Performers, many from Broadway shows, present adoptable cats and dogs, with the participation of many animal groups from the New York City area.
The event was founded in 1999 by Bernadette Peters with Mary Tyler Moore and others, who wanted to do "something for the animals" after a successful fund–raising campaign for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
[1][2] Performers, many appearing in Broadway shows, and other celebrities present cats and dogs from New York City and vicinity animal shelters for adoption.
[9] Broadway Barks 11 was held on July 11, 2009, with the participation of and to benefit 26 animal adoption and welfare groups, including the ASPCA, BARC, and Long Island Greyhound Rescue.
Among the celebrity participants were John Dossett, Alexander Hanson, Sean Hayes, Jackie Hoffman, Karen Olivo, Katie Finneran, Tony Goldwyn, Ruthie Henshall, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka, Beth Leavel, Judy McLane, Jan Maxwell, Tony Shalhoub and Richard Thomas.
[18] Performers from many of the Broadway shows presented the adoptable animals: Nina Arianda and Michael McGrath (Born Yesterday); Heidi Blickenstaff, Jackie Hoffman, Bebe Neuwirth and Brad Oscar (The Addams Family); Steel Burkhardt, Matt DeAngelis, Josh Lamon, Paris Remillard and Kacie Sheik (Hair); Kerry Butler, Linda Hart and Aaron Tveit (Catch Me If You Can); Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Yul Vázquez (The Motherf**ker With the Hat); Reeve Carney, T.V.
Carpio, Jennifer Damiano, Isabel Keating and Patrick Page (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark), Victoria Clark and Patina Miller (Sister Act), Paige Davis (Boeing-Boeing), Sutton Foster, Adam Godley, Joel Grey and John McMartin (Anything Goes), John Benjamin Hickey (The Normal Heart), Nikki M. James, Rory O'Malley and Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon), Beth Leavel (Baby It's You), Judy McLane (Mamma Mia!
), Will Swenson (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) and William Berloni, "trainer to Broadway’s four-legged stars and behavior consultant for the Humane Society of New York.
[21][22] There were some 27 animal shelters and adoption agencies that participated, including the ASPCA, Mid Atlantic Great Dane, and Urban Cat League.
Broadway and television performers presented the adoptable animals, such as Nina Arianda, Joel Grey, Megan Hilty, Anjelica Huston, Steve Kazee, Audra McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth and Ben Vereen.
David Hyde Pierce, Sigourney Weaver, Andrew Rannells, Jane Lynch, Billy Porter and others presented the adoptable animals.
Performers included Zach Braff, Bebe Neuwirth, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Will Swenson, and Danny Burstein.
The presentation featured many performers such as Carol Burnett, Gloria Estafan, Kelly Ripa and Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson The many animal shelters included ASPCA and Urban Cat League.
[41] Activists protesting against the Humane Society of New York, one of the shelter organizations represented at the event, briefly interrupted Peters's speech there.
[43][44][45] Alan Cumming wrote and directed a short film Ultimate Encore in 2015, which shows the newly renovated "Living Room" at the hotel W New York, in Times Square.
[48] To promote the charity, Peters wrote a children's picture book, Broadway Barks, with mixed-media collage illustrations by Liz Murphy.
[50] It tells the story of Douglas, an abandoned dog, as he follows a "pretty lady" (whose looks are similar to Peters) to a Broadway Barks pet adoption event in Shubert Alley in New York City.