What's a 'Whopper Popper?' | News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Laci Bradshaw said she didn't make it up.  It's slang in the theater crowd.

Bradshaw travels with the production of "Beauty and the Beast," now playing through Sunday at the Florida Times Union Center. 

She manages the costumes, which follow the original Broadway designs and were recognized with a Tony award.

The biggest costume belongs to the actor playing the wardrobe, she said. The whopper poppers are actually giant snaps, that hold the costume together. 

Bob Benoit, a local stage worker, said he has the "honor" of dressing the Beast.  The actor is a friendly guy and the experience is rewarding, he said.

Benoit said the costumes are hot and the actors sweat "profusely." Parts of the Beast costume have to be washed every day.

Each actor and actress is assigned a number. The numbers are on pieces of paper on the floor in front of a row of chairs.  That organization allows the "dressers" to make quick costume changes.

Bradshaw said she's been busy dyeing and airbrushing the costumes. They've been on the road with this production for two years and some of the colors faded.  So she makes sure the original hues stay in tact.

She uses a theater process called "shadowing." For example, the guys' pants came white, but the designer wanted them to have shades of turquoise to create a look of more depth.  She airbrushes that shadowing effect on the costumes.

She said, yes, sometimes an actor will rip his pants. The costume managers rush the pants downstairs to a sewing machine to make quick fixes.

How long do the "dressers" have to get the costumes on? In the case of the gargoyles, just 30 seconds!

"Beauty and the Beast" still has a Friday night performance and two performances each day Saturday and Sunday.

The Artist Series helps raise scholarship funds for talented student performers through the Florida State College Foundation of Jacksonville.