The Associated Press

FILE - This Jan. 29, 2013 file photo shows Barry Manilow at the opening night curtain call for"Manilow on Broadway" in New York. The Man Who Makes the Whole World Sing is used to far bigger venues than the 1,710-seat St. James Theatre, one of the smaller theaters on the Great White Way. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, file)

By MARK KENNEDY AP Drama Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — It took a little while before Barry Manilow felt comfortable on Broadway.

The Man Who Makes the Whole World Sing is used to far bigger venues than the 1,710-seat St. James Theatre, one of the smaller theaters on the Great White Way.

‘‘It’s a totally different feeling from the stage. I'm in their laps; they’re in my lap. It’s very, very intimate,’’ says Manilow. ‘‘This is like going to somebody’s house.’’

Manilow — and his fans dubbed Fanilows — are clearly enjoying his first return to Broadway in nearly 25 years. Though his opening was postponed due to bronchitis, the singer sounded and looked great during a recent quick interview.

The New York City-born icon has had a street corner — at Seventh Ave. and 44th Street — temporarily renamed ‘‘Barry Manilow Way’’ and a caricature unveiled at Sardi’s restaurant.

It’s a long way from where he began in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brookyn, where ‘‘I was lucky to get home from school without getting beaten up.’’ He later moved to a Manhattan studio apartment so small that he had to sleep under his Steinway grand piano.