You won't be able to take the firecrackers with you, but you will sure feel the thrill and patriotism of the red, white, and blue effects in the all-American comedy,You Can't Take It With You, according to The New Yorker.
Jeremy Chernick, an effects designer of J&M Special Effects, is responsible for Rocky's bloody nose and the genie smoke in Aladdin. Working with pyrotechnician Bohdan Bushell, Chernick assembled a series of increasingly powerful and successful effects to represent an eccentric character's homemade fireworks in You Can't Take It With You.
Chernick gave a demonstration of the effects to the play's director Scott Ellis, set designer David Rockwell, and lighting designer Donald Holder. For the character's entrance in Act I when he walks in with a frying pan of firecrackers, Chernick and Bushell created a skillet that emitted five pops of white sparks and smoke. The designers asked to explore the colors of the effects, especially the romance and beauty of the red for when the character ignites some explosive powder at the end of Act I.
When a character accidentally sets off a year's worth of firecrackers at the end of Act II, Chernick and Bushell crafted a series of fourteen blasts and a ricochet effect off the stage-left wall. The dynamic duo also veered from the script a little to add a fun crescendo of fireworks to light up the ceiling during curtain call - a definite crowd-pleaser.
For more, read the full article on The New Yorker. To see more effects from J&M Special Effects, watch the video below.