Word: staging
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Dates: during 1970-1970
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Meanwhile, 200 girls and 200 Instamatics had pressed up against the stage to await the arrival of their hero. I tried to picture these girls eight years hence, some of them perhaps sitting in Sanders Theatre listening to William Alfred lecture on Thucydides. What was the girl sitting next to you in Fine Arts 13 doing ten years...
...then it happened. Bobby came to us. The door opened again and there he was, walking out to the center of the stage. Flash bulbs went crazy; it was practically daylight in there for five seconds. I had to cover my ears...
Then it was time for a song. For some reason it had to be "Roll Over, Beethoven." Roll over, Chuck Berry. Anyway, singing is only a minor part of his performance. His job is to walk along the edge of the stage smiling, flashing peace signs to his fans, and pointing at individuals. Obviously, he is also expected to touch as many of them as possible. By this time, everyone had left her seat again to be closer to Bobby. Anyone still in her seat was standing on it in order to see-and be seen by Bobby...
After finishing "Roll Over, Beethoven," he moved into his originals, which, after all, are what we came to hear. There was "Little Woman" and "Easy Come, Easy Go." They sounded just as great as they do on the records. But the pushing and shoving in the mob around the stage was getting out of hand. Some of the girls were really taking a beating. I stayed in my seat out of fear. Suddenly Bobby hustled off the stage, and the emcee came out to warn everyone to get seated or else Bobby wouldn't come back. Those were strong words...
...going home. One was asked by a teenies where Bobby was staying. The cop responded that he was at the Sheraton-with 22 policemen. What was a girl to do? One particularly young one gave the cop a napkin and asked him to wipe it on part of the stage where Bobby had walked. He did and returned it to the grateful girl. I wondered how many die-hard fans of this genre had crowded close to the stage and popped especially heady pimples so that Bobby might walk on the fluid with his bright white boots...