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Strollers hopes for some on-stage pyrotechnics with "Firecracker"

Rena Archwamety
Special to The Capital Times  —  5/16/2008 5:31 am

If Madison theatergoers still feel like they're thawing out from recent memories of winter, a warm dose of Southern comedy might be just the cure.

This week the Strollers Theatre opens "The Miss Firecracker Contest," a play about a notorious young woman in a small Mississippi town who attempts to turn her soiled reputation around by entering a local talent and beauty pageant. Joining her on her journey are her seamstress, who looks optimistically to the future through coke-bottle glasses, as well as two cousins, one a former Miss Firecracker winner and the other recently released from a mental institution.

The play was written by Beth Henley, who won the Pulitzer Prize for another play, "Crimes of the Heart," and is well-known for her Southern Gothic style of comedy. Director Jeremy Thomas Poulsen says the Southern Gothic genre can be seen in movies such as "Steel Magnolias" or "Little Miss Sunshine."

"Southern Gothic comedy takes ideal Southern stereotypes, then breaks them down and adds in some darker humor," said director Jeremy Thomas Poulsen. "It's not your slapstick. The comedy is more subtle, but it's still very funny."

It's the first play for Strollers since some behind-the-scenes turmoil threatened to put the company on hiatus earlier this spring. The company had at one point planned on leaving its long-time home at the Bartell Theatre, but with a new board of directors in place decided to stay at the Bartell and continue with "Miss Firecracker" as planned.

The play features grotesque images like a box of deformed cats, and offbeat characters like a deflowered Southern belle pageant beauty or a carnival worker with syphilis, and yet makes these elements into something not only funny but heartwarming.

"Beth Henley has a great way of really wrapping up the script in a nice picture by the end, making it all seem kind of above and beyond what a classic comedy is, giving it some heart," Poulsen said.

The play is set during the mid-1970s, and Poulson said it was important to keep that time period in the Strollers' production rather than trying to update it.

"There are a lot of issues that become much more prevalent in 1975, like women's rights issues, looking at the images of females during that time," Poulsen said. "It's something that would be very different if it were set in 2008 than in 1975."

The play includes characters that, like the play, are somewhat outrageous but not included merely for shock value. The main character, Carnelle Scott, is a feisty redhead who has earned the nickname "Miss Hot Tamale" among town locals. She is played by Julie Logue.

"Carnelle is just this bubble of energy. She really shines throughout the whole show," Poulsen said.

Logue is fairly new to the Madison stage, though the play also includes familiar Strollers actors Miranda McClenaghan ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress") as Carnelle's cousin and former pageant queen Elain, and Colin Woolston ("Art," "Uncle Vanya") as Elain's gallant and unstable brother Delmount.

Poulsen also is relatively new to Madison, having moved here three years ago from Kansas City where he earned a bachelor's degree in directing and producing. He directed "Ana, Leona & The Lady Luck" for Stage Q in 2005 and has done some backstage work for Strollers. "The Miss Firecracker Contest" is his directorial debut with Strollers Theatre.

"Every director hopes for a production where all the pieces fall together and come together nicely and fit together well, and this has really been that for me," Poulsen said. "With such great acting talent and designers doing really great jobs, this show has come together very nicely."

Poulsen said that he has focused on bringing out the show's heart, the hopes and dreams of the imperfect characters, to provide an uplifting experience for the audience.

"There are so many stories out there right now where you leave being depressed, or being upset, or feeling like it's a sitcom that doesn't give you much," he said. "What I try to bring to this show is a sense of wonderment, where you're cheerful about the prospects of your future."

"If it makes people look at their lives a little differently and to be a little more relaxed about what expectations they have, that's a great thing. Sometimes you just need to breathe and let things happen."

"The Miss Firecracker Contest" runs Wednesdays through Saturdays until May 31. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $15 at the door or in advance by calling 661-9696.

Rena Archwamety
Special to The Capital Times  —  5/16/2008 5:31 am