Jeremy Wahlers on Look Solutions Gear in Death Becomes Her and Other Broadway Shows

	Death Becomes Her. Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

One of Broadway production electrician Jeremy Wahlers' recent productions is the hit musical Death Becomes Her, based on the film comedy, which features many bizarre special effects. "Death Becomes Her is amazing; the music, the orchestrations, the actors' chemistry are all fantastic," he says. "Shows like this take a lot of planning, and getting the effects spot-on requires a full rehearsal period. You could try and do it in a demo room, but, really, it has to be a full-scale dark room, which can be cost-prohibitive. The scale of this show is massive, and we feel like we've really nailed it!"

Death Becomes Her features a lighting design by Justin Townsend. "I am the designer's advocate," Wahlers says. "I'm there to fight for them, to help negotiate the budgets, labor, and perishables. I work with the other departments to ensure we can get the rig into the building and consider the whole picture to get the best possible outcome for the show. "Broadway is largely a commercial venture, so we have to make money, and if we are not fully prepared, then we will fail. Special effects have historically often been an afterthought. If we have an idea during technical rehearsals, even with the whole team working on it, if the special effects haven't been considered, it is much harder to get the effect correct the first time around."

An example of pre-planning working well was the haze deck technique used for the musical Water for Elephants. Wahlers first saw this technique used on Miss Saigon, designed by Bruno Poet. Using Look Solutions' Unique Hazers, the deck contained rows of troughs and tiny pinholes. The haze was piped through the holes, creating a very localized effect. If applied in a blackout, this technique ensured that when the lights came up, the scene was perfectly hazed. Because of the localization, it could be applied in different ways on the same stage. The technique was also used in such Bruno Poet-designed shows as Tina and Bad Cinderella.

"The awesome part of this effect is that you probably wouldn't even know it was there, but it adds atmosphere exactly where it is needed," Wahlers explains. "On Bad Cinderella, it was more complicated because the show contained concentric revolves, but seeing it work meant that, when Water for Elephants came along, I could explain the benefits and we got it built into the show early on. It's not an inexpensive design; we used 12 zones by gridding the stage into three rows and four columns, but it was very successful. Using this technique, we could break the stage into 12 quadrants, delivering haze at the exact level required, from a tiny amount of atmospherics to so much that it looked like the floor is on fire."

Controlling the effects of fog and haze can be very difficult, especially in older, drafty theatres. But localized techniques, in addition to using variable output units like Look Solutions' Unique 2.1, ensure that Wahlers and his team can apply their effects exactly where needed. This ensures minimal bleed-through to the wings, where haze could build up and cause issues for technicians and performers. The style of application also prevents too much fluid from being used, making shows more economical. Wahlers has also been using an app called Haze Watch, created by John McKenna, which is a particulate-monitoring system that utilizes multiple sensors throughout the theatre to track fog and haze levels in real time, sending the data back to a central location with a simple real-time readout.

The most well-known effect in Death Becomes Her is the moment that the character Helen, played by Jennifer Simard, gets shot, leaving a huge hole in her abdomen. In the theatre, this is achieved with costume and smoke effects. As Wahlers explains, getting it to that point takes time, experimentation and teamwork to make sure all departments can make something exciting happen together.

"Hiding equipment on people's bodies is hard," Wahlers says. "It has to be tiny, and some DMX-controlled equipment just isn't small enough. Alternatively, it is so small that it becomes fragile and needs specialist attention to make sure it works. When you are as busy as we are, time-consuming, specialist equipment often gets cut. We used Look Solutions' Tiny FX for the personal smoke effects, but the DMX remote was too big for the tight-fitting costumes, so we have a member of the stage crew in the wings firing the effect locally."

The Tiny Fogger range has a variety of solutions for situations like this and can be placed in costumes or hidden discreetly in props to ensure fog is delivered where it is needed. The modular design means that if there is space, DMX and remotes can be worn in addition to the fogger to make the system completely remote or, as in Death Becomes Her, the unit can be operated locally via remote to reduce the size of the unit and make it even more discreet. There are even tubing options to adapt the unit to a personal prop, operated by the wearer.

"Nathan Kahn at Look Solutions USA is a wonderful stand-up guy," Wahlers adds, "If I have any questions, he is always really prompt and helpful. Relationships are really important in theatre and Look Solutions USA has built a great product and a great community." You can read more about Death Becomes Her in the January 2025 issue of Lighting&Sound America.