Pete the Cat
Directed by Sarah Jane Hardy
Run time: Approx. 1 hour, no intermission
Script & lyrics by Sarah Hammond
Music by Will Aronson
Based on the Pete the Cat series of books by Kimberly and James Dean
Thank you to our sponsors!
Kafoury McDougal: Lawyers for the People
Oregon Arts Commission
Oregon Cultural Trust
NWCT’s Donor Families
Media sponsors:
PDX Parent
NW Kids
ICAN Radio
Cast
PETE THE CAT: Henry Martin
JIMMY BIDDLE: Jorja Reed*
OLIVE AND OTHERS: Asher Smith*
MOM AND OTHERS: Christiane Herrmann
DAD AND OTHER: Teague Shattuck
Creative Team
DIRECTOR: Sarah Jane Hardy
MUSIC DIRECTOR: Ezra Weiss
CHOREOGRAPHER: Melody Wells
SET/PROPERTIES/COSTUME DESIGNER: John Ellingson
LIGHTING & SOUND DESIGNER: Max O’Hare
STAGE MANAGER: Roger Monroe
Production & Support
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Sarah Jane Hardy
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: John Ellingson
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Steve Hambrick
MASTER CARPENTER: Paul Brown
BOARD OPERATOR: Max O’Hare
BACKSTAGE CREW: Teagan Dick*, Duncan Brown*, Flip Chen*, Nate Furlong*, Owen Abrahams*, Zella Jennkins Welsh*
STITCHER: Nancy Christy
PHOTOGRAPHY: David Kinder
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Lea Zawada, SUCHa Production
*Members of Catalyst: NWCT’s Youth Company.
Click here to learn more about the Catalyst program and how to audition!
Musical Numbers
Life is an Adventure: PETE AND COMPANY
Happy Roommates: JIMMY AND PETE
Painting: PETE, MRS. CREECH AND COMPANY
The Sneezing Song: OLIVE AND PETE
Happy Housecat (Happy Roommates Reprise): PETE
Under the Couch: PETE, JIMMY AND COMPANY
It’s a VW Bus: PETE, JIMMY, OLIVE AND COMPANY
Magic World: PETE, GUS THE PLATYPUS, GRUMPY TOAD, JIMMY, OLIVE
A Cat Named Pete: JIMMY AND COMPANY
Meet the Cast
Henry Martin (Pete the Cat) is thrilled to bring Pete to life in Pete the Cat! He’s been part of NWCT since he was 10, and it’s been like a second home ever since. Most recently, he played Cow Patty Boy in The Stinky Cheese Man (NWCT Alumni Show). When he’s not on stage, you’ll usually find him behind the scenes running sound and lights for NWCT mainstage productions.
Henry’s favorite Pete the Cat book is “Too Cool for School” because “I resonate with the title and also find myself struggling with deciding what to wear in the morning.”
Henry wants to give a big shoutout to Sarah Jane and John for their support and to Max O’Hare for stepping in as sound and light operator for this show. Thanks to his family, friends, and the amazing NWCT team for making this such a special place!
Jorja Reed (Jimmy Biddle) is a junior at Northwest Academy and is thrilled to be back on the Mainstage at Northwest Children’s Theater. Prior to Pete the Cat, she performed in Elephant and Piggie and Frog and Toad with NWCT!
Pete the Cat is particularly special to Jorja because she has been a huge fan since elementary school. She even has a groovy yellow VW Beetle!
Jorja’s favorite Pete the Cat book is “Rocking in My School Shoes” because “I used to always read it for show and tell in 2nd grade.”
She would like to thank Sarah Jane for this exciting opportunity and all of the cast and crew for making this production come to life! She would also like to thank her friends, family, and EEJJ for their support!
Asher Smith (Olive Biddle and Others) is excited to back with her second production at NWCT after last year’s Go Dog Go! She also appeared in the Catalyst youth program’s Cinderella. Other favorite productions include: A Christmas Story (Lakewood), Orlofsky’s Party (Renegade Opera), and !SLASH! (The Reformers), as well as Newsies JR., Beauty and the Beast JR., and Twelfth Night.
Asher’s favorite Pete the Cat book is “I Love My White Shoes.”
“What I like about that book is the adventure you go on with Pete as you go through different color schemes.”
Thanks to all of her instructors and directors for making her the actor she is today!
Christiane Herrmann (Mom and Others) is overjoyed to perform in Pete the Cat! This is her NWCT Mainstage debut!
Originally from Wisconsin, Christiane received a BFA in Musical Theatre at UW-Milwaukee and an Early Childhood Education certificate at Gateway Community College. Previous roles include Maggie (A Chorus Line), Lady Larkin (Once Upon a Mattress), and Princess Puffer (The Mystery of Edwin Drood).
Christiane says that her favorite Pete the Cat book is “I Love My White Shoes” because it’s a classroom classic! “I love his converse high tops and his go-with-the-flow attitude when they get dirty from various substances like dirt, fruits, etc. Pete’s positivity is admirable and most importantly, so cool!”
Christiane would like to thank her family, friends, and NWCT team for their support. Lastly, a huge shout out to her Fiancé, Liam, for his constant encouragement and making Oregon feel like home.
Teague Shattuck (Dad and Others) is thrilled to be making their NWCT Mainstage debut!
Teague (they/he) is a performer and book writer from San Jose, CA. After receiving the national Point Foundation Scholarship for LGBTQ+ advocates, they moved to Portland, OR to study the Anthropology of media at Reed College. Since graduating, Teague has performed with Lakewood Theatre Co., Bridgetown Conservatory, Fuse Theatre Ensemble, the Broadway-bound Rosetta Project, and more. He is the founder/director of the PDX “Trans Voices Cabaret” and book writer of the new musical premiering at Fertile Ground, Everybody’s Eyes are on The First!
Teague says that the most Pete-approved, grooviest thing they’ve ever done was wear sparkle-studded, star-covered, thigh-high Converse every day of the 4th grade. “Boy do I wish they fit me now!”
Teague can’t wait to channel their groovy bassist brother for their NWCT debut in Pete the Cat!
Meet the Creative Team
Sarah Jane Hardy (Director) is the Artistic Director of NWCT. Some of her favorite NWCT directing experiences include Matilda the Musical, Rudolph, Chitra, the Girl Prince in partnership with Anita Menon, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, adapted for the stage by local composer Ezra Weiss, and Mary Poppins (twice!).
Sarah Jane is very excited to bring the beloved “Pete the Cat” book series to the stage. “It’s been a fun creative challenge to bring the visuals, playfulness and heart of the books to life. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to explore with!”
Sarah Jane would like to give a shoutout to NWCT Alum Riley Holmes who is currently performing in a national tour of Pete the Cat! Congratulations Riley – it’s Pete’s world and we’re all just living in it!
Ezra Weiss (Music Director) began working in theatre when he was 10 years old, and he’s been music directing NWCT shows for over twenty years. Favorites include Crazy for You, Seussical, and Matilda the Musical.
Ezra has written Alice in Wonderland, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, and Cinderella for NWCT, and he is currently composing the music to The Golem’s Gift.
Ezra has also been active as a jazz musician, leading bands at festivals and clubs around the U.S., including numerous week-long engagements at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club. He has released eight albums as a bandleader, has been listed in DownBeat Critics polls, and has received the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award three times.
Ezra’s favorite Pete the Cat book is “The Magic Sunglasses”!
Melody Wells-Benitez (Choreographer) is thrilled to be choreographing Pete the Cat! Past roles at NWCT include Assistant Choreographer for Elephant & Piggie’s “We are in a Play!” and dance ensemble roles for Mary Poppins and Seussical.
Favorite professional roles include Co-Choreographer/Dance Captain/Ensemble in 9 to 5, Asst. Choreographer/Ensemble for Holiday Inn, Ensemble/Dance Captain in Something Rotten! and A Christmas Story (Lakewood), Dance Ensemble in Cinderella (Broadway Rose), Choreographer for Bright Star (George Fox University) and Assistant Director/Co-Choreographer for Beauty and the Beast JR., Frozen JR., and The Little Mermaid JR. (Riverdale Grade School).
Melody’s favorite Pete the Cat book is The Magic Sunglasses! Melody loves dancing, Disneyland, theater, books, and spending time with friends, family, and puppy-dog Jovie. 1 Cor. 16:14
John Ellingson (Scenic, Properties, and Costume Designer) is Northwest Children’s Theater’s Associate Artistic Director. He’s been designing sets and props for NWCT for more than 10 years.
John’s designs have won multiple awards, including Drammys for he BFG (2013) and James and the Giant Peach (2014). In 2015, he designed the set for NWCT’s Mary Poppins, which won both the Drammy and Portland Area Musical Theater Awards for Outstanding Set Design—the PAMTAs also awarded John’s prop design for the same production.
His proudest design achievements include Matilda the Musical, The Cat in the Hat, James and the Giant Peach, Elephant and Piggie’s: “We Are in a Play!”, and The Little Mermaid.
John studied puppetry in the U.K after being the recipient of the Portland Civic Theater Guild’s Leslie O. Fulton Fellowship which led to creating NWCT’s Starling series, for which he designed and fabricated over 50 original puppets, and took home another Drammy for outstanding puppetry.
Max O’Hare (Lighting & Sound Designer) is an actor, stage manager, and lighting/sound designer based in Portland, OR. His previous lighting design credits include The Little Prince (NWCT), Singin’ in the Rain JR. (NWCT), and both iterations of The Halloween Ball (NWCT). His previous sound design credits include The Stinky Cheese Man (NWCT) and The Halloween Ball (NWCT).
Max’s favorite Pete the Cat book is “Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party” because “it reminds me of all the time I spend eating pizza with my family!”
Max is a graduate from Wesleyan University with a double major in the College of Social Studies and Theater. Max currently works as NWCT’s production coordinator. He is excited to attend law school in the fall and wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to NWCT for being an incredible organization that shaped him into who he is today.
Roger Monroe (Stage Manager) has been with NWCT for more than 25 years! His favorite part of working with the company is seeing youth performers come back as adults.
At The Judy, Roger has stage managed for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Blue Marigold, and Frog and Toad.
Roger first discovered the Pete the Cat book series from this production! He has enjoyed his introduction and it’s now one of his favorite youth book series!
