Bernadette Peters relishes her role as one of Broadway’s most celebrated stars. But the actress is equally proud of her role in founding Broadway Barks, an annual event that raises money for New York-area shelters.
“What I wanted to do was help shelter animals, to figure out how to solve this problem,” said Peters, who founded Broadway Barks with Mary Tyler Moore a decade ago, to the Miami Herald.
Next month Peters will publish her first children’s book, “Broadway Barks,” about a homeless dog named Douglas. Peters launched her career as a songwriter when her editor suggested she write a song for the book.
“I never wrote a song in my life,” Peters says. “I was in an airplane and I needed a lullaby. Suddenly, the music and lyrics came to me.”
The lullaby, “Kramer’s Song,” is named for Peters’ older dog, an 11-year-old “shaggy dog, Heinz 57 variety,” she says. She also owns a 10-year-old pit bull named Stella.
Broadway Barks 10 will be performed July 12, 2008, in the theater district’s Shubert Alley. For more information, visit www.broadwaybarks.com