Earlier this past week, July 15, F.A.O. Schwarz closed their 5th Avenue location and along with it their lighted giant piano.  

F.A.O. Schwarz is the store famous for the scene in the movie “Big” with Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia performing a dancing duet with “Heart and Soul” on a lighted giant piano.  

There is talk that a new location, near Times Square, will open in the future – I read different postings about this but have not seen an official declaration yet.  FAO Schwarz is owned by Toys ‘R’ Us.  Attribution: Image on right from Tweet by @WorldWorthWatching on July 16.

There is this 2013 New York Post article “FAO Schwarz piano still a hit 25 years after ‘Big’”, that talks about the movie’s piano – “now stationed at the children’s Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia — that people remember most.   Director Penny Marshall had a special keyboard made for the scene where Hanks and Robert Loggia, who plays his toy company boss, dance to “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks…” The article also talks about the prep time it took and all of the practice for them rehearsing that routine.

“Heart and soul, I fell in love with you,
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do,
Madly…
Because you held me tight,
And stole a kiss in the night…

– Music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Frank Loesser, published in 1938.

At the Please Touch Museum web site, any searches I entered (‘Big Piano’, ‘Piano’, ‘Big Piano Exhibit’) came back with pointing to their Press Room page, meaning I was not able to confirm if that piano is an active exhibit.  I have sent an email to them and will share any findings.  The wiki page for the Please Touch Museum still shows The Walking Piano made famous in the film “Big” listed as an exhibit. 

In preparing this blog post it was nice to read this about the city of Cincinnati in this April 26 article entitled: “Remember ‘Big’? – Check out giant Smale Park piano“. 

You will want to read the entire article. 

Here are some excerpts from the article by Carol Motsinger (On Twitter @carolemotsinger):

• “…The one-of-a-kind musical instrument will be installed at the park’s P&G Go VibrantScape, which will include a series of play and exercise features, including a flying pig and water pumps and channels. A ribbon cutting and opening is planned for June 4.”
• … “The result, from the player’s perspective, is also simple. There are two parts to the musical instrument: the piano system and the tubular bell system.”  …”
• “He pre-programmed more than 100 songs, like “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” and “America the Beautiful.”

Thanks to @WorldWorthWatching for their tweet late Wednesday evening which inspired today’s blog post; from that link it will take you to this article by the Associated Press at the Hollywood Reporter (On Twitter @THR) and includes an embedded YouTube video of the duo dance routine.

Wishing you an enjoyable Sunday ahead that is good for our “Heart and soul”…

Anchors Aweigh,  

Helen