Download FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 10, 2016 CONTACT: Rebecca

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 10, 2016
CONTACT:
Rebecca Bailey, Publicity Coordinator/Writer
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College
[email protected]
603.646.3991
New musical starring cool cat who sparks creativity, September 25
Photo: Still image from Pete the Cat, courtesy of Theatreworks USA.
HANOVER, NH—Inspired by a scrawny shelter adoptee, Pete the Cat has been the subject of thousands of
paintings and then a book series by artist James Dean.
Now the supercool feline is the star
of his own rockin’ musical, Pete the
Cat, by Theatreworks USA, the
nation’s foremost touring theater
company for young audiences. That
musical comes to the Hop’s
Spaulding Auditorium on Sunday,
September 25, at 3 pm.
Pete the Cat starts with our hipster
hero getting caught rocking out after
bed time. The cat-catcher sends him
to live with the Biddle family to learn
his manners—but, boy, are they
square! But for the groovy blue cat,
life is an adventure no matter where
you wind up, so the minute Pete
walks in the door, he gets the whole
family rocking.
All, that is, but young Jimmy Biddle,
the most organized second grader on planet earth. As the end of second grade approaches, Jimmy has a lot of
tests, and the last thing he needs is some groovy cat in his life, changing his family and turning everything
upside down. But when Jimmy can’t think of what to draw in art class during the last week of school, it’s Pete
to the rescue. Together, they set out in a counter-culturally approved VW microbus to Paris and back, on a
mission to find a creative spark. Along the way, they both learn a little something new about inspiration, and
friendship.
The story is moved along by delightful pop-inflected songs by award-winning young theater composer Will
Aronson, who recently composed the score and co-wrote the book for the Korean musical Bungee Jump
(multiple Seoul productions), cited last year by the NY Times as Korea’s “most popular original musical,” and
winner of Best Score at the 2012 Korea Musical Awards. Other recent projects include Hansel & Gretl & Heidi
& Günter, commissioned by Chicago Shakespeare Theater; music for Mary Testa’s Sleepless Variations, and the
vocal and dance arrangements for the William Finn/James Lapine musical, Little Miss Sunshine (Second Stage
Theatre). He is the recipient of a Fulbright grant, an ASCAP Frederick Loewe Award and a Baryshnikov
Fellowship, and is a 2015-2016 resident artist at Ars Nova Uncharted (with librettist Sarah Hammond).
Also on the stellar creative team is Sarah Hammond, who wrote the book and lyrics. Hammond’s plays have
been produced at noted regional theaters, and her musicals include String (with Adam Gwon), which has been
presented at the O'Neill Music Theatre Conference and the inaugural Oscar Hammerstein Festival at the Bucks
County Playhouse and won the Frederick Loewe Award at New Dramatists, a National Alliance for Musical
Theatre residency grant, the Weston Playhouse New Musicals Award and the Richard Rodgers Prize. With
Aronson, she is also working on the musicals Wind-Up Girl and Jenny Talks to Aliens.
Theatreworks’ mission is to create, produce, and provide access to professional theater for young and family
audiences nationwide, including disadvantaged youth and under-served communities. Since its founding in
1961, Theatreworks has presented more than 90 million children and their families with opportunities to enjoy
theatrical productions in 49 states and Canada. Each season, three million children, many of whom have no
other access to the performing arts, attend Theatreworks’ original productions in venues as varied as local
elementary school gymnasiums, regional fine arts centers and major Broadway-sized theaters. Theatreworks
tours approximately 16 shows each season from its repertoire of 133 plays and musicals. In addition,
Theatreworks has an extensive multi-cultural roster of guest artists, including storytellers, puppeteers, poets,
and magicians.
Pete the Cat is one of numerous Hop offerings for children and families. Others include Cirque Mechanics’
Pedal Punk (December 1 & 2); Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear & Other Treasured
Stories by Eric Carle (January 8); and The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour in Elephant
and Piggie's We Are in a Play; the free HopStop series in Hanover and Claremont. In addition, there are
discounted youth tickets for most Hop shows.
Download high-resolution photos: https://hop.dartmouth.edu/Online/media_resources
CALENDAR LISTING:
Pete the Cat, by TheatreWorks USA
Whether strumming his guitar or strutting in his sneakers, Pete the Cat never loses his cool. Not so for
routine-loving Jimmy Biddle, with whom Pete moves in for the summer. The two don’t mesh—until Jimmy
draws a blank in art class and Pete proposes an inspirational road trip in a groovalicious VW bus! Awardwinning composer Will Aronson’s pop-inflected songs turn James Dean’s popular tales into a fingersnapping musical. Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Sunday, September 25, 3 pm
Spaulding Auditorium, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hanover NH
$18/23, Dartmouth students $10, 18 and under $13/18
Information: hop.dartmouth.edu or 603.646.2422
* * *
Founded in 1962, the Hopkins Center for the Arts is a multi-disciplinary academic, visual and performing
arts center dedicated to uncovering insights, igniting passions, and nurturing talents to help Dartmouth and
the surrounding Upper Valley community engage imaginatively and contribute creatively to our world. Each
year the Hop presents more than 300 live events and films by visiting artists as well as Dartmouth students
and the Dartmouth community, and reaches more than 22,000 Upper Valley residents and students with
outreach and arts education programs. After a celebratory 50th-anniversary season in 2012-13, the Hop
enters its second half-century with renewed passion for mentoring young artists, supporting the
development of new work, and providing a laboratory for participation and experimentation in the arts.