The evening sky Wednesday was awash in the pale glow of red, blue, green and purple lightsabers outside the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar Boulevard, where hundreds of fans raised their weapons high in the air to mourn the loss of a woman who became their princess.

The death of Carrie Fisher, the actress who gained worldwide fame in her turn as the beautiful but brash, tough but tender Princess Leia Organa in the epic "Star Wars" space saga, created a group discussion among employees at the Alamo Drafthouse on Tuesday that quickly went from consolation over the loss of a legend to planning for a memorial.

"Princess Leia — she was the princess for all of us that didn’t really care for ball gowns and Prince Charmings, but instead for stormtroopers, laser guns and lightsabers," said Morgan Hendrix, creative manager for the Alamo Drafthouse. "To me, she was the first immediate badass princess."

A lightsaber vigil emerged as the winning idea. The theater posted plans for the event on its website Tuesday, and 24 hours later, a group of more than 200 fans dressed as their favorite characters from the sprawling franchise of eight (and counting) movies.

A sage Obi-Wan Kenobi was overheard pondering how he usually dresses as the shrewd bounty hunter Boba Fett, but that didn’t seem respectful for Wednesday night’s event. Several younger Jedis came dressed as Leia in her white dress, with their hair done up in the iconic double buns. A life-size replica of the spunky stalwart helper droid R2-D2 became a focal point for the crowd, who took turns snapping photos with the affable automaton.

Folks traded their favorite "Star Wars" quotes ("These aren’t the droids you’re looking for," was lobbed at R2-D2 several times) and milled about in the plaza in front of the theater until the Dead Music Capital Band could be heard playing the "Imperial March," dressed in "Star Wars" gear, too. They regaled the crowd with their take on "Cantina Band," music from the film that dipped at times into a funeral march.

Then, in what was no doubt the moment that enticed the most tears from the crowd, a single French horn played a somber solo of "Leia’s Theme" from the legendary John Williams score.

"Leia was a hero growing up," said Jenni Wieland, the French horn player pegged at the last minute to play the theme for the vigil. "I was born in the ’70s and I’ve never known a universe that didn’t have Princess Leia in it."

The Alamo’s Hendrix said that she would have been happy if only 10 people had shown up. But as early as 11 a.m., people had been gathering at the theater.

"Honestly, I’m a little choked up by how many people are here," she said.

Drones buzzed overhead snapping aerial photos as Hendrix prepared the crowd for a send-off toast for Princess Leia. An 11-year-old Vivian Chang dressed as Rey reminded Hendrix that in Fisher’s most recent turn as Leia, in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," the character had shrugged off the regal title and had become General Organa, a leader of the Resistance.

"May the force be with you always, General Leia," the crowd said, unaware that even as they gathered, the news of the death of Fisher’s mother, the legendary actress Debbie Reynolds, had just broken.

Wearing a BB-8 dress, Katherine Hansen said that as Princess Leia, Fisher gave the world a female character not content with being a damsel in distress.

"This is super hard for me," Hansen said. "I met Carrie a couple of times. She was a sassy lady, and I think we need more people like that in the world."