Pets and the City | Broadway stars help dogs and cats land forever homes

On Saturday afternoon, tucked into the stretch of iconic Shubert Alley—where Broadway stars slip out of stage doors and tourists linger for selfies—another kind of star was taking to the stage, hoping to captivate the crowd. She had four legs, a stubby tail, an adorably squishy nose, and did not know any lines.

“This is Mandy,” Tony Award winner Cole Escola quipped. “She’s from Adopt a Boxer. She loves dogs. She loves cats. She loves people. And most of all, she just needs love. Look at her. Look at Mandy. Everyone say, I love you, Mandy!”

“I love you, Mandy!” the crowd cheered.

Produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, this was the 27th year of Broadway Barks. From Cocker Spaniels to Chihuahua mixes, Lab rescues to Great Danes, more than 200 adoptable animals took over 45th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. For these particular dogs and cats, it was less of a “performance” and more of an “audition” for the role every shelter animal dreams of: Forever Home. And who better to help a dog land the role of a lifetime than someone who knows what it means to want to be picked, and how to prove you’re right for the part?

Broadway stars helped to get local cats and dogs adopted.Photos by Fern Watt

The show, hosted by Broadway icons Bernadette Peters and Beth Leavel, opened with “Old Friends”—a perfect choice, of course, since that’s all dogs truly want to become for us. Then came the parade of stars: Broadway favorites from shows like Maybe Happy Ending, Operation Mincemeat, Hadestown, & Juliet, Oh, Mary!, The Outsiders, John Proctor Is the Villain, and Death Becomes Her—including Sadie Sink, Michelle Williams, and many more.

As actors presented different dogs up for adoption, I couldn’t help but imagine the Broadway stars as temporary doggy agents—trying to show the crowd why this pup was perfect for the role of your next best friend.

Volunteers from 29 rescue organizations stood by proudly, ushering dogs on and off stage like the world’s most loving stage moms and dads. And the crowd did everything you’d want a crowd to do: they cheered, they cooed, they oohed and ahhed, and they showed up for the dogs. The event has a consistent 85% adoption rate, which is more important now than ever.

Broadway stars helped to get local cats and dogs adopted.Photo by Fern Watt

I always hear people say they know they “should rescue,” but sometimes I wonder if they actually know how important and helpful it is. New York City’s shelters are overwhelmed. Animal Care Centers of NYC (which is New York’s largest rescue) took in 632 pets in just the first 11 days of July. If they’re operating on an 8-hour day, that means a new pet is dropped off roughly every eight minutes.

And that’s just one shelter organization! That number also doesn’t include the 546 pets already in that shelter or the additional 179 in foster care. Shelters are over capacity, and there are not enough homes for all of these pets. Yet people keep breeding more dogs. People keep buying dogs. And for many healthy dogs and cats in shelters, this leads to heartbreaking, very un–Broadway–style endings.

Broadway Barks doesn’t just find homes for dogs and cats that day. It raises awareness for the millions of animals still waiting behind the curtain—the ones still in crates, dreaming of the moment someone will walk by, stop, and say: I see it. You’re my dog. You! You’ve got the part. As MY dog!

The crate door opens…

The dog bursts into the spotlight—full-circle zoomies, ears flopping, body wiggling—then leaps into her scene partner’s arms. The audience erupts!
Let the show begin.