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CURTAIN CALL COLUMN:  'Firecracker' cast sparkles in comedy

Carnell Scott, artfully portrayed by Kaaren Holt, is nearing the age where she will be too old to enter the contest her cousin, Elain Rutledge (portrayed by Sarah Heitmann) entered and won a few years previously. Carnell was dumped years before on her aunt’s doorstep by her father and was raised with her cousins. The aunt has since died, leaving Carnell floundering to find her place in life.

Carnell, a.k.a. "our little Carnation" wants desperately to trade her reputation as "Miss Hot Tamale" in for the crown and "leave town in a blaze of glory."

She hires a seamstress new to town, "Popeye" Jackson, who is masterfully played by Amber Mecum.

Popeye is sweet, simple, self conscious, slow and profoundly nearsighted with childlike innocence. She carries a magnifying glass around her neck to amplify her glasses’ ability to view the world.

While Carnell goes to fetch the material for the costume, Popeye looks at all the pictures in the living room setting and stops to gush excitedly like an adolescent over a picture of "a man."

This is no ordinary man, either, but Delmount Williams, Carnell’s cousin, skillfully played by Edward Vasquez. Delmount is a tall, lanky, wanderer who just got out of the asylum where he was sent after hitting a man in the face with a bottle. When the play opens, no one has heard from him since his release.

Elain married money in the form of Franklin Rutledge(not seen) shortly after winning the contest. Years later, she goes on an errand and just leaves him and returns to the homestead she grew up on to find herself. Elain is the stereotypical self-absorbed princess who, when asked about leaving her children quips, "they’ll adjust."

Just when she gets out of her bubble bath, her long lost brother, Delmount returns to sell their mother’s house and furnishings. Elain, prim and proper even stepping out of a bath, contrasted wildly with Delmount, whose hair had the unique ability to stand straight off his head in any configuration on cue.

Carnell, eats an entire pan of brownies when a judge is late telling her she made it to the finals. Feeling she is finally getting the recognition she deserves, she proceeds with plans for her performance and adjusting Elain’s dress.

Popeye makes the costume while staring dreamy-eyed at Delmount, whom she falls in love with. Delmount, finding her creepy, concentrates on logging the family possessions. When the local historical society requests he donate the antique spinning wheel, he quips, "You’ll just have to bid $5 at the auction like everyone else."

Not to be outdone, Carnell’s blast from the past, her former beau Mac Sam, portrayed by Jeremy Taylor returns to the scene to make advances at her and everyone else. It seems Mac enjoys finding out if the drinking, smoking or the venereal disease he and Carnell once shared will kill him. He alternately drinks out of a flask, smokes, coughs blood and oozes slime while leering at women.

The day of the contest, Tessey Mahoney, played by Meagan Zomboracz, appears as the coordinator for the pageant. Tessey was "one of the virgins" Delmount had his way with before his stint in the looney bin and seeks an encore performance.

And when the contest is over, Carnell comes in last, and even Mac becomes an (almost) likable character in his support and understanding.

Heitmann played the seriously neurotic Elain just far enough out in left field where she was both funny and likable, even if she was selfish.

Holt was marvelous as the town whore wanting to change her life in the only way she knew how.

Taylor and Zomboracz in their supporting roles both held their own well with such strong lead characters.

All in all, it was the slow-witted character Popeye (Mecum)who shone throughout. Her poor vision and troubles came out of a childhood accident. During the play she lost her job for giving a child an expensive compact behind the counter.

"She had never seen the color of her eyes," Popeye said matter-of- factly. "They were a pretty blue." There was no anger toward her boss, the girl or life. Just acceptance of whatever came her way, without regrets.

Mecum met the challenge of portraying the slowwitted girl without making her an object of ridicule, but someone you could laugh with.

Comedy is more about timing, rhythm, and effective delivery than telling jokes and sounding "funny."

Ensemble comedy is harder as not only does the cast have to master the above, but they have to do it while playing off each other, a hard chemistry for even professionals to get.

Perhaps the hardest for the cast was mastering the southern drawl of those who live in Mississippi. Vasquez captured it pretty well.

However, his most effective ability was he could deliver more of a punch line by contorting his face and disheveling his hair and just staring than most comedians can do with words.

The sets were a simple living room and backstage of the contest. Because the audience didn’t see all the events, but the players reaction to them, you felt less like your were watching a play and more like you were peering into someone else’s life voyeuristically for two hours.

Carnell sought recognition and acceptance through a pageant and lost. Elain sought love by marrying and then escaping wealth and didn’t find what she was looking for either. Delmount railed at authority and sought wealth by selling off the family home while trying to stay out of Tessey’s grasps. Mac sought whoever he could tumble with down by the Wisteria trees.

Popeye sought only love while seeing the very best in everyone. In the end, love came to her.

And this cast, unlike others who have tried this before, actually made the telling of the tale humorous.

For those who missed this gem directed by Dr. David Kuester and assisted by Jose Miranda and Matt Harmon, there is a video version out there someplace. But it won’t be the same.