Theater News

Theatreworks USA Developing New Musical Based on Pete the Cat Book Series

Dan Knechtges serves as director and choreographer.

Dan Knechtges serves as director and choreographer of the new musical Pete the Cat.
Dan Knechtges serves as director and choreographer of the new musical Pete the Cat.
(© David Gordon)

Will Aronson and Sarah Hammond's new family musical Pete the Cat has been given an invitation-only reading by Theaterworks USA. The reading was directed and choreographed by Broadway vet Dan Knechtges (Clinton the Musical).

The company was made up of Jill Abramovitz, Sam Heldt, E. Kyle Sherman, Emily Walton, and Kevin Zak. Matt Castle served as musical director.

Based on the bestselling book series by Kimberly and James Dean, Pete the Cat is described as follows: "Pete the Cat never loses his cool. Jimmy Biddle never strays from his routine. That is, until the groovy blue cat moves in with The Biddles for the summer. Can cat and boy ever be friends? When Jimmy draws a blank in art class, Pete's the perfect pal to lead the mission to help Jimmy find his inspiration. Join Jimmy and Pete on a new adventure of friendship, all the way to Paris and back again in a VW Bus."

A timeline for a full production is forthcoming.