One of the things that has amazed me about this City since September 11th is the way corporations have donated everything from supplies, to gifts, to free tickets to events to workers both here at the Command Center and at Ground Zero – and last night was no exception.

As their way of thanking the emergency workers, Chock Full Of Nuts Coffee and Disney got together and donated two hundred tickets to last night’s performance of Beauty And The Beast to the City’s emergency workers – and invited us backstage to have a reception with the cast immediately following the performance.

Thanks to my good friend Jerard at the Fire Department, I was able to secure tickets for myself, Christine – as well as my three visiting friends – Bob, Montel and Arthur. Besides the fact that we were all going to see a play for free and meet the cast – this night held special meaning in two other ways – it was Arthur and Christine’s first Broadway show ever.

When the lights dimmed and the curtain rose, I was really looking forward to forgetting about life for a while and doing what Belle wanted to do in the play – escape to a far away land. As the play progressed – that is exactly what I did.

From the unbelievably elaborate sets, to the Tony Award Winning costumes – to the flawless performances by the stellar cast – this play was just the thing I needed to almost forget what happened to my City and my world not even two months ago.

As the play drew to a close and the cast came out to take their bows – I applauded all that much harder because I knew that these actors and actresses went the extra mile to entertain us as a way of thanking us for our hard work. In fact, after the full cast bow, the actor playing Gaston thanked the two hundred of us emergency workers in the audience for our hard work since the eleventh – and for helping to return the City to normalcy. I actually think it is the cast of Beauty And The Beast as well as all of the other Broadway productions who deserve the thanks – because by coming to The Lunt-Fontaine Theatre and all of the other theatres every night – these actors and actresses are performing a much needed service, which has become more of a necessity then ever these days – entertainment.

When I met the cast after the performance, they were all so gracious and friendly – the most friendly being the actress that played Belle – who spent a good amount of time talking with all of us. We talked about what she did when she found out she got the role as Belle, how it feels to be on Broadway – and where she was that fateful Tuesday morning. With charm and grace – she was a pleasure to talk to – and she even took a picture with Arthur’s Stan doll – which has been all over the world with Arthur – and after last night – can now say that he has now been on Broadway.

I would really like to thank Chock Full Of Nuts Coffee, Disney – and Jerard for giving my friends the opportunity to experience a Broadway show while vacationing in New York City, for giving Arthur and Christine the opportunity to see their first ever Broadway show – and for giving me a reason to work as hard as I do – and for reminding me that no matter what the terrorists tried to do on September 11th – I still live in the greatest City in the world.