At sixteen, Frank Abagnale, Jr. began the path to becoming one of the greatest con men of all time. Posing as a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, he bilked the country out of nearly $2,000,000. Finally cornered by the dogged FBI agent determined to capture him, Abagnale decides to tell (and sing) his story in Catch Me If You Can: The Musical by Terrence McNally with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. It is currently playing at the Bellevue Little Theatre.
McNally’s script is a mixed bag. It does a fine job of highlighting Abagnale’s life and his most notable impostures and I think sharing this might have been enough as his life had enough drama and natural humor for a great story. Where the script falters is when it tries to needlessly force humor into the story such as making the FBI agents with the exception of Hanratty seem like inept fools. Kudos to Matt Karasek, Randy Wallace, and Jackson Hal Cottrell for a superb job of playing the characters as written.
D. Laureen Pickle does an admirable job of directing this piece. The staging is well done, seeming more like a sixties sitcom and full performance space is used in telling this story. She found some great beats to add some heart to this story especially in the conversations between Abagnale and his father and she has guided her actors to solid and moving performances.
The ensemble does fine work supporting this story as they were clearly enjoying themselves and really helped to flesh out crowd scenes and provide some snappy dancing courtesy of inventive choreography provided by Kerri Jo Watts and Eastin Yates. That being said, I did note a couple of points where the execution of the dancing needed to be a bit cleaner.
Some great supporting performances are provided by Kevin Olsen as Frank Abagnale, Sr. who was a minor league con man that taught Junior everything he needed to know about running a scam. Olsen’s Abagnale, Sr. is quite pitiable as the purpose for his cons is simply to provide a better life for his family, though he does seem to derive a pleasure out of outsmarting the government. Heather Wilhem is marvelously entertaining as an Atlanta housewife who is quite taken with the smooth Abagnale, Jr. who wishes to marry her daughter.
Thomas Stoysich gives a rather entertaining performance as Frank Abagnale, Jr. He is a very likable and charming person and these traits are crucial to being a good con artist. Stoysich is so darn likable that you don’t want to believe that he’s really a crook. Stoysich also adds a remarkable emotional depth to the performance as he portrays Abagnale’s con artistry as a compulsion. He can’t seem to help himself. Stoysich does good work in showing the three reasons why Abagnale does what he does: 1. He’s trying to survive. 2. He hopes to earn enough to reunite his broken family. 3. It’s fun.
Stoysich also has a very pleasant tenor voice which was well utilized in “Live in Living Color” and his attempt to end Abagnale’s story prematurely in “Goodbye”.
Eric Micks is rock solid as Carl Hanratty, Abagnale’s determined pursuer. This is a man who is completely dedicated to his job and that came at the cost of his own family. Micks gives Hanratty intelligence and tenacity, but he also gives him a haunting loneliness. The job is all he has, even spending the holidays by himself except for an annual phone call from Abagnale with whom he shares a sort of friendship in spite of their adversarial relationship. Micks also possesses a fine baritone shown when he tries to discover “The Man Inside the Clues” as he investigates the crimes of Abagnale.
Chris Ebke and his orchestra do justice to the score of the show with an energetic performance. Nancy Buennemeyer’s costumes suit the sixties settings especially with the pilot and flight attendant uniforms of the time as well as the elegant clothes for Abagnale and the rumpled suit for Hanratty. Joey Lorincz does it again with another stellar set with a stairway lit by runner lights and a pair of revolving doors for speedy entrances and exits while locales are projected behind the stairs.
This show badly needed doses of energy and volume last night. The volume was especially important with the orchestra situated behind the cast as I lost bits of dialogue at various points. There also seemed to be something up with the microphones as they didn’t seem to work except for a brief burst towards the end of Act I. Part of the energy issue came from an audience not giving the cast much to work with. In a show like this, the cast needs the fuel supplied by a lively crowd to further heighten their own performances. Cue pickups could also be tightened to help the energy.
When all is said and done Catch Me If You Can is a slightly surreal telling of Abagnale’s story. It’s got the potential to be a great crowd pleaser thanks to a talented crew and a spritely orchestra and a “Strange But True” story.
Catch Me If You Can: The Musical plays at Bellevue Little Theatre through Sept 29. Showtimes are Fri-Sat at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $10 for students. Tickets can be obtained at bellevuelittletheatre.weebly.com or calling 402-291-1554. Some discretion is advised due to some strong language and suggestive moments. Bellevue Little Theatre is located at 203 W Mission Ave in Bellevue, NE.
Chris' Corner 