{"id":47946,"date":"2026-10-08T14:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?p=47946"},"modified":"2026-10-08T14:39:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:39:18","slug":"inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in “Beyond Words”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyond Words<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Alex
A New York Times Best Seller published in 2008, Alex & Me is Dr. Irene Pepperberg\u2019s memoir about her groundbreaking work with Alex the African grey parrot. Book cover by Harper Collins Publishers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The title of this entry is that of a play inspired by my life with Alex\u2026the big news is that it will have its New York City premiere at the Ensemble Studio Theater in February, 2027. But I thought that it would be interesting to learn how it came about\u2026<\/p>\n

Right after Alex passed away, in September, 2007, I was\u2014not surprisingly\u2014overwhelmed with grief. I agreed to work on a memoir at the time because I thought that it would be a way to ensure Alex\u2019s legacy, and I was promised that I would have control over the content. The next few months were some of the most difficult in my life, but the book, Alex & Me,<\/em> came out just about a year later, and made the New York Times<\/em> best-seller list (#16). After the book tour, I swore I was done with such things, having been completely mentally and physically drained.<\/p>\n

And I mostly kept my promise to myself, rejecting offers from people to produce operas, Hollywood films, etc. I just couldn\u2019t see how any of those proposals would do justice to Alex\u2019s legacy or how they could possibly put his contribution to science at the forefront of the work. I didn\u2019t want to lose control of what he meant to the scientific world. And I wanted people to understand the struggles I had had getting this research accepted by the scientific community.<\/p>\n

\"African
Beyond Words, a science-centered play inspired by Dr. Pepperbergh’s life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City in 2027.
Image courtesy of Dr. Pepperberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a woman, and one trained in a discipline far removed from either nonhuman behavior or linguistics (i.e., chemistry), I was not easily admitted to academic ranks. But I didn\u2019t want our lives to be portrayed as a “sob story” either. I did agree to work on a documentary with Emily Wick (trained by the \u201cWild Parrots of Telegraph Hill\u201d producer Judy Irving, so I knew it would be appropriately executed), which became the award-winning \u201cLife with Alex.” And, because it was a documentary, I had faith that it would be scientifically accurate, and that, again, I\u2019d have control over the factual content.<\/p>\n

A Play That Puts Alex\u2019s Science On Center Stage<\/h3>\n

I continued to have more offers to publicize Alex\u2019s life, and I continued to reject them, fearing commercialization of what was serious science. And then one day, I received an email. A playwright, Laura Maria Censabella, was interested obtaining a grant from the Sloan Foundation in New York City to work on a script about Alex and my scientific career. The Sloan Foundation is known for plays about science that put science first (think Proof,<\/em> Copenhagen, QED, <\/em>and Photograph 51<\/em>). And, well, I had always loved theater growing up in NYC and thought it might, just possibly, be an appropriate venue.<\/p>\n

I was intrigued, but not yet convinced. However, the playwright had contacted a biologist on Sloan\u2019s research panel, asking if he might by any chance know me and provide an introduction. Well\u2026obviously, the Fates were involved, because his wife is my colleague and had been a BFF for decades. I still was a bit leery, but I attended a production of a play by Censabella and was absolutely impressed at her skill in making complex characters come alive. She won the grant, and I was assured that I would have complete control over the scientific content, although I would have to accept some leeway on the biographic facts for the dramatic arc of the story.<\/p>\n

Several years, and many drafts later (most of which she didn\u2019t like enough to share), we had a play! And, yes, the science was absolutely accurate. As for my personal story\u2014well, even if some liberties were taken for dramatic impact, it was not very far from the truth. [I have to say that helping with the eventual rehearsals years later was quite a bit like being in therapy! For example: Seeing actors portraying interactions between me and my then-husband, and being asked about what I was feeling and our reactions to one another.]<\/p>\n

But just about the time the play was ready for prime time, COVID hit\u2026forget about any production anywhere! Theaters closed for 18 months. The first reading, at the Ensemble Studio Theater, was not until the spring of 2022. No set, no costumes, basically just actors reading the script\u2026yet the audience gave it a standing ovation! We were encouraged, but even with that success, theater-going overall was still depressed for quite some time, and mounting a production of anything<\/em>\u2014much less a new, untried piece\u2014was quite a gamble for a while longer. Finally, in the spring of 2024, the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA, decided the time was ready.<\/p>\n

We were thrilled when it received strong positive reviews and was named a Boston Globe<\/em> Critic\u2019s Pick and was considered \u201cone of the season\u2019s standout \u2018unlikely successes\u2019 in drawing audiences during a challenging post-pandemic climate for regional performing arts.\u201d The actor who played Alex was nominated for an Elliot Norton Theater Award (Boston\u2019s equivalent of the Tonys). And now New York\u2026<\/p>\n

My hope is that the play will inspire a new generation of scientists to think about nonhumans as sentient individuals with whom we share<\/em> nature, whose intelligence and lives we respect, and with whom we can work together to improve our world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how “Beyond Words,” a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":47945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,211,169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-behavior","category-editor-choice","category-new"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in "Beyond Words" – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how "Beyond Words," a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in "Beyond Words" – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how "Beyond Words," a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-08T19:33:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-08T19:39:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/login.lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1323\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"753\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e2384637ed0fac4b764f548a0441622d\"},\"headline\":\"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in “Beyond Words”\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-08T19:33:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-08T19:39:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":982,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Behavior\",\"Editor Choice\",\"New\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/\",\"name\":\"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in \\\"Beyond Words\\\" – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-08T19:33:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-08T19:39:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e2384637ed0fac4b764f548a0441622d\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how \\\"Beyond Words,\\\" a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg\",\"width\":1323,\"height\":753,\"caption\":\"Beyond Words, a science-centered play inspired by Dr. Pepperbergh's life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City in 2027. Image courtesy of Dr. Pepperberg.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in “Beyond Words”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds\",\"description\":\"Two Generations of Veterinarians Caring & Working for the Health of Animals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e2384637ed0fac4b764f548a0441622d\",\"name\":\"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Pepperberg3crop-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Pepperberg3crop-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/Pepperberg3crop-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Irene Pepperberg is a lecturer and research associate at\u00a0Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her research lab is located. You can help Dr. Pepperberg continue the groundbreaking parrot research she began more than 30 years ago with Alex, the African grey parrot who won admirers from around the world with his cognitive abilities. If you shop online through sites such as Amazon.com, you can designate the Alex Foundation to receive a percentage of your final sales, or register with the Alex Foundation at iGive.com and a percentage of sales from companies associated with iGive will go to the foundation. The Alex Foundation also has a \u201cDonate\u201d button linked to PayPal. Visit\u00a0The Alex Foundation\u00a0and click on the \u201cSupport Us\u201d link for more information. Read more about the lab at The Alex Foundation Facebook page and at The Alex Foundation Twitter account.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lafeber.com\\\/pet-birds\\\/author\\\/irene\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in \"Beyond Words\" – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","description":"Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how \"Beyond Words,\" a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in \"Beyond Words\" – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","og_description":"Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how \"Beyond Words,\" a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.","og_url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/","og_site_name":"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds","article_published_time":"2026-10-08T19:33:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-08T19:39:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1323,"height":753,"url":"https:\/\/login.lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/"},"author":{"name":"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/e2384637ed0fac4b764f548a0441622d"},"headline":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in “Beyond Words”","datePublished":"2026-10-08T19:33:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-08T19:39:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/"},"wordCount":982,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg","articleSection":["Behavior","Editor Choice","New"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/","name":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in \"Beyond Words\" – Pet Birds by Lafeber Co.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-08T19:33:24+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-08T19:39:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/e2384637ed0fac4b764f548a0441622d"},"description":"Dr. Irene Pepperberg recounts how \"Beyond Words,\" a science-centered play inspired by her life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BeyondWords-e1791488084429.jpg","width":1323,"height":753,"caption":"Beyond Words, a science-centered play inspired by Dr. Pepperbergh's life with Alex the African grey parrot, evolved from an unexpected proposal into an acclaimed theatrical production headed to New York City in 2027. Image courtesy of Dr. Pepperberg."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/inside-dr-pepperbergs-lab-alexs-story-comes-to-nyc-in-beyond-words\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inside Dr. Pepperberg\u2019s Lab: Alex\u2019s Story Comes to NYC in “Beyond Words”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/","name":"Lafeber\u00ae Pet Birds","description":"Two Generations of Veterinarians Caring & Working for the Health of Animals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/#\/schema\/person\/e2384637ed0fac4b764f548a0441622d","name":"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pepperberg3crop-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pepperberg3crop-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pepperberg3crop-96x96.jpg","caption":"Irene Pepperberg, Ph.D."},"description":"Dr. Irene Pepperberg is a lecturer and research associate at\u00a0Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her research lab is located. You can help Dr. Pepperberg continue the groundbreaking parrot research she began more than 30 years ago with Alex, the African grey parrot who won admirers from around the world with his cognitive abilities. If you shop online through sites such as Amazon.com, you can designate the Alex Foundation to receive a percentage of your final sales, or register with the Alex Foundation at iGive.com and a percentage of sales from companies associated with iGive will go to the foundation. The Alex Foundation also has a \u201cDonate\u201d button linked to PayPal. Visit\u00a0The Alex Foundation\u00a0and click on the \u201cSupport Us\u201d link for more information. Read more about the lab at The Alex Foundation Facebook page and at The Alex Foundation Twitter account.","url":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/author\/irene\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47946"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47952,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47946\/revisions\/47952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lafeber.com\/pet-birds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}