Show Curtains

[keen on kean]

I can't seem to put my hands on my Sweeney program - is there a glimpse of the curtain in that? The curtain was bluish-black with hundreds of small diagonal cuts running from the upper right to lower left, as though someone had taken a straight razor to the cloth. They were actual cuts - you could see bits of the stage behind.

[James2]

No, there aren't any pictures of the curtain in the Sweeney program. It was a very nice curtain. Maybe when the show goes on tour, someone can get a picture then.

What does the Apple Tree curtain look like?

[ElFantasma14]

I know there's a picture of the Sweeney Curtain in EugLoven's blog, cause I remember reading his review and seeing the pic.

[RentBoy86]

I'm seeing Movin' Out tomm. Is there a show curtain for it?

[neddyfrank2]

There is no real curtain for The Apple Tree. In the middle of the stage there is this gold long rectangular thing with a picture of an Apple Tree on it.

[wonderfulwizard11]

I found a picture of the Sweeney curtain:

[Allentown2]

Miss Saigon has a curtain? What does the old BATB curtain look like?

[Broadway Baby4]

Let's see I like
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Lestat
Spamalot
Wicked
The Secret Garden

[ILoveMyDictionary]

I'm feeling all that anticipation just looking at pictures of show curtins.

My favorites are:
Hairspray
Tarzan
Fame Becomes Me
Wicked
the Imperial Theatre's regular curtin.

[ThankstoPhantom]

The old Beauty curtain was a traditional red theatre curtain. I believe they dumped it when they moved to the Lunt.

[ElFantasma14]

Movin' Out does have a curtain. It's sorta purpley and dark and nothing to write home about. It blends in with the huge speakers on the sides of the stage.

[neddyfrank2]

What was The Secret Garden curtain?

[singtopher]

I saw the national tour of The Secret Garden and I remember it being the logo.

[Broadway Baby4]

It was the picture of a Victoria garden with the logo in the middle. Like an old post card. I've only seen it on a video but that's what it was.

singtopher, that's also what they used when I did the show as Martha.

[singtopher]

Not too shabby of a memory for being 15 years ago.

[BroadwayBoy2]

ANyone have a Ragtime curtain pic?

[DRSisLove]

Question about London curtains...
Do they only drop the saftey curtains during intermission? I mean, I've seen photos of curtains during intermission, so how does this saftey curtain thing go about?

Thanks in advacned.

[Tag]

Safety curtains (or fire curtains, as they are known in North America) are required by law in the UK to be flown in during a suitable intermission to demonstrate to the audience that it is in working order.
Usually this is done 10 minutes into intermission when most patrons are out of the theatre.

[neddyfrank2]

What is the function of a saftey curtain?

[allofmylife]

If a fire breaks out onsatge (and remember, theatres used to use live flame lamps) the safety curtain falls into place (it can be tripped or it will be tripped when the heat causes the thermostatic release to trigger) and keeps the fire from entering the audience long enough for the patrons to flee the theatre (and, hopefully not be killed in a stampede.) The curtains used to be made of one-half-inch thick asbestos, which probably explained why so many actors used to die of lung cancer.

Do you know how they used to figure out the maximim number of seats in a theatre? They would make a scale model of the theatre house with seating in place and the exit door open. Then they would pour steel ball-bearings into the model - one for each patron - and shake the model. All the ball bearings had to clear the theatre in 120 seconds (and they could be added incrementally until the limit was reached). It was assumed this would measure the capacity seating.

[RentBoy86]

allofmylife: very interesting.

Tag: Isn't it somewhat pointless to fly it in during intermission when nobody's in the theater? Or I guess that's the point, huh? So that it doesn't ruin the aesthic of the show.

[Tag]

Yes that is pretty much the point. As long as *some* patrons see it then it seems to be alright.
Also some theatres have fire curtains painted to fit in with the décor of the house but it is usually just a beige colour. Some older theatres have fire curtains that actually say "Safety Curtain" on them in large lettering.

[neddyfrank2]

Now I get the joke in ELAINE STRICH: AT LIBERTY where she talks about how the asbestos was down!

[alterego]

The original London SWEENEY TODD (1979) program had a excellent photograph of the large cloth (not really a show curtain) which greeted you when you arrived in the theatre. It was of a sort of beehive shaped illustration of the British class system.

[allofmylife]

A friend read my post (didn't even know he was a closet Broadwayhaulic) and told me they STILL use the ball-bearings to measure safe escape times for airliners.

[BroadwayBoy2]

The Gershwin actually has the only "Water Fire Curtain" Which i think is kinda cool.