Directed by Tony winner Judith Ivey, who is currently starring in the Broadway revival of The Heiress, the production will open in spring 2013 at a Broadway theatre to be announced. Additional casting will be revealed at a later date.
Miss Firecracker Contest, according to press notes, "is the inspiring story of Carnelle Scott (Tamblyn), a Southern orphan living in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Carnelle is furiously rehearsing her patriotic tap dance for the Miss Firecracker Contest—hoping that a victory will salvage her tarnished reputation as the town’s 'Miss Hot Tamale' and allow her to leave Brookhaven in a 'crimson blaze of glory.' The unexpected arrival of her cousin Elain, a former Miss Firecracker Queen, (who has walked out on her rich but boring husband and two small children) and Elain’s eccentric brother, Delmount (recently released from a mental institution), threatens to derail Carnelle’s total makeover. Carnelle perseveres—leading to a climax of hilarity, heart and radiant fireworks!"
The play was first presented to New York audiences in 1984 at the Manhattan Theater Club. It was later made into a 1989 feature film starring Holly Hunter and Tim Robbins.
The Broadway staging will be produced by HOP Theatricals and lead producer Larry Kaye, who is also the producer of the upcoming Broadway play The Velocity of Autumn.