All American: Once upon a Time, 50 Years Ago
By Peter Filichia -- Broadway overtures certainly let you know early on what The Expected Hit Ballad will be. Usually, after a rousing fanfare that previews The Most Stirring Songs, everything calms down so that we can hear The Most Beautiful Song. It happens in the famed overture to Gypsy. "Small World," which indeed turned out to its biggest ballad hit, gets more than a half-minute of the overture. "Make the Man…