New York ? “Are you sure that’s not the real Brad Pitt?” asks Janet Williams as she approaches an exact, life-size wax likeness of the movie star. “He looks so real,” she giggles, as she, her sister and a friend move closer to the carefully crafted figure of the celebrity.

“I am waiting for him to move. I can’t believe how lifelike Brad looks!”

I assure the teenage tourists, who have traveled from Boston to see the sites of New York City, that Brad will not move. I tell the trio that during my two previous visits to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, none of the celebrities have moved on their own.

I agree, however, that the dozens of wax likenesses in the museum do seem as though they could move at any moment.

The young girls pose for a picture with Brad then move on to get up close and personal with the wax likenesses of other famous movie stars, musicians, world leaders, television personalities and religious leaders that draw tourists to the world-famous wax museum.

High on their list of “must sees,” the girls tell me, are Michael Jackson, Elton John, Madonna, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

As for the rest of my visit, I’m off to photograph, among others, the Dalai Lama, Fidel Castro, Woody Allen, President George W. Bush and Albert Einstein.

Wax likenesses of The Beatles are shown at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York. Patrons can mingle with artists, politicians and royalty at the museum.

What makes Madam Tussaud’s so much fun is that you can pose with, and even hug, all the wax likenesses, which are on display in several themed rooms, including Opening Night, where you’ll see television and movie stars; The Gallery, where you can mingle with presidents, world leaders and holy men; and Pop Culture, where you can rub shoulders with famous musicians, artists and athletes.

Within the course of an hour or so, you hang out with Bill Gates, Ivana, Cher, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Whoopi Goldberg and Diana, Princess of Wales.

A bit of history: Madame Tussaud was born Marie Grosholtz in 1761 in Strasbourg, France. As a teenager, she learned the craft of wax sculpturing, which was popular at the time, from a Dr. Phillipe Curtius. After marrying Francois Tussaud, she moved to England, where she eventually opened a wax museum with her famous likenesses, which included Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon.

Marco Sammon, left, and Adrian Wiegman stand with an Albert Einstein likeness at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

Today, there are also Madame Tussaud wax museums in London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

One of the more recent additions to Madame Tussaud’s is a display that honors the three New York firefighters who hoisted a flag at the site of the Twin Towers shortly after the atrocity of Sept. 11, 2001. It is an emotionally moving display, complete with dramatic music and lighting. Photographs from that fateful day are projected on surrounding walls.

An area not to be missed is Sitting and Craftsmanship. That is where visitors get a behind-the-scenes look at the tremendous amount of research, detail and effort that goes into creating a wax likeness, including choosing the eyes, matching each individual tooth, placing every strand of hair, taking exact measurements of the subject’s features and making the heads cast in wax.

Madame Tussaud’s is fun for the entire family. But there is one area that you may not want to show young children. It depicts the “Reign of Terror” during the French Revolution, during which nearly 3,000 people were executed, most victims of the guillotine. Headless wax figures and decapitated heads are shown in realistic communal graves of that time period.