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Robrt Pela: Review Of 'Catch Me If You Can: The Musical'

catch me if you can poster
azbroadway.org
"Catch Me If You Can: The Musical" is playing through Aug, 12 at Arizona Broadway Theatre.

It’s time for a summer break, and theater critic Robrt Pela has a musical suggestion.

Arizona Broadway Theatre’s production of "Catch Me If You Can: The Musical" is far more entertaining than it has any right to be. Thanks to delightful performances, neat staging and a better-than-decent songbook — this engaging tuner might change how we respond to the phrase “dinner theater in Peoria.”

Based on the 2002 film of the same name and a 1980 autobiography by con man Frank Abagnale Jr., this musical made a much smaller splash than its authors’ previous work. "Catch Me If You Can" libretto by Terrence McNally is a tidy translation of Abagnale’s screwy travails, and its score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman of "Hairspray" fame is something more than serviceable.

By a happy confluence of writing, costume design and very competent acting, the many characters in this production never become a hazy mess. Stephen Casey’s direction is marked by precision and an eye toward the usual audience-pleasing kicklines and occasional show-stopping ballad.

Its book is a no-brainer, even for those not familiar with the film or the story of Abagnale, who in the 1960s posed as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and an attorney while kiting checks and fleecing unsuspecting professionals of millions of dollars in various cities over several years. In McNally’s retelling, Abagnale falls in love, natch, but it’s his relationship with FBI agent Carl Hanratty, from whom he’s fleeing, that’s the centerpiece of our story. And it’s the winning performances of Sal Pavia as Abagnale and Matthew Mello as Hanratty that truly elevate this production. Neither resembles musical theater stars, which makes what these super-talented song-and-dance men have to offer all the more enjoyable. I can’t recall the last time I saw character actors in leading roles that can belt and hoof like these two do.

There are cute production numbers and a bittersweet father-son duet that works well, and the Shaiman-Wittman score improves as the story progresses, with prettier, more complex and melodic tunes in act two. If "Catch Me If You Can" isn’t terribly clever, its timing is excellent. In July, what we need more than anything is a neatly polished bit of entertainment to take our minds off the summer.

"Catch Me If You Can" continues through Aug. 12 at Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria.

Robrt Pela’s reviews appear in the Phoenix New Times.