On the long-running PBS show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the titular host often journeyed to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe to meet up with King Friday, Queen Sara Saturday and the other inhabitants of the imaginary kingdom that was just a trolley ride away from Mister Rogers' house. For children who are confined to hospitals and other care facilities; however, even an imaginary trolley ride to a land of make-believe can often feel out of reach.

Only Make Believe (OMB), a program run by influential members of the Broadway community, has made it their goal to help children use their imagination to escape the harsh realities they have to face each and every day. In doing so, they hope to empower them through the collaborative process of theater.

So what does Mister Rogers have in common with Joe DiPietro, who recently won two Tony Awards for the hit Broadway show Memphis? Just like the beloved children's television host, DiPietro, who has been on the OMB board since the organization's inception, makes it his mission to have an impact on everyone who sees any show in which he has a part. He helped write some of the catchy music featured in OMB's shows and even stepped in to play a mermaid (that's him in the pink wig and iridescent skirt, above) at a recent performance. OMB invited Tonic to attend a show at the Icahn Medical Institute at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City and then speak with DiPietro about Only Make Believe, the impact the program has on children and how it relates to Memphis.

More about children in hospitals

Only Make Believe was started ten years ago by Dena Hammerstein, the daughter-in-law of the great Broadway book-writer and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, after her husband Jamie passed away. "Dena had been very involved in a lot of children's charities, so she wanted to combine [her husband] Jamie's love of theater with her love of children into one organization to honor him, and she came up with Only Make Believe," DiPietro explained. "It really started with her vision and her financial support."

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