What’s the most famous story concerning THE MUSIC MAN? That it beat WEST SIDE STORY for the Best Musical Tony?
That it made an A-grade star of B-level movie performer Robert Preston? Or is it the one that tells what happened midway through Act One on opening night in 1957?
Preston and company were doing this marvelous new song called “76 Trombones.” The audience was so entranced by it that right in the middle plenty of people started rhythmically clapping in unison.
Today, this type of clapping is rather common – because so many performers demand it. We’ve all seen a singer storming down to the footlights, staring at the audience, putting his arms high above his head, clapping loudly in rhythm and nodding as if to say, “Okay — now clap!”
Believe me, Preston didn’t need to do that. The first-nighters at the Majestic Theatre clapped simply because they adored this new catchy song.
Last week at the Bergen County Players in Oradell, New Jersey, the crowd did that 1957 opening night audience one better. Most everyone started clapping in unison four seconds into the show, as soon as the overture reached “76 Trombones.”
Read the full article on the MTI Marquee http://mtiblog.mtishows.com/filichia-features-76-trombones-and-80-years