15 Broadway stars dream cast their shows - with dogs

Ilana Keller | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Broadway Barks brings out stars to help homeless pets 20th annual Broadway Barks was held July 14, 2018, at Manhattan's Shubert Alley. Scores of Broadway stars came out to help homeless pets find families

On Saturday, Michael Urie was hanging out with another fellow named Michael, who shared his dark hair and happy-go-lucky look in the summer sunshine.

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Urie's pal, however, spun in circles, stuck out his tongue and scratched himself in front of a crowd of onlookers while standing next to the "Ugly Betty" and "Torch Song" star.

He can be forgiven, though — he's a homeless Great Dane pup searching for a fur-ever family of his own.

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Michael, Michael, dozens of other Broadway and television stars and scads of homeless pets and rescue groups turned out Saturday at the 20th annual Broadway Barks in Shubert Alley. Watch a video from Broadway Barks above.

Hundreds of people attended the event, which seeks to match homeless animals in the care of shelters and rescue groups with families looking to adopt. At least one alum was also in attendance, an orange kitty named Mango who would have loved a reunion with Bebe Neuwirth, who introduced the furry friend to the crowd as a kitten at last year's event.

The event was co-founded by Bernadette Peters and the late Mary Tyler Moore, and has helped nearly 2,000 animals find homes in its 20 years. Among the rescue groups in attendance with adoptable pets was Matawan's Husky House.

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In the spirit of Broadway Barks, we asked some of Broadway's biggest stars to cast one character in their current show — with a dog. We did have to set some ground rules: No naming Sven the reindeer from "Frozen" or the "Once On This Island" goats.

Patti Murin, "Frozen": "Olaf, definitely. That same sort of puppy, happy," she said, making an excited pupper face for good measure. For the record, Greg Hildreth, who plays Olaf, was standing next to her and heartily agreed.

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Telly Leung, "Aladdin": "Aladdin. A dog is always the center of attention, the title of the show, when he's in a room."

Major Attaway, "Aladdin": "Kassim," one of Aladdin's feisty sidekicks.

Gavin Creel, "Hello, Dolly": "The dog would be Charlie Stemp as Barnaby Tucker, for sure," he said, with a quick smile to Stemp, climbing a staircase beside him.

Danny Skinner, "SpongeBob SquarePants": "Gary." He and co-star Lilli Cooper then debated the proper order of dog as snail as cat.

Jessie Mueller, "Carousel": "It depends on the type of dog. Mrs. Mullin if it's a yappy dog."

Christy Altomare, "Anastasia": "A part that hasn't been written yet - Pooka!" (Pooka is Anastasia's dog and sidekick in the animated "Anastasia" feature.)

Hailey Kilgore, "Once on This Island": "Any one of the gods, especially Erzulie, giving love selflessly."

Melissa Benoist, "Beautiful": "Barry Mann"

Andrew Rannells, "The Boys in the Band": "I would hope it would be Larry." We should note Rannells plays Larry.

Zachary Quinto, "The Boys in the Band": "Maybe the Cowboy."

Etai Benson, "The Band's Visit": "Anna, because she's very feisty." Co-star John Cariani added, "small but powerful."

Jenn Colella, "Come From Away": "Oz. He's a little bit of a puppy, looking out for what everybody is doing."

To learn more about Broadway Barks and how you can help homeless animals, visit broadwaybarks.com.

To learn more about Husky House, visit huskyhouse.org.

Have a fundraiser or event coming up that relates to the stage? Tell us about it. Email ikeller@gannettnj.com, call 732-643-4260 or connect on Twitter @ilanakeller