STAGE REVIEW : Plot Flaws Snuff Out ‘Miss Firecracker’ : The insignificance of Beth Henley’s play frustrates a feisty Cal State Fullerton production. The problems come from lousy plot development.

Can a Southern-fried girl with a reputation for sleeping around find joy in a podunk beauty pageant? That’s the idea behind Beth Henley’s “The Miss Firecracker Contest” at Cal State Fullerton in a feisty production that, unfortunately, is frustrated by the comedy’s insignificance.

Like Henley’s earlier “Crimes of the Heart,” which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1981, “Miss Firecracker” has its own assortment of eccentric Southern ladies and other oddballs with excessive personalities, caught up in unnervingly brittle and wacky situations.

There’s Carnelle, the semiliterate heroine with a messy past (the boys call her “Miss Hot Tamale”), who thinks she can get even with the sniggering town by winning the local beauty contest.

She’s surrounded by cousin Elain, a wilted flower of a Southern belle fixated on her glory days, and Elain’s brother Delmount, a crazy, romantic guy who is prone to rages. Delmount is peculiar (he’s done time in an institution) but he’s basically a good sort. At least the nerdy Popeye thinks so; she’s nuts about him.

These folks do amuse, at least in the first act, when Henley sets them up like gaudily dressed dolls for us to marvel at. Director Gretchen Kanne ensures their quirkiness by asking her actors to open up instead of playing it safe.

But the play’s problems come from lousy plot development. Despite all the hectic goings-on, “Miss Firecracker” really doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Take Elain. She’s left her husband and returned to the homestead (where Carnelle now lives) to regroup--and Henley leaves it at that. We never learn much about this mysterious hubby, or whether there’s a chance for reconciliation. What’s the point?

Then there’s the absurdly overstated romance that sprouts between Delmount and Popeye. It’s comic but unbelievable and superfluous. The story, after all, is supposed to be about Carnelle and her minor league aspirations, and our focus on that is blurred by these unresolved sidelights.

The acting at CSUF is pretty good. Giselle Gonzalez Rubino (who alternates in the role with Samantha Hadfield) gives Carnelle the necessary innocence and pluck to get us pulling for her. Darrin Shaughnessy brings an edgy unpredictability to Delmount, contrasted by Debbie Korkunis’ dizzy elegance as Elain. Carla Johnson’s Popeye is the designated crowd favorite, getting laughs with her vast idiosyncrasies.

Todd Muffatti’s living-room set, where most of the action takes place, is well-crafted but disappointing. This just doesn’t look like a place where Carnelle would live. It’s too straight; where are all the dopey knickknacks that someone like this undoubtedly would cherish?

‘THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST’

A Cal State Fullerton production of Beth Henley’s play. Directed by Gretchen Kanne. With Giselle Gonzalez Rubino, Samantha Hadfield, Carla Johnson, Debbie Korkunis, Darrin Shaughnessy, Charlie James and Melinda Riemer. Set by Todd Muffatti. Costumes and makeup by Abel Zeballos. Lighting by Susan Hallman. Sound by John R. Fisher. Choreography by Laura Insley. Plays today through Saturday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall at CSUF, 800 N. State College, Fullerton. Tickets: $5 to $7. (714) 773-3371.