Do you also have the Waves Ultramaximizer?
I've been thinking about it--you'll prob be able to have an easier time dialing in something that sounds good with the Ultramaximizer. And, using that, you can squash the applause, but leave the music virtually unaffected.
Here's what I would do--locate the part of the music (not applause) that's the loudest, and use that as your reference point. Figure out how many db below 0 that is. Say it's -12.6 dB. Then, go into Ultramaximizer, and set the threshold to -12.6 dB. Then, set the release to 100 ms (you prob ought to play around with that number a little, to find out what sounds best--what doesn't make the applause sound so out of place).
Good luck!