Review: Catch Me If You Can a big hit!

By DAVE MOSIER

The Van Wert Civic Theatre has a new production opening Thursday and it’s a good one — a really good one!

VWCT’s latest production is Catch Me If You Can, a 2009 musical by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman based on the 2002 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which is itself based on the1980 autobiography by con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., written with Stan Redding.

The musical opens with Abagnale’s arrest by FBI agents led by Special Agent Carl Hanratty, the part played by Tom Hanks in the movie, in Miami International Airport. It then continues with a flashback to Abagnale’s youth in the 1950s, where his father, Frank Sr., a struggling businessman who kites checks, cheats on his taxes and cons banks into giving him loans he can’t pay back, instills that same grifting philosophy in his son.

When his parents divorce after his mother, Paula, is caught cheating with another man, Abagnale Jr. leaves home and begins a series of amazing impersonations, using his charm to pass himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, all for the purpose of writing millions of dollars in bad checks during a globetrotting spree that stretches over several years. He’s also being doggedly pursued by Hanratty and his FBI agents, who aim to stop his scamming ways.

Director Jerry Zimmerman and Music Director Terri Spencer have put together an excellent cast for what could be the smash hit of this VWCT season.

Ashton Szabados, who was impressive last season as Clyde Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde, a musical that recently competed at the state level, is also great as Abagnale Jr., playing the con artist with charm and endearing panache.

Nick Long plays Hanratty, Frank Jr.’s FBI nemesis, and is also wonderful as a driven man whose one and only aim in life is to bring Abagnale to justice.

Szabados and Long are the soul of this production, making Abagnale’s story not only believable, but also extremely entertaining. Both do a great job with the big numbers, but also add poignancy to the soft, emotional tunes.

The leading men also have a very capable supporting staff, led by Drew Kantonen as Frank Sr. and VWCT veteran Mary Ann Falk as Paula Abagnale, while Cheyenne Weber (Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde) is Frank Jr.’s girlfriend, Brenda Strong, veteran actors Roger Rex and Kristin Lee are Brenda’s parents, Nicole Merkel is Cheryl Ann, and Grant Boecker, Brian Hill and Marcus Kerns play Hanratty’s FBI team.
Kantonen, who has craggy good looks, plays his part with the aplomb of a veteran song-and-dance man, while Falk never disappoints as Frank Sr.’s wayward wife.

I especially liked Szabados and Kantonen’s duet on “Butter Outta Cream” — about Frank Sr.’s grifting philosophy. Another great moment is when Szabados and Long show the loneliness they are feeling both as pursued and pursuer, in the songs, “Christmas is My Favorite Time of Year” and “My Favorite Time of Year.”

And not to be overlooked is the play’s outstanding ensemble — Amy Boley, Renae Bocker, Sean Carpenter, Anna Caddidy, Leah Garmatter, Dianna Hicks, Katelyn Knepper, Doug Long Jr., Brianna Luginbihl, Merkel, Alea Rex, Kimmy Warnecke, Noelle Warnement, Joe Warnement, and Jerry Zimmerman. This group really rocks the big production numbers, while also admirably filling the roles that make what could be a ho-hum show into an exciting hit.

Anyone who misses this show will be kicking themselves, because it is so uniformly excellent. The performances are spot on and the music is both tuneful and poignant, when appropriate. Catch Me If You Can begins Thursday and runs through this weekend and the weekend of September 24-26. Evening performances begin at 7:30, while Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m. at the theater, 118 S. Race St. Reserve tickets online at vwct.org or by calling 419.238.9689.