Zach Braff, Audra McDonald, Lena Hall & More to Take Part in BROADWAY BARKS 16!

BROADWAY BARKS announces their 16th annual star-studded dog and cat adoption event featuring celebrities from the hottest shows on Broadway to benefit New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. Founded by Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters, the event, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will take place on Saturday, July 12 in Shubert Alley (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). The festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. where you can meet all the adoptable dogs and cats; celebrity presentations of pets from animal shelters citywide will take place between 5-6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Marking its 16th anniversary of the organization, BROADWAY BARKS will again help hundreds of New York City's shelter animals find permanent homes by informing New Yorkers about the plight of the thousands of homeless dogs and cats in the metropolitan area. This year's sponsors include the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®,) the Shubert Organization, Jujamcyn Theaters, Daryl Roth, Clarence Nederlander, Michael David of The Dodgers, Marty and Perry Granoff, Mary Jo and Ted Shen and The New York Times

Celebrity participants include:

Brooks Ashmanskas (Bullets Over Broadway)

Sierra Boggess (The Phantom of the Opera)

Paige Brady (Matilda The Musical)

Zach Braff (Bullets Over Broadway)

Krystal Joy Brown (Motown The Musical)

Danny Burstein (Cabaret)

Jane Carr (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder)

Victoria Clark (Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella)

Lauren Cohn (Mamma Mia!)

Jenn Colella (If/Then)

Nick Cordero (Bullets Over Broadway)

Colin Donnell (Violet)

John Dossett (Newsies)

Christine Dwyer (Wicked)

Linda Emond (Cabaret)

Felicia Finley (Mamma Mia!)

Jessie Fisher (Once)

Alexander Gemignani (Violet)

Sarah Greene (The Cripple of Inishmaan)

Justin Guarini (Wicked)

Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch)

Matt Harrington (Matilda The Musical)

Samantha Hill (LES MISERABLES)

Jackie Hoffman (The Addams Family)

James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin)

Rachel Bay Jones (Pippin)

Andy Karl (Rocky)

Anika Larsen (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical)

Adriane Lenox (After Midnight)

Lesli Margherita (Matilda The Musical)

Kyle Dean Massey (Pippin)

Marin Mazzie (Bullets Over Broadway)

Audra McDonald (Lady Day at Emerson Bar & Grill)

Judy McLane (Mamma Mia!)

Andy Mientus (LES MISERABLES)

Bebe Neuwirth (Blue Bloods)

Jim Norton (Of Mice and Men)

Jill Paice (Matilda The Musical)

Vincent Pastore (Bullets Over Broadway)

Gabriella Pizzolo (Matilda The Musical)

Karine Plantadit (After Midnight)

Courtney Reed (Aladdin)

Ciara Renee (Pippin)

Cliff Saunders (LES MISERABLES)

Margo Seibert (Rocky)

Christopher Sieber (Matilda The Musical)

Ripley Sobo (Matilda The Musical)

Jarrod Spector (Beautiful - The Carole King Musical)

Will Swenson (LES MISERABLES)

Mary Testa (Wicked)

Ava Ulloa (Matilda The Musical)

Betsy Wolfe (Bullets Over Broadway)

Lenny Wolpe (Bullets Over Broadway)

Heléne Yorke (Bullets Over Broadway)

Karen Ziemba (Bullets Over Broadway)

"First, we love animals at BC/EFA and most especially those furry and four-footed pals who at one time or another needed a forever home," said BC/EFA's executive director Tom Viola. "Second, we also love Bernadette Peters, one of our earliest and now long time champions. In appreciation of the theatre community's unprecedented commitment to more than 26 years of fundraising, BC/EFA is happy to join Bernadette, Mary Tyler Moore and a host of Broadway's best each summer for BROADWAY BARKS. It's one of the happiest days of our annual event calendar."

"Since 2003, the lives of more than 250,000 dogs and cats have been saved through the combined efforts of the Alliance Participating Organizations, many of which, including Animal Care & Control of NYC, have participated in Broadway Barks over the years," says Jane Hoffman, president of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. "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 through BROADWAY BARKS."

BARKS will feature adoptable animals from the following New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies including: ASPCA®, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue, Adopt a Boxer Rescue, Animal Care and Control of NYC (AC&C), Animal Haven, Anjellicle Cats Rescue, Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF), BARC (Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition), Bideawee, Bobbi & the Strays, City Critters, Humane Society of New York (HSNY), Husky House, KittyKind, Loving Touch Animal Center, Manhattan Valley Cat Rescue, Metropolitan Maltese Rescue, Mid Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League, NY Pet-I-Care, PetResQ, P.L.U.T.O. Rescue (Pet Lovers United Together As One), Posh Pets Rescue, Russell Refuge, Save Kitty Foundation, Sean Casey Animal Rescue, Stray from the Heart, Tigger Foundation and Urban Cat League.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos