NEW YORK - When the blistering sun hides behind the giant skyscrapers and the closing cloak of darkness descends, the lights go on; on Broadway, and a whole new life begins in one of the world's most fabled cities. Exploding billboards, huge and visible, line the streets of Times Square.

 

          New York is famous for so many things. It has great sports teams in hockey, baseball, basketball and football. It has the Radio City Music Hall, and if you haven't watched the Christmas show there, you should put it in on your ‘Bucket List'. It has Central Park and the storied and glorious St. Patrick's Cathedral, where Popes have come and the Kennedy's have been eulogized. There are the Hudson and East Rivers surrounding Manhattan. There is the new Yankee Stadium, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue. There is so much.

 

          But if New York is famous for anything, then it is famous for Broadway, the theatres and the plays that have entertained millions.

 

          If you go to New York, you have to go to at least one Broadway show. What's the point of going if you don't hit Broadway?

 

          In all the times I've been to New York, I have not passed up on the chance to see a Broadway show.

 

          And last week was no exception. It turned out to be, by far, the best Broadway show you could imagine. It was held in the fabled Cort Theatre and the play was called Fences. It starred the incredible Denzel Washington, a two-time Academy award-winner, and Viola Davis. It ends its run on Sunday, July 11^th.

 

          The Cort Theatre opened on December 12, 1912, and its architecture, which includes glass and marble, is largely unchanged. It has been home to some of the world's greatest actors and actresses and some of the most popular plays. But, Fences may well be the best the Cort has ever seen.

 

So successful the play has been that there are few tickets left, only those that have been turned back, and people begin lining up in front of the theatre at 5 in the morning, awaiting the opening of the box office at 10.

 

          Tony Awards have wrapped themselves around the production and lifted it to dizzying heights. The reviews have been astounding in their praise.  Fences won a Tony Award for "the best play revival" in 2010. Washington won a Tony as best actor and Davis for best actress.

         

          The acting of Washington and Davis stirred virtually every emotion you could think of in the audience. From laughter to tears, from anger to joy, from shock to sadness, it was all wrapped up in the two hours the play ran.

 

          It was Denzel Washington's first Broadway appearance since 2005, and you can bet they will be clamouring to get him back on the live stage soon.

 

          The power of acting at this level is, well, overpowering.

 

          Throughout Broadway, there are actors and actresses, singers, aspiring to one thing. That is, to land a spot in a Broadway play. Very few of the thousands who come to New York chasing that dream make it on the big stage that is Broadway.

 

            Up the block from the Cort Theatre and down the street, there is this diner. It is called Ellen's Stardust Diner. It's at 1650 Broadway.

 

          It is the classic American diner. An electric train circles above the customers. But, what makes it unique are the people who wait on your table. They are all looking to find their way into a Broadway production. And, so, not only do they take your order and serve you your food, they also are singing. Many of them have beautiful voices. Have you ever had someone bring you your food while singing "Downtown?" Very few of them make it. But, established Broadway stars and producers and talent hunters are known to frequent the place in search of new talent. Some of these kids have made it, most haven't.

 

          As Frank Sinatra sang; "If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere."