I know people yearn for the return of Overtures, but I yearn for the return of Entr'actes. Most shows nowadays steamroll right back into the action, giving audiences barely any breathing room to get settled after intermission.
I get so irked when the audience is still milling about and the house lights just completely go out (not even a brief fade to half anymore) and when they come up, we're immediately back to telling the story, and all you hear are bags being shuffled, people still finishing conversations or trying to find their seats again, people still unbothered on their cell phones, etc.
Doesn't have to be too long but even a brief minute or 90 seconds of music can make a world of difference in settling the audience back down. It can even be a twist of a re-entry back into the show. Matilda did it brilliantly with Mr. Wormwood, "Telly", and Lavender's brief monologue. It allowed for "When I Grow Up" to achieve a complete emotional impact rather than had they gone straight into it.
Anyway, I love the Entr'acte from Hairspray, which is basically "The Madison" that they perform in the show but I always thought it was killer and so wish that they had recorded it for the cast album.
