Can you give us some background information about yourself? 

My name is Benton, and I am a four-year-old golden retriever. I play the stray dog Sandy in the musical Annie, and I’m very excited for my Broadway debut. 

Why did you join the musical cast? 

Frankly, I joined the musical cast because my humans thought I would be perfect for this role. I was a little hesitant at first because I didn’t know what being on stage was like; but now, I love it. I think that I am a great fit for the musical because I love attention, and everyone in the musical loves to give me attention.  Every time my mom goes in the car, I try to get in with her because I want to go back to NDA. It’s the highlight of my day. Whenever we get back home from musical practice, I sit in the car for 20 minutes in the hopes that my mom will drive me back. It never works, but I’m gonna keep trying. 

Is this your first musical? 

Yes, this is my first time ever performing on stage. I would have done it much sooner had I known how much attention and treats I would receive. Why doesn’t everyone do theater? 

What is your favorite scene in the musical? 

My favorite scene in the musical is “Tomorrow.” My human, Frannie, gets to sing, and she feeds me treats the whole time. It’s really a win-win situation. I’m constantly getting fed, and she gets to sing! When I walk offstage, everyone tells me what a good boy I am. I don’t really know why because all I did was eat treats on stage, but I’m not gonna question it. I also like the end of the musical. I run on stage and everyone is clapping and screaming for me. Then, when the curtain closes, everyone comes up and pets me. I really love the musical! 

What has been your most embarrassing moment on stage? 

Oh boy, I’ve had a lot of embarrassing moments. Whenever I see my mom in the audience, I run off stage to see her. Apparently I’m not supposed to do that, so now my mom has to hide in the audience so that I don’t run to her.  I am also in love with Madison Malo, who takes really good care of me backstage. One time I was crying for her while I was supposed to be performing on stage, so she had to hide behind the props. I also am very picky about treats. I will only eat the high quality ones. One time, someone tried to feed me a gross treat, and I spit it out on stage. My humans were not happy.   

What can people expect to see when watching Annie? 

They can expect the cutest dog they’ve ever seen on stage. They’ll also probably see me get fed a family-sized bag of treats by the time the curtain closes, but we’ll keep that on the downlow. In all seriousness, they can expect lots of laughs and an amazing performance. My humans are a little worried about how I’ll act on the day of the performance, but I have all the confidence of a stray dog in NYC. What’s the worst that could happen? I hope you come and see me in the show!