Aunt together with her cousins Elain and Delmount. Elain herself had won the Miss Firecracker Contest at age 17 and therefore weighs in with encouragement – and criticism when giving advice to Carnelle.
Here is the cast the New Village Arts:
- Samantha Ginn
- Melissa Coleman-Reed
- Kristin Woodburn
- Lauren King
- Justin Lang
- Eddie Yaroch
They do a marvelous job in their respective roles and I enjoyed the 2 hour and 15 minute play very much. It was a nice evening out supporting local entertainment.