Oprah in New York City

(New York-WABC, September 10, 2007) (WABC) -- Die hard Oprah fans gave the talk show queen a warm welcome to the Big Apple Monday.

For the first time in 10 years, Oprah taped her show in town at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Eyewitness News reporter Lauren Glassberg has the story.

Oprah is beginning her 22nd season, and she says it will be so big that she had to kick it off in New York City. She taped one show this morning in front of an audience of about 5,000 people, which is 10 times her typical studio audience back in Chicago.

The fans are thrilled to have her.

"We're very excited to be here for the Oprah show," one fan said. "There's four sisters, a cousin and some friends celebrating my 30th birthday. We've been trying for a long time to get tickets. We got 10. We've very lucky, very excited. So we're happy to be here."

For some, seeing Oprah is a family affair. For others, it's a spiritual experience.

"I love Oprah Winfrey!" another fan said. "I love...I am Oprah!"

Oprah has that ability to bring people of all different backgrounds and demographics together, no matter what the subject.

"Anything she says is fine with me, because she is such a major person," another audience member said. "I just love her."

For many, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For Oprah, it was time to come back to New York. She's doing two shows, one with David Letterman.

"You think the city has not gone Oprah crazy?" Letterman asked, before showing a graphic of Winfrey's face superimposed onto the Statue of Liberty.

The other show was about September 11th and will air Tuesday. Oprah said it was important to do that show in New York City.

"One of the reasons we're here in New York is because of 9/11, and last year was the fifth anniversary," Oprah said. "And everybody would expect you to, and everybody was here, and a lot to talk about. And by the time it's the sixth anniversary, it's not as prominent on some people's minds throughout the rest of the country. But I know that it is still seared into the hearts of all New Yorkers. You can feel it already in this town. So I wanted to be here and pay homage...I always think of them as angels who sacrificed for us so that we could have our own wakeup call."

The last time that Oprah taped a show in New York was a decade ago, and fans say they wish she'd taped more shows this time around.

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