Ariana DeBose is preparing for a fetchin’ good time.
The half-Afro-Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress will co-headline the second annual Fetch Pet Gala, hosted by Fetch Pet Insurance, on Monday, October 19, at The Carlyle in New York City.
The West Side Story star will co-host alongside fellow Broadway stars Bernadette Peters and Darren Criss.
This year’s gala will benefit four primary beneficiaries: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway Barks, Wags & Walks and North Shore Animal League America.
The gala will begin on The Green Carpet, featuring shelter dogs ready for adoption from North Shore Animal League America.
Guests will then take their seats in the iconic Café Carlyle for dinner and performances by the three headliners.
The night concludes with the Fetch Pet After Party, featuring a performance by a surprise guest. (Last year’s surprise guest was John Legend.)
The October 19 event sold out months ago by building on the success of last year’s inaugural celebration featuring Peters, Sutton Foster and Leslie Odom, Jr.
DeBose won an Oscar for her supporting role in the reboot of West Side Story and was nominated for a Tony Award for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.
DeBose has hosted the Tony Awards three times.
“The Fetch Pet Gala is a one-of-a-kind celebration to honor and support incredible organizations that do lifesaving work for pets in need,” Paul Guyardo, president & CEO of Fetch Pet Insurance, said in a statement. “We’re extremely grateful to the entertainers, partners and donors who make the evening possible and believe in our philanthropic goal of providing essential care to pets, no matter the financial circumstances of their families.”
Fetch Pet Insurance has raised more than $14.6 million for charitable organizations and initiatives supporting animals and the people who care for them.
“Through our grants across the country, we see how important it is for people facing illness or hardship to be able to care for the animals who are such an essential part of their families,” added Danny Whitman, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. “There’s extraordinary comfort in having a beloved pet beside you, especially when life gets difficult. We’re grateful to Fetch Pet Insurance for bringing together this remarkable community to celebrate that bond and help make sure it can continue. Broadway Cares will continue to fight for the most vulnerable among us – with two legs and with four legs.”
