The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania is a 2005 documentary film directed by David Hunt and Jody Eldred about the fiftieth annual "Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Queen" beauty pageant which took place on Sunday, August 17, 2003 at the State Theatre Center for the Arts (Uniontown, Pennsylvania). The film is produced by Hunt's wife Patricia Heaton, and prominently features actress Sarah Rush, who was herself a Coal Queen in her youth. Heaton describes the film as "an homage to small town America".
The film follows the past and present contestants and winners of the annual beauty pageant sponsored by the bituminous coal industry of Greene County, Pennsylvania and was shot over a 10 day period in August 2003. The movie's budget swelled from $45,000 to $350,000 after the licensing for the various song snippets that appear in the contestants' acts.
A memorable character is the pageant's stage manager, who is easily offended when the contestants make requests and suggestions. He has since been fired.
| Name | Act | Representing |
|---|---|---|
| Dana Bukovitz | Tap dance | Frazier High School |
| Alyssa Corfont | Tap dance to "Fame" | Waynesburg Central High School |
| Elizabeth Gessner | Piano and voice performance of "Change the World" | Geibel Catholic High School |
| Mary Hawkins | Dance | Jefferson-Morgan High School |
| Christine Henry | Dance | Mapletown Junior-Senior High School |
| Jessica Levo | Voice performance of "I Enjoy Being a Girl" | Carmichaels Area High School |
| Abbey Lion | Dance | Laurel Highlands High School |
| Ryann Over | Dance/lipsync to "All That Jazz" | Uniontown Area Senior High School |
| Malana Piatt | Baton performance to "All That Jazz" | Bethlehem Center High School |
| Michelle Tanner | Voice performance of "The Rose" | Albert Gallatin Area High School |
| Laura Yost | Xylophone | Clay-Battelle High School |
Famous quotes containing the words coal, queens and/or pennsylvania:
“Coal is a portable climate. It carries the heat of the tropics to Labrador and the polar circle; and it is the means of transporting itself whithersoever it is wanted. Watt and Stephenson whispered in the ear of mankind their secret, that a half-ounce of coal will draw two tons a mile, and coal carries coal, by rail and by boat, to make Canada as warm as Calcutta, and with its comfort brings its industrial power.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The queers of the sixties, like those since, have connived with their repression under a veneer of respectability. Good mannered city queens in suits and pinstripes, so busy establishing themselves, were useless at changing anything.”
—Derek Jarman (b. 1942)
“The discovery of Pennsylvania’s coal and iron was the deathblow to Allaire. The works were moved to Pennsylvania so hurriedly that for years pianos and the larger pieces of furniture stood in the deserted houses.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)