Lumiere Blows Up

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:46am

Ok..not really. Just tabloid journalism.

But I was thinking..how do they keep the actor from getting burned? What do they use for the flame?

And I can just see some stupid community theater in Arkansas doing the show.
"Joe..just put more gasoline in it...it'll be cool!"

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:49am

It's a real flame. His hands are under it and the fabric is fireproof.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:53am

Have any actors got burned?

[CattleCall]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:53am

Didn't Gary Beach's arm catch on fire during one of the performances though? Or am I just completely making that up?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 10:09am

oh, gary beach was flaming all right...

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 10:09am

hahahaha

[timote316]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 11:00am

lmao

[erikaamato]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 11:08am

FYI, I saw the first California regional production a few months ago (they were using all the sets and costumes from the Witchita production, which was I believe was the very first regional production, period). Anyway, they used some sort of super-light silky fabric all in oranges and reds and yellows to look like flames, and they were somehow blown upwards by fans rigged into the hands of the costume. It looked great, and they won't be burning anybody.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:17pm

haha on the flaming homo comment.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:27pm

They have those cool things that look like flames.....

[Amneris]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:53pm

i'd assume it's the same kind of fake fire they use in Phantom.

[HeartinNYC]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:58pm

Yes, actually Gary Beach's torch arms did catch fire during one performance. I remember an interview where he said that it was utter panic for a few moments!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:12pm

lumiere on broadway and on tour is on fire. real. live. flames.

[erikaamato]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:41pm

papalovesmambo: Right. I'm not disputing that. I was just replying to Mr. Tuttle's "And I can just see some stupid community theater in Arkansas doing the show.
'Joe..just put more gasoline in it...it'll be cool!'" They obviously were concerned about that when they were building the new costumes in Witchita, and found a way around using real flames. So, that's good news for anyone who rents those costumes for the new batch of regional productions. Which have just started. Not to be confused with the tour. =)

[Karma76]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 3:04pm

off disney's site

Lumiere's hands are made of a flameproof plastic surrounding a flame device that uses one ounce of liquid butane per hand per show. In the last ten years it has burned 700 pounds of butane.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 3:07pm

Did someone tell Gary Beach that it was suppose to be flame proof?

[saddle shoe side kick]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 3:12pm

in the book Making It On Broadway I think its Susan Egan who told a story about how Gary caught fire and the audience thought it was part of the show.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 3:20pm

And Gary is still flaming on stage

[DancerGirl16]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 7:22pm

this is completely random, but, my best friends grandfather is the voice of Lumiere in the movie of Beauty and the Beast and I think he woudl get the BIGGEST kick out of this topic!

[dancinfan]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 7:31pm

Yeah, the butane canisters are in pockets on the actor's back, and there are tubes that run down his sleeves to the candles on his hands. With a two-part flick of his fingers and thumbs, he opens the tubes and then presses an ignition switch (not unlike the electric ignition on a gas stove or a stun gun), sparking the butane and creating real falmes. They are fairly cool flames, and the pyro staff have the ability to make the flames taller or shorter depending on the comfortability of the actor. I may have this wrong, but what happened to Gary Beach very early on was that the fire actually backed up one of the tubes. Once the apparatus was redesigned to keep that from happening (and to be lighter-weight), everything was much safer. In addition, EVERY prop, costume, set, and wig is flameproofed. That doesn't mean they won't burn eventually, but the reatrdant slows down the process to the point that the actors could get help before being burned. Aside from other fireworks in the show, the torches that are carried in the Mob Song are also live flames fueled by butane in the base of each torch.

The other time that someone actually came close to getting burned in the Broadway company was when Harrison Beal, playing the Young Prince in the Prologue, got hit by the Enchantress' fireball, which is a live throw every performance. The pyro device landed on his shoulder in his long wig. Terrence Mann reached out with his big rubber Beast glove and doused it before it could do any damage. The smell of melting wig onstage was terrible, though.

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 7:55pm

Thank you, Dancinfan. You really seem to know what is happening with the show.

And I think we all know how much it hurts to be hit by an Enchantress' fireball.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 8:33pm

"this is completely random, but, my best friends grandfather is the voice of Lumiere in the movie of Beauty and the Beast and I think he woudl get the BIGGEST kick out of this topic!"

Jerry Orbach?

[scottwalker]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 9:10pm

From the Disney website... It took a year and a half to develop the The Enchantress' fireball and it is the first known throwable hand-held device of its kind. She can hold the ball of fire in her hand until it burns out without any physical damage.
A couple of weeks ago it did seem to land closer to James Tabeek (plays the young prince in the beginning) then normal.Blew up right at his feet.
I guess that is also why they have the 'see thru curtain' in parts where there is fire.To keep the audience safe...

[saddle shoe side kick]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 9:16pm

Disney and their magic...

[Mr. Tuttle]

Posted: 11/17/04 at 12:58am

GovernerSlaton..how do you know it's Jerry Orbach? Did she say it was? Did she name him? No..she didn't.

This is exactly how rumors begin.