catch me pre-pdf€¦ · chronicles the early life of frank abagnale, jr., dropping out of high...

FLYINGTHEMUSICALSKIES:AaronTveit(center)&thecastofthemusicaladaptationofCatchMeIfYouCan.Photo:JoanMarcus

Theater Review

Catch Me If You Can never quite takes off

CATCHMEIFYOUCANBookbyTerrenceMcNallyMusicbyMarkShaiman

LyricsbyScottWittmanandMarcShaimanChoreographybyJerryMitchellDirectedbyJackO'Brien

TheNeilSimonTheatre250W.52ndStreet.(877‐250‐2929),www.catchmethemusical.com

ByDavidNouNou

Themind‐bogglingquestionhereishowdoesoneexpecttotakeaclassic,multifaceted,fast‐pacedcrimecaperthatisconstantlyonthemoveandturnitintoamusical?Theansweris,simple:Youcannot,asthematerialdoesnotlenditselftothestage‐musicalformat.Instead,yougetadull,slow‐paced,one‐dimensionalmusical.Basedonthebrilliant2002StevenSpielbergmovieofthesamenamewithLeonardoDiCaprioandTomHanks,CatchMeIfYouCanchroniclestheearlylifeofFrankAbagnale,Jr.,droppingoutofhighschoolatage16and,throughdifferentdisguises,howhemanagedtoforgeover$2milliondollarsinfraudulentchecksthroughvariousprofessions.Thestorymadethefilmandwhatthisyoungmanachievedisanunforgettableandinterestingexperience.Onthescreen,itisathrillingcat‐and‐mousechasebetweenFrankandhispursuer,AgentCarlHanratty,muchlikeVictorHugo'sLesMisérables,inwhichInspectorJavertisinendlesspursuitofJeanValjean,thethief.Butthenagain,whowouldhaveeverdreamedorsuspectedbackinthe1980sthatLesMiz,asitbecameinternationallyknown,couldbeturnedintoastagemusicalandendupbeingoneofthemostsuccessfulmusicalsofalltime,aroundtheworld?ThesamecreativeteamthatfashionedJohnWaters?1988cultfilmHairsprayintoa

wonderfullyjoyful,deliriousmusicalwithsubstancehadtherightmaterialthatlentitselftobeturnedintoaBroadwaymusicalandwoneightTonyAwards,includingBestMusicalin2003.(Afterall,Mr.WatersbasedHairsprayonareal‐lifeTVdanceshowinBaltimoreintheearly1960s.)Unfortunatelyforthisshow,thereisnoroomformusicalnumbersanddancesequences.Theylookforced,silly,andoutofplace.Insteadofmovingtheactionforward,thesongsbringittoascreechinghalt.Itbecomesa"musicalbythenumbers”:insertsonghere,insertdancenumberthere,andthesupposedproductionnumbersfeelevenmoreoutofplace.ThebookbythevenerableTerrenceMcNallytriestokeeptothescriptofthemovie,butsomehowthedialoguehereistriteandbanal.ThescorebyMarcShaimanandScottWittman,bothofwhomdidabrilliantjobwithHairspray,issounmemorableandforced.Eventhesongsthatsupposedlyhavethe"razzledazzle"arelistlessandcumbersome.ThepremisenowisthatFrankJr.(AaronTveit)isrecreatinghislifeofcrime,afterthebreak‐upofhisparentsasamade‐for‐TVextravaganza,repletewithshowgirls,singinganddancing.Abadideafromtheonset.ThereareacoupleofbrightthingsintheshowandtheirnamesareBroadwayveteransNorbertLeoButz(CarlHanratty)andKerryButler(BrendaStrong).Mr.Butzhasbeenasaviortomanyashow.Hewasbrilliantinlastyear'sEnron,butunfortunatelyitclosedwaytooprematurely.Heistheonerealthinghere.Hisshow‐stoppingnumber"Don'tBreakTheRules"istheonesparklingmomentintheshow.Heactuallyistheoxygentothischokingmusical.Ms.Butler(lastseenonBroadwayinherTony‐nominatedroleinXanadu,andabriefstintinthehitjukeboxmusicalRockofAges)doesherearnestbesttobringBrenda(Frank'sgirlfriend)tolife.Unfortunately,sheentersinthesecondact,butbythenitistoolatetoresuscitatethismoribundshow.Mr.Tveit,extremelytalentedandattractive,hasagoodvoiceasheprovedinNextToNormalin2009.However,heplaysFrankJr.asacute,one‐dimensionalcharacter.Hedoesnotgivethecharacteranyshading.Inthemovie,yourootedforMr.DiCaprio'sFranktoneverbecaughtbythefeds,butinthisBroadwayshow,youarerootingforMr.Butz'sHanrattytocaptureFrankandgetthewholethingoverwith.Obviously,whenoneisrootingforthefedsinsteadofthehero,thedynamicshavechangedandthepowers‐that‐beshouldhaveknownthatsomethingwasterriblywronghere.ThetempoandenergythatJackO'BrieninfusedinhisdirectionofHairspray(heiscertainlyoneofBroadway'sbestandmostimaginativedirectors)istotallymissinghere.Insteadofbuildingthecharactersandoverseeingtheproductiontomoveswiftly,Mr.O'BrienjustreliedonMr.Tveit'sgoodlookstodothework.Mr.Tveitisevenforcedtodisrobegratuitouslyintwoscenes.AddingfurtherinsulttoinjuryisJerryMitchell'slacklusterchoreography,whichiswoodenandlifelessandslowsdowntheproceedingsevenmore.Thetalentandpedigreetobringinanothersmashhitwasallhere.However,thecreatorschosethewrongpropertytotrytheirluckwith,

andthefinalresultisatepidBroadwaymusicaladaptationofCatchMeIfYouCan,anair‐travel‐themedthrillerthatneverquitetakesoff.

PublishedApril15,2011ReviewedatpressperformanceonApril14,2011

Editor's Note: www.StageZine.com, celebrating our 1-Year Anniversary on the Internet. We want to express our gratitude to all the theater PR professionals, industry organizations, and, most of all, our readers, followers and fans for their continued support and kind words throughout the past year, helping make www.StageZine.com a success.

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ORIGINALMUSICALS

FASTENYOURSEATBELTS:AaronTveit(center)andtheleggyflightattendantsofmusicaladaptationofCatchMeIfYouCan.Photo:JoanMarcus

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Believeitornot,IwasreallylookingforwardtoCatchMeIfYouCanandwantedsomuchtoloveitorevenlikeit,oratleastbeindifferenttoit,becauseitis,afterall,bythesamecreatorswhogaveusthewonderfulBroadwaymusicaladaptationofJohnWaters'Hairspray.ThedifferenceisthatHairspraylentitselftoberevampedintoastagemusical,whileCatchMehadnobusinessbeingturnedintooneinthefirstplace.Withasluggishbook,unmemorablescore,unimaginativedirection,andsluggish,dulldancing,thismusicalisnotthefast‐paced,nonstopthrill‐a‐thonbasedonthe2002StevenSpielbergmovieofthesamename.Musicalnumbersanddancesequencesdonotbelonginacapersuchasthis,fortheyonlybringthingstoascreechinghalt.AaronTveitasFrankAbagnale.Jr.,issupposedtobethehero,buthislackofshadingforsucha

complexcharacterismissing,andallweendupwithisahandsomeconartistwithawinningsmile.TherealperformerisNorbertLeoButzasCarlHanratty,theFBIagentinpursuitofFrankJr.,andMr.Butzisthesolelifelinetotheshow.WhateverlifetheshowhasisdueinlargeparttoMr.Butz.Thesadpartisthecreativeteamconsistsofaverytalentedgroupofmen.However,theymadeapoorchoiceintryingtoadaptCatchMeIfYouCanintoaBroadwaymusical.

NEILSIMONTHEATRE,252West52ndStreet,(212‐239‐6200).www.catchmethemusical.com

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www.StageZine.com, celebrating our 1-Year Anniversary on the Internet