The organization that stages the newly revived Miss’d America pageant in Atlantic City is planning on big changes for next year’s show, which will not include host Sandy Beach.
Larry Sieg, president of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance, said in a statement Tuesday that the agency will present the show in an “entirely new format” in 2012, with more focus on the contestants.
Sieg said the show will feature a new “celebrity host,” although he declined to disclose the name, saying organizers are still in talks with the individual’s management team.
Robert Hitchen, who portrays character Sandy Beach, declined to comment.
The show came back to life in 2010 after a several-year hiatus. It was originally launched in the early ’90s to parody the mainstream Miss America contest and raise money for the South Jersey AIDS Alliance.
The past two shows, written and directed by Hitchen, have raised funds for a number of HIV/AIDS and LGBT agencies in the region.
Sieg said the GLBT Alliance and partner Schultz-Hill Foundation have found that the show is now “growing far beyond its local roots” and are working to present a program to match that.
“It has become necessary for the organization to draw a distinction between the much smaller, local show that took place for many years on the stage of Studio 6 versus the vision of a show that will fill Boardwalk Hall and potentially have national television coverage,” he said. “We have a great opportunity at this time, by utilizing this show as a vehicle to bring and increase awareness not only locally or regionally, but also nationally.”
In keeping with that goal, Sieg said organizers are going to undertake a more extensive and in-depth contestant search.
While Seig acknowledged the “tremendous contributions” of Hitchen, he said the “new format will provide the pageant greater national exposure.”
“Our pageant provides a unique opportunity for these spectacular ‘ladies’ to shine brighter than ever before in one of the most historic buildings in the world. With their help, we will continue to raise desperately needed funds for local, regional and national charities.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].