Bernadette Peters Will be Joined by Audra McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth & More for 16th Annual Broadway Barks

Man’s best friend is in the spotlight once again! The 16th annual pet adoption event Broadway Barks is set for July 12 at Shubert Alley beginning at 3 PM. The event, founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and sponsored by the ASPCA, will benefit New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. From 5 PM, a host of Broadway celebrities will present some of the lovable furry creatures available for adoption.

Joining Peters and Moore onstage to present animals are 2014 Tony winners Audra McDonald of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Aladdin’s James Monroe Iglehart and Hedwig and the Angry Inch’s Lena Hall. Additional guests include Bullets Over Broadway stars Brooks Ashmanskas, Zach Braff, Nick Cordero, Betsy Wolfe, Lenny Wolpe, Heléne Yorke, Karen Ziemba, Marin Mazzie and Vincent Pastore; The Phantom of the Opera headliner Sierra Boggess; Matilda’s Paige Brady, Matt Harrington, Lesli Margherita, Christopher Sieber, Ripley Sobo, Jill Paice, Gabriella Pizzolo and Ava Ulloa; Motown star Krystal Joy Brown; Cabaret duo Danny Burstein and Linda Emond; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder’s Jane Carr; Cinderella godmother Victoria Clark; Mamma Mia! stars Lauren Cohn, Felicia Finley and Judy McLane; Jenn Colella of If/Then; Violet’s Colin Donnell and Alexander Gemignani; Newsies’ John Dossett; Wicked stars Christine Dwyer, Justin Guarini and Mary Testa; Once’s new ‘Girl’ Jessie Fisher; Beautiful’s Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector; Les Miserables stars Will Swenson, Samantha Hill, Andy Mientus and Cliff Saunders; Pippin headliners Kyle Dean Massey, Ciara Renee and Rachel Bay Jones; Rocky’s Andy Karl and Margo Seiber; Aladdin princess Courtney Reed; The Cripple of Inishmaan’s Sarah Greene; Of Mice and Men’s Jim Norton; After Midnight’s Adriane Lenox and Karine Plantadit; Broadway funny lady Jackie Hoffman and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth.

In a statement, president of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals Jane Hoffman said, “This spirit of a collaborative community, manifested so clearly in Broadway Barks, is moving us closer to the day when no New York City dog or cat of reasonable health and temperament will be killed simply because we do not have a home for them. We congratulate Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore for 16 brilliant years of saving lives.”