September 17. 2007
My Dad and I have traveled back in time. It's New York City, a chilly Sunday night in 1964. We've gone to Carnegie Hall to hear Louis Armstrong play. The concert is being hosted by a young Valerie Harper. I think to myself, "Geeze, was she famous enough in 1964 to be at Carnegie Hall with Louis Armstrong?"
As the concert nears its conclusion, Louis and his band make a joyful noise to accompany the crowd into the cold night, but strangely, they are no longer on the stage. Instead, they stand at the back of the house, behind the last row. With the back exits blocked by the band, the audience, including me and my Dad, stream forward, toward the stage, where we find additional exits.
Once we're out into the darkness of Seventh Avenue, my Dad and I walk west toward Broadway. I tell him I want to go down to the Winter Garden Theatre so I can see the "Funny Girl" marquee.*
We walk a few blocks down Broadway, directly into the wind. Still a few blocks from the theatre, we see the giant marquee, but we are barely able to make out the show's logo (the upside down girl standing on her head) because all the lights at the theatre have been shut off. The concert had gotten out too late, sometime after midnight it would seem, but still we are happy to have made the trek.
* "Funny Girl" did indeed open at the Winter Garden in 1964.
After a little research, I could not find any evidence that Louis Armstrong played Carnegie Hall in 1964. However, in the Spring of 1947 he recorded concerts at both Carnegie Hall and the Winter Garden Theatre just one month apart.
My Dad and I have traveled back in time. It's New York City, a chilly Sunday night in 1964. We've gone to Carnegie Hall to hear Louis Armstrong play. The concert is being hosted by a young Valerie Harper. I think to myself, "Geeze, was she famous enough in 1964 to be at Carnegie Hall with Louis Armstrong?"
As the concert nears its conclusion, Louis and his band make a joyful noise to accompany the crowd into the cold night, but strangely, they are no longer on the stage. Instead, they stand at the back of the house, behind the last row. With the back exits blocked by the band, the audience, including me and my Dad, stream forward, toward the stage, where we find additional exits.
Once we're out into the darkness of Seventh Avenue, my Dad and I walk west toward Broadway. I tell him I want to go down to the Winter Garden Theatre so I can see the "Funny Girl" marquee.* We walk a few blocks down Broadway, directly into the wind. Still a few blocks from the theatre, we see the giant marquee, but we are barely able to make out the show's logo (the upside down girl standing on her head) because all the lights at the theatre have been shut off. The concert had gotten out too late, sometime after midnight it would seem, but still we are happy to have made the trek.
* "Funny Girl" did indeed open at the Winter Garden in 1964.
After a little research, I could not find any evidence that Louis Armstrong played Carnegie Hall in 1964. However, in the Spring of 1947 he recorded concerts at both Carnegie Hall and the Winter Garden Theatre just one month apart.
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