Kenny Silva, right, his wife Doreen, center, and their children join Ty Pennington, second from right, and other cast members ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition yesterday at the unveiling of the family’s new home on Yucatan Drive in Warwick.

The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

WARWICK — The 1,500 people who waited hours to watch the Silva family claim their new Extreme Makeover home yesterday learned an interesting lesson about reality television.

It requires at least two takes to capture spontaneity.

And a fair share of choreography.

When the moment finally arrived and the well-rehearsed crowd chanted the television show’s mantra — “Move that bus!” — the motorized curtain moved off and four television cameras rolled, capturing the stunned emotion as Kenny and Doreen Silva and their five children gazed for the first time at their new two-story contemporary home with its sweeping roof line evocative of a wave.

But when they ran to go inside, they couldn’t get beyond the front porch; the cameras weren’t yet in place inside.

So, as the camera operators raced around the house, the somewhat befuddled-looking family walked back toward the curb amid the laughter of the crowd gathered on Yucatan Drive. There they chatted with the show’s star, Ty Pennington, as a polite stillness fell over the set.

A few minutes passed. Finally Pennington, who resembles a dancing length of rope in denim chic, flared his arms once more. The cheers again erupted and the family was off, headed for the door.

This time the door opened and the family spilled in — and out of sight.

“I guess we’ll have to see TV in May to see what we just saw,” said an astute Jean Mcanaugh, of Coventry, from across the street. She had arrived more than three hours earlier with her sister, Mary Champoux, of Warwick, to witness the moment.

“It’s nice to see at least deserving people being rewarded,” said Mcanaugh.

A week earlier, the Silvas were selected as the first Rhode Island family for the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and then sent off for a week to Walt Disney World in Florida while an all-volunteer army of craftsmen and green laborers set off to raze their old house and erect a larger one with all the bells and whistles.

Some 122 companies donated services and materials and about 200 volunteers donated their time for the Silvas, who many in the crowd said were deserving of a new home. CVS/pharmacy announced yesterday it had paid off the family’s mortgage; it didn’t say how much of the loan was outstanding.

Kenny Silva drives a garbage truck for the City of Warwick. Doreen is an at-home mother to their two biological children, 11 and 14, both autistic, and their three adopted children 2, 5 and 6, all with disabilities. The couple have been foster parents to 16 children in the last six years and now have two foster children under the age of 2.

“I’ll tell you they do miracles with those kids,” Francis Corcoran, who lives across the street, said two hours earlier as a chunk of the crowd stood on what was once his front lawn and had since been turned into muddy hill. “Kids have gone in there with some serious emotional problems, and before you know it they’re out playing basketball with everyone else.”

One week after his neighborhood had been turned into a round-the-clock construction site, Corcoran was still smiling.

“Extreme Makeover treated us like millionaires,” Corcoran said, noting the show had delivered flowers to his wife, paid $1,000 for the use of his front yard and promised him new turf once the commotion subsided. “Some people are getting new driveways.”

While the crowd waited for the Silvas’ arrival yesterday, many spoke of their work on the project.

Susi Franco, a Narragansett artist, said the show’s production company had accepted her offer to create artwork for the house. Franco said she spent 76 hours creating three large panel paintings for the master bedroom, depicting a traversing image of magnolias in shades of burnt orange and creams.

“I’m very excited and very proud to be a part of this,” Franco said. “This family has had its trials and tribulations and it’s exciting to think that my hard work may contribute some joy to their lives.”

The welcome-home reception was to start around 2 p.m. but it was clear a few things remained incomplete.

Bob Dos Reis, an interior house painter for Prime Co. Painting in Bristol, said his boss was still inside touching up some trim. And at 2:45 p.m. a half-dozen men carried a massive wooden bed shaped like a race car in through the front door, followed a half-hour later by the mattress.

In the meantime, the Silvas were waiting a half-mile away in a stretch limo with darkened windows, a crew member told the crowd. As the loose ends were being taken care of, Pennington and the other stars of the show made periodic forays into view, drawing applause.

Finally, at about 3:25 p.m. the limo pulled up beside the bus parked in front of the Silvas’ address. The bus blocked the view of their new home.

The crowd — a captive audience that had met at a pre-determined spot and bused-in, and by now was well practiced in its important role — screamed as the family stepped out.

The bus moved on their command and the jubilation continued for several minutes before gradually falling quiet as the scene took on the feel of a silent movie.

There in the street, out of earshot of the vast majority of the crowd, Pennington instructed the family on what would happen next.

A moment later, the set’s lead cheerleader — a man standing out of camera shot, wearing a black cowboy hat and red earphones — revved the crowd and the family headed for the front door.

Just before the door shut on the crowd, Doreen Silva could be seen walking through her new entryway with her hands to her mouth.

tmooney@projo.com