Our props person took a Toilet paper tube and painted it red.  She then placed a couple of smaller firecrackers/cherry bombs in it and covered it with a clay or putty of some sort that gave it weight and kept the firecrackers inside it.  Tommy was then handed a book of matches and placed the firecracker in the center-stage down-front, and it worked wonderfully every night.

We did it with a starter pistol also.  We took sparklers and cut them to a short length for him to throw at her feet.  They only burnt for a second then we fired the pistol.  It worked great.