Catch Me If You Can,
the musical, is an exciting ride!
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I enjoyed Steven Speilberg's
DreamWorks movie, Catch Me If You Can, starring
Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, and I like musicals. That
was enough to propel me to the Pantages Theater to see Catch Me If You Can,
the musical.
Like the movie and the book by the same name, the musical
version of Catch Me If You Can tells the
unbelievable-but-true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. In the
musical, we meet Frank as a young man staring down the
barrel of a gun. Rather than continue the story from there,
Frank takes us back in time, telling the audience and his
captor how he got there, in the tone of a 60’s variety show.
We flash back to meet Frank as a teenager whose happy life
quickly begins to crumble around him. Rather than become a
victim, Frank takes his world into his own hands and uses
some of the skills that his well-meaning father taught him,
along with his own ingenuity, to start a new life for
himself. He runs away from home with two dollars in his
pocket and turns that money into millions as a con man.
Incredibly, Frank is able to pose as a pilot and a doctor
along the way, but, rather than being motivated by the
thrill of flying an airplane or the fascinating world of
medicine, Frank seems predominately driven by one thing:
women.
For me, the show was an engaging collection of three
interwoven love stories: between a father and a son, a man
and a woman, and, as unlikely as it sounds, an FBI agent and
a con artist. Each “couple” gets their own wonderfully
touching song or two among the lively songs that make up the
rest of the score. The score is by Marc Shaiman and Scott
Wittman who also worked on the Broadway musical,
Hairspray.
In the role of Frank Abagnale, Jr., Stephen Anthony bursts
with charisma and charm. Even though Frank is technically a
bad guy, I couldn’t help rooting for him. And Anthony can
really move! He was an absolute joy to watch.
I also grew to like Agent Carl Hanratty, played with depth
by Merritt David Janes, and Frank Abagnale, Sr. (Dominic
Fortuna), whose love for his son was palpable, especially
during the song “Butter Outta Cream.” Aubrey Mae Davis, who
played the role of Brenda Strong, won me over when she
belted out her love for Frank in “Fly, Fly Away.”
Some of the smaller supporting roles felt more like cartoon
characters than real people, and the show certainly didn’t
accurately portray what it’s like to be a pilot or a doctor
in the real world, but that fits perfectly with a story
where the main character is a young adult who loves comic
books.
The entire orchestra for Catch Me If You Can was
seated right on the stage, which felt appropriate to the
60’s variety show theme. Likely because the orchestra filled
much of the stage, the sets were minimal. Beautiful
projections on a large screen behind the orchestra
effectively set the tone for the scenes and smaller set
pieces were moved on and off the stage as they were needed.
Catch Me If You Can audience members who have seen
the movie, read the book, or heard the story, will have a
pretty good idea how the musical version ends, but with
Catch Me If You Can, the musical, the ride is so
delightful that already knowing the ending really doesn’t
matter at all. In fact, watching Catch Me If You Can,
the musical, was the most fun that I’ve had in the theater
in a long time.
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Jen (California,USA)*
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* As a member of the press, Jen
received two complimentary tickets to
Catch Me If You Can. |
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Catch Me If You Can ran at the Pantages Theatre in
Los Angeles from March 12th through March
24th, 2013.
Tickets to current and upcoming shows at the Pantages
Theatre are available:
Online: HollywoodPantages.com or Ticketmaster.com
By Phone: 1-800-982-2787
In Person: Pantages Box Office, 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los
Angeles, CA 90028 (opens daily at 10am, except for holidays) and
Ticketmaster Outlets
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