Pets of Broadway aims to highlight Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional productions while inspiring audiences through positive tales of pet owners in the business. We’ll be sharing the brand’s stories every other Thursday, so check back to read more about your favorite actors and actresses and their amazing animals!
“In 2010 I made a kind of impulse decision to go to the ASPCA on the Upper East Side, to get a cat. I grew up with some cats and I had lived in New York already for about four years so I decided I missed having a pet. I went with a friend and spent about two hours with the ASPCA staff looking at kittens and none of them were the right fit and the staff was really anxious for me to just pick one. I really wanted to make sure I found a cat that fit. I filled out the forms about the kind of cat I was looking for. The form said ‘I want a cat that…’ and I said ‘that loves me as much as I love him.’”
“They asked if I was interested in an adult cat, so they brought me to this room they called the ‘Upper Cat Side’ and there were maybe 10-15 cats roaming around. I sat on this little stool and one of the cats jumped in my lap, curled up and grabbed my arm and bit it for about 10 seconds and then ran away. I said ‘I’ll take him.’ He chose me. That was Milo and I renamed him, Henry.”
“In the files I have on him, there’s nothing about his background. I have a feeling he was raised with dogs because he’s so friendly and social but I wish I could take him on Sally Jessy Raphael and get his DNA results. They say it takes a few days for them to acclimate, but within two minutes in my apartment, he was in my lap on my couch. He’s such a close cat. He always wants to be next to me. I’ve had him now for 8 years and he’ll be ten in October. He’s my boy.”
“Right when I’m about to leave for rehearsal, he knows the sound of me putting my shoes on so he’ll run over to me and roll over and show his belly like ‘are you sure you need to leave, dad?’ Luckily cats can survive alone for a long time but if I’m gone too long he will make it known he’s upset. He’ll scratch the couch up or leave presents in the bathtub. I had a rug in my bedroom that is no longer because he used it as a litter box. If someone’s here though, he’s fine. If I go out of town, I have someone stay here because he needs companionship.”
“He came with me to Chicago once but it was so much extra stress. More for me than him, but I said never again. My cat sitters will always Facetime and send photos and videos. I was in Denver setting the If/Then tour on his birthday one year so we got to Skype. He’s turning ten this October so I’m getting him cat wine and champagne.”
“I throw a lot of parties so a lot of people have met him. He just met my nine-month-old nephew two weeks ago and it was the sweetest thing because, at this point in my nephew’s life, they’re the same. Henry did his tricks and showed off for him. When people come over he likes hanging out with them.”
“It’s definitely great in this business and in this city to have unconditional love. When I open that door and he comes running over to headbutt me and curl up in my neck it just makes the day so much better. It’s consistency. In this freelance world I leave town a lot and as a director when the show opens, I move on. So having an apartment that’s consistent and having a pet is great. Also because so many other people have pets so it’s fun to talk about our pets with each other. It’s a nice calming discussion.”
“If we both spoke the same language, I would ask Henry ‘do you understand that I’m taking care of you and I’m here for you. At the vet or when I give you medicine or when I leave for the day it’s because I care for you. Are you understanding what’s going on here?’ I do think after so long with anything whether it’s a person or a pet, after a while you start to understand each other, so we kind of do speak the same language.”
David Alpert is a New York City based director most recently represented on Broadway as the Associate Director on IF/THEN.
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