WENDY ANN GARDNER- BOOK, MUSIC, LYRICS
Originally from London, Ontario, Canada, Wendy Ann Gardner began her career as a painter. She studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, and in 1985 moved to New York City.
In 1997 she formed her company, SCARY STORIES INC, and began selling her plush toys, Dig Ivan Dig, Heedley Pecked Me in The Eye, and all the other Naughty Naughty Pets characters, which have been sold in boutiques, design stores, gifts shops, and art museums throughout the world. Her unique graphics have been commissioned by many companies, notably, Target, Nylabone, and Paul Frank Industries, for use as logos, branding and character art. Her illustrations of the Naughty Naughty Pets, have been licensed worldwide to create various products including, children’s clothing, books, stationery, lollipops, stickers, greeting cards, pet toys, watches, wallets, fashion bags, t-shirts and pajamas.
Her series of four Naughty Naughty Pets children’s books were published by Hyperion Books For Children in 2002, and in 2006 the animated TV series, The Naughty Naughty Pets, aired on Cartoon Network, CBC Canada, BBC UK, NHK Japan and was syndicated worldwide.
She has been featured in popular and industry publications such as In Style, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Fortune Small Business, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Playthings Magazine, The Chicago Tribune, Working Mother, and Elle Décor.
Most recently, she is the author and composer of the children’s musical, Windywoo and Her Naughty Naughty Pets, which debuted at the New York Musical Theater Festival in 2015, subsequently optioned by Seaview Entertainment and is currently in development.
Currently, Wendy is writing a new musical, Yes, A Cat Named Marty Cohen, based on her own children’s book of the same name.
Wendy Ann Gardner lives in New York City with her husband, two children, a big dog and her cats, Artie and Marty Cohen, who star in the musical.
Jonathan S. Cerullo - DIRECTOR is an award-winning director-choreographer and executive producer whose career spans over 40 years across Broadway, Off-Broadway, national tours, international productions, symphony concerts, cabaret, film, television, and circus arts.
In 2025, Jonathan directed, choreographed, and supervised the NY Off-Broadway premiere of Mr. Puppy The Musical, as well as directed the industry presentation of Green, The Musical, based on Arthurian legends and Abril, A New Musical of survival and second chances. Recent credits include conceiving and directing A Lotta Night Music, Amas Musical Theatre’s 55th Anniversary Gala honoring Tony Award-nominee Patricia Birch and Tony Award-winner, Len Cariou and featuring Lorna Luft and Broadway World's Richard Ridge.
His Broadway credits include Band in Berlin, Anna Karenina, The Three Musketeers, Say Goodnight, Gracie and performing in Legs Diamond starring Academy Award-winner, Peter Allen and the National Tour of Cats as Skimbleshanks.
A two-time graduate of Emerson College (BFA in Directing, 1982; MA in Creative Enterprise, 2024), Jonathan also executive-produced and directed Legs Diamond in Concert and Conversation at the NY Public Library for the Performing Arts. Other notable directing work includes Hard On Love (Blank Theatre, LA), Windywoo (Legacy Theatre, CT), and With Love, Now and Forever: CATS4COVID Relief, which raised $25,000 for Broadway Cares and The Actors Fund.
His celebrated 2019 production Amas@50 honored Harry Belafonte and featured Leslie Uggams and Christopher Jackson. That same year, he directed the industry reading of Carol of Carroll Gardens (starring Karen Ziemba), Darkened City by David Hall, Panther City in Fort Worth Texas, the Off-Broadway production of Pie Lessons by Carrie Robbins. In 2018, he directed the acclaimed all-male The Boys from Syracuse, and in 2017, produced and directed the 30th Anniversary Concert of Legs Diamond at Feinstein’s/54 Below.
Off-Broadway, he’s directed Pins and Needles (La MaMa), Willie and Me, Wonderful Town (ELT), and Midsummer Nights. His musical theatre festival work includes Chance (Fresh Fruit Festival), Fictitious (SOUND BITES, Best Director), Windywoo and Her Naughty Naughty Pets, Lisa and Leonardo, Under Fire (NYMF Best of Fest), and Orphan Train (directed by Patricia Birch). Regionally, he has directed or choreographed for Berkshire Theatre Festival, Goodspeed Opera House, North Shore Music Theatre, and Theatre By the Sea. He also choreographed Carnivale! and Picturesque both with the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center.
On screen, Jonathan choreographed for Great Performances, Evening at Pops, and served as movement director for Bette Midler in The Stepford Wives remake. He assisted on The First Wives Club, Donny Osmond's This Is the Moment, Natalie Cole’s Christmas Special and The Cowboy Way starring Woody Harrelson. He’s worked with Studio Festi, NBC, and Italy's RAI TV for the NYC Columbus Day Parade.
Jonathan is a member of SDC, AEA, and the Dramatists Guild, and received the SDC President’s Award in 2023. He recently was honored to receive Emerson College's Distinguished Alumni Award joining the list of Emerson alumni, Norman Lear, Henry Winkler, Jay Leno, and Bobbi Brown. He volunteers with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and founded JSCTheatricals, LLC in 2013, collaborating with artists like Wynton Marsalis, Philip Glass, Judy Collins, and Abigail Disney.
Also an accomplished photographer, Jonathan was recognized by the United Nations in 1979 Children of the Year Award winner in his age category. Learn more at www.jsctheatricals.com.
Wendy Ann Gardner with one of her creations.
The real Marty Cohen
STEPHANIE BIANCHI - MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS
Stephanie Bianchi is a music director, board-certified music therapist, voiceover actor, and composer/lyricist. She has written and performed music and lyrics for a variety of TV and radio shows and ads, independent films, children’s videos, and educational programs. She founded Synaptic Soul - a band of music therapists created to raise music therapy awareness and serve as a platform for MT causes, and wrote all the songs on their 2011 debut album “Awake”. She is also one half of the musical theatre writing duo Whiskey and Fall Weather (with Eric C. Webb). Their current projects in development include the irreverent anti-romantic musical comedy “Breakup”, a yet-to-be-titled rock musical about John Wilkes Booth, and a supernatural musical thriller based on a documented New York ghost story. Additionally, she is Music Director for The Guided Imagery Opera, an experimental immersive opera experience created by Joule L’Adara of Sounding Circles.
ISAAC ALTER - MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS
Isaac Alter is a New York-based music director, accompanist, arranger, and conductor. Since graduating from college and moving to New York at the end of 2016, he has worked on a variety of music and musical theater projects, including Waitress, The Great Comet of 1812, and the Broadway-bound stage adaptation of Frozen. He holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he studied stem cell biology and music.
THE MUSICAL
Yes, A Cat Named Marty Cohen is a 60 minute, 15 song, new musical, for all ages, written by Wendy Ann Gardner, creator of the Naughty Naughty Pets children's books and animated TV series.
It follows the story of Marty Cohen, a Scottish Fold who immigrates to America in search of a better life.
With his undocumented status, Marty is forced to live in the shadows of New York City, making new friends along the way and learning important lessons about friendship, solidarity and standing up for oneself in the face of bureaucracy and prejudice.