The Firehouse Theatre presents Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can
Book by Terrence McNally
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Based on the Dreamworks Motion Picture
Directed by Ally and Owen Beans
Music Directed by Jason Philip Solis
Choreographed by Kelsey Jordan Ward
Sound Designed by Michael Marbry
Lighting Design by Hank Baldree
Costume Design by Dayna Dutton
Scenic Design by Owen Beans
Props Design by Ally Beans
Scenic Painting by Julie Bonneau
Master Carpenter Dennis Williams
Production Stage Manager Hannah Tolle
Assistant Stage Manager Maggie Sproul
My thoughts on Catch Me If You Can or…on a wing and a prayer
Catch Me If You Can
Directed by Ally and Owen Beans
I have a very rocky history with Catch Me If You Can. I did not like it at all when I saw it on Broadway. I thought it was confusing and overblown and renamed it “My $125 Nap.” I couldn’t believe that the Firehouse would even attempt to mount this musical. However, to my amazement, Directors Ally and Owen Beans have made Catch Me If You Can into one of the best musicals that The Firehouse Theatre has presented since The Drowsy Chaperone and Legally Blonde.
Catch Me If You Can is an unlikely tale for a musical. There are so many moving parts to the story of master liar, impostor, and conman Frank Abagnale, Jr. whose crimes extend from forgery to impersonating a copilot, an attorney, and a physician. Introduce Carl Hanratty, the FBI agent obsessed with stopping Abagnale, and you have a Valjean and Javert musical with much more fun and a lot less angst. Yes, there are still many stories to unfold here, but the Beans present them so entertainingly and have put together such a perfect team and cast that the two hours fly by (pun intended) So take that, Les Mis!
Abagnale’s story is told as a quasi-documentary here as a giant tv screen looms over Owen Beans’s clever set covered with paintings of early tv sets that give Catch Me an appropriate late fifties/early sixties feel. We are “Live in Living Color” as Frank sings in the opening number. Frank is a slick and savvy youth whose life of crime started at a very early age. Many of his “victims” remark about his youthfulness and it seems to have aided Frank in his fraudulent capers.
As Frank Abagnale, Jr. Evan Jennings is simply remarkable. He has all the presence and charm to make Abagnale a believable character and sings and dances like a seasoned performer, even though this is his first starring role in a regional theater. The sky is the limit for this guy.
No less remarkable is Grant Hollowell as Carl Hanratty. I admired the way Hollowell showed Hanratty’s growing respect for Abagnale’s cleverness even as he pursued him. Hollowell has a background in comedy, and he puts that training to full use with both his line delivery and physicality. He is most definitely Javert with great comic timing.
As Frank’s French mother Paula, Molly Robinson brings a patrician flair to the character with her excellent singing and smooth dance moves. As Frank Sr., Danny Servetnick, a stage vet I have seen in countless roles, turns in one of the best performances of the evening as an early influence on his son. To watch Servetnick, who is always an outstanding singer and hoofer, portray Frank Sr.’s descent into alcoholism is genuinely moving.
In my favorite scene of the evening Stacia Goad-Malone and Hunter Lewis are comic crooners as Brenda and Roger Strong, the parents of Frank’s fiancé Brenda. Goad-Malone and Lewis turn the song “(Our) Family Tree” into a jewel. This is a scene you will wish you could play over and over. Singing, dancing, comic perfection.
The fantastic Tara Park, as Brenda, who loves Frank, but does not quite understand all the implications of his past on their future, expresses her feelings in a stunning solo “Fly, Fly Away” which is exquisitely lighted by Hank Baldree.
Several cast members play multiple roles here. I lost track of how many times and how quickly Daniel Vanegas, Arianna Reed, Max Morgan, Caitlin Martelle, Lucas Haupert and Malik Offor changed costumes and roles as they did it so quickly and smoothly. This musical does have more entrances and exits than Noises Off. The throwback to the era also includes several young women, all talented singers, dancers, and performers who play stewardesses and nurses in very short period costumes, designed by Dayna Dutton. This ensemble includes Caitlin Martelle, Arianna Reed, Autumn McHale, Zoe Rech, Ally Varitek, Delaney Wenger, and Sara Williams.
Music Director Jason Philip Solis has everyone in splendid voice and is aided by Michael Marbry’s sound design. Choreographer Kelsey Jordan Ward has created some sexy, stylish dances. Ward knows how to use the Firehouse stage to full advantage and has the dancers fill the stage but never crowd it.
I have to hand it to Ally and Owen Beans. They took a musical I did not enjoy at all and turned it into a singing, dancing marvel. The Beans have a definite eye for talent and casting. They make Catch Me If You Can a can’t miss delight. Now, If I could just talk then into making my favorite musical Chess work.
