Sandy...The Broadway Star!

Sandy, played by the shelter rescue, Sunny, and the charming Lilla Crawford as the orphaned girl, Annie. Photo courtesy of The New York Times.

We loved this review in today's New York Times of the latest Broadway revival of Annie, mainly because a good third or more of the review was devoted to its four-legged cast member. Actually, Ben Brantley, a longtime theater critic for The Times seemed to favor the play and all of it's actors, but we especially enjoyed his focus on Sandy, and the audience's adoring reaction to his stage debut.

We also love a "shelter to star" story, and this is a fine one. We hope you enjoy reading this review as much as we did-now let's all say "Awwww" like this NewYork theater audience!

Share

Shelter Dog And Pedigree Make Broadway Debut!

AP Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times. L-R: Lilla Crawford, Broadway's newest "Annie", and Sunny, a former shelter dog, will play her faithful friend, Sandy.

Do we love this rags-to-riches story, or what? A few months ago, animal trainer, William Berloni spotted an online photo of a terrier mix, then named Bruno, in a Houston shelter. He had been searching for a dog to star as the latest "Sandy" for the Broadway revival of "Annie", but didn't think Bruno was the one. But something about the dog caught his attention, and when he found out that Bruno was slated to be euthanized, he adopted the dog with the intent to find him a home. When they finally met nose-to-nose, he knew this pooch he dubbed "Sunny" could be a contender. And guess who was announced as the new Sandy just yesterday?

According to Berloni, "The most talented animals are right there under your nose...[and] the message is: animals in shelters are not damaged, just unfortunate." Kudos to Mr. Berloni for saving yet another death row pooch and making her a star- in 1976, he paid $7 to rescue a shelter dog, scheduled to be euthanized the next day, and that lucky pooch "went on to play all 2,377 Broadway performances of "Annie". The sun will come out tomorrow!

As if that weren't enough good news, we're proud to mention that our good friends at Pedigree have stepped up to the plate once again to help animals in need: "They've teamed with the upcoming Broadway production [of "Annie"] to donate $2 for each ticket sold-up to a total of $1 million-through the end of the year to animal-focused non-profit organizations." And kudos to Pedigree!

Share