Performers from the LGBTQ organization Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles marched through the Loop with close to 100 other volunteer musicians in commemoration of Goodman Theatre's revival of The Music Man.
The 30-minute parade marched from the theater to Daley Plaza and back while performing "Seventy-Six Trombones," an iconic piece from the Tony Award-winning musical. Performersincluding exactly 76 trombonistsranged in age from 10 to 82. According to a press release, the parade was the largest the Goodman Theatre ever organizaed.
Onlookers crowded on sidewalks and street edges as the procession strode down Dearborn Street and around the edge of Daley Plaza, the performers corralled by Goodman Theatre personnel and led by a white-clad drum major who pranced across the pavement and dodged oncoming traffic.
Upon returning to the theater, the performers delivered an encore performance before posing for photos, with Lakeside Pride members unfurling a Pride flag indoors for a group photo.
The Music Man tells the story of a con man who finds himself at the head of an amateur marching band after falling for one of the Midwestern townsfolk he's attempting to scam. The show premiered at the Goodman on June 29 and will run through Sunday, Aug. 11.