But she said that when the preview for TTT came on, the theater erupted in cheers for a minute.
"I also think it was Saruman that they saw on the edge of Fangorn later on."
And then when Gandalf appeared in the preview in his white robes and with his long straight hair, someone in the audience cried out "It's Gandalf! and the cheering started again. Apparently lots of folks can't wait to see it, even those who haven't read the book.
Will resist the temptation to jump ahead also, but wanted to mention that it was at this point in reading the books aloud that I started to appreciate the language in a new way. There are subtleties to the vocabulary and word choice that I didn't become aware of until I vocalized them during the banter of the three companions. It's been a great experience, so much so that my family and I have talked about taking Christopher Lee's lead and reading LOTR aloud every year during Lent.
Doing orc voices is hard on the throat though! As is doing Gimli's, as I felt obligated to do a kind of bad brogue like Rhys-Davies uses! The best voice of all though is just ahead, waiting for us in Fangorn... ;-) (hoom hom...)