South Camden Theatre Company to Stage THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST This March

South Camden Theatre Company, a nonprofit professional theatre organization located in Camden, New Jersey will present "The Miss Firecracker Contest" by Beth Henley, opening Friday, March 10 at 8:00 p.m and running through Sunday, March 26 at 2:00 p.m. There are 9 performances. Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.

The Miss Firecracker Contest is a play written by Beth Henley after her Pulitzer Prize winning, Crimes of the Heart. Both plays were produced on Broadway and both had movie versions.

The play belongs in the group of Southern Gothic comedies for which Henley is best known. Its heroine, Carnelle, is an irrepressible young woman who thinks that winning the local beauty contest will restore her soiled reputation and make her somebody in her small Mississippi community. The family and friends who help her along the way are a dysfunctional bunch who tackle life in their own peculiar ways. There is a former beauty queen cousin, Elain, who comes to offer advice and to run away from her husband and children. Elain's brother, Delmount, has come home from the mental institution to sell the family house and provide Carnelle another way out. Wandering into the chaos as Carnelle's seamstress is sweet and strange Popeye, who falls in love with Delmount. The general conclusion these characters reach is that, even if the real you is not the fulfillment of your hopes, you will be more at peace if you learn to define and accept your own self.

Scott Grumling, the plays director states, "With the current state of things in our country, and with so much polarization affecting our lives and even relationships, The Miss Firecracker Contest provides a welcome chance for everyone to look past our differences and come together as a community and enjoy a fun evening in the company of these entertaining, often crazy, yet lovable characters. You will definitely leave with a smile on your face!"

SCTC's Interim Artistic Director, Ray Croce, Sr. is delighted to be working with Scott who has directed and performed in professional theaters in venues like the New England Conservatory and the Boston Center for the Arts. He is back working as a director for SCTC after directing one of the one-act plays in last year's Shadows of War play festival.

In the end, "The Miss Firecracker Contest" allows us to recognize that when we put our faith in friendship and family, we can weather the worst of circumstances with the emotional support provided by these relationships.

THE CAST:
Rebecca Latimer (Carnelle)
Hillary Wilson (Tessy Mahoney)
Danny Donnelly (Delmont)
Donovan Lockett (Popeye Jackson)
Heather Ferrel (Elain)
Aaron Roberge (Mac Sam)

THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Scott Grumling, Director
T. Patrick Ryan, Assistant Director
Randall McCann, Technical Director
Robert Bingaman, Scenic Designer
Stephanie di Bona, Lighting Design
James Guckin, Sound Design
Ashley Reiter/Connie Norwood, Costumes/Props

The South Camden Theatre Company is the resident Theatre Company of the Waterfront South Theatre in Camden, NJ. This is our 12th season. We've been producing plays in our new home at the corner of 4th Street and Jasper Street, just off Broadway at Ferry Avenue since the Fall of 2010 when the theatre was completed. The theatre and the revitalization of the arts in the neighborhood are the inspiration of Father Michael Doyle of the Sacred Heart Church. Together we are anchoring the neighborhood's rebirth into a welcoming, safe and desirable place for families, the arts and life. Visit www.southcamdentheatre.org for more information.

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