“Catch Me If You Can”

***** “The Big Con!”. Today, when we think of a “Con”, we think of some of the scams that we receive on our e-mail and texts, but there was a time, before AI and computers and social media, where the “Big Con” was played person to person. Frank Abagnale, Jr. was indeed a con-man ( perhaps even as a boy) that drove one particular FBI Agent mad. If the name sounds familiar, that may be because there was a marvelous film made about the man, “Catch Me If You Can” starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the “con man” and Tom Hanks as “The FBI Agent”. It was done in 2002, over 20 years ago, but the story still makes sense. It was a Steven Spielberg film, so you know it was well done.

While the movie was well done, and told the story well ( if not at all fact-checked), the musical version, when first brought to our attention in 2013, was not what one might anticipate. The Cadillac Palace was the venue that Broadway In Chicago chose to bring the show . While it is a wonderful venue, it is huge and I found that the production was very weak, not allowing the beauty of the film to translate to a live performance. The music (Marc Shaiman) and lyrics ( Shaiman along with Scott  Wittman) were just passable. The book by Terrance McNally followed the film very tightly, but seemed weaker than the new musical production now on the Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire stage.

For 50 years, Marriott has shown us that a theater-in-the-round stage can work with great style and class. No fancy sets are needed, and with today’s technology, they can make things appear to be in place with projections (Anthony Churchill) allowing all four sides of audience members to see what the director wants them to see. Jessica Fisch’s direction is perfect, and the choreography by Deidre Goodwin impeccable.

The story, for those unfamiliar with it, revolves around a young man, Frank, Jr. ( a dynamite portrayal by JJ Neimann) who finds a way to become whatever he opts to be in order to live the lifestyle he desires to have. He is a con-man, a forger and becomes a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer in the auto-biographical tale that created this film and later musical play. We learn of his relationship with his parents ( played by the always reliable Sean Fortunato  and Jessie Fisher) and his own love life later in the story.

The majority of the story is showing Frank, Jr. attain his goals and the FBI agent, Carl Hanratty ( an incredible performance by Nathaniel Stampley) who sought his capture. His cohorts, a sort of comical trio are played to perfection by Justin Albinder, Alex Goodrich and Karl Hamilton. These agents are almost like the three stooges without the slapstick, but quite funny.

Along the way , we meet many people that cross paths with this young man, and in the second act, when he has become a Doctor, he finds true love with Nurse Brenda ( (Mariah Little is terrific) , and her parents played by Alexis J. Roston and James Earl Jones II. The musical piece “Our Family Tree” is a treat. In fact, the musical numbers that we see in this production are far better than what I saw when BIC did the touring show years ago. From the opener  “Live In Living Color” to the finale “Stick Together” and amazing duet done by Frank,Jr. and Hanratty, we see and hear some wonderful songs.

Hats off to the tech people and the musicians ( led by Chris Sargent). The cleverly designed set by Lauren M. Nichols and Andrew Boyce works well. Sully Ratke’s costumes are divine, Jesse Klug’s lighting is right on and the sound by Michael Daly perfect. The props by Rae Watson and Sally Zack were plentiful and every one of them appeared where they were supposed to be, which considering the number of items is in itself amazing. As usual Ryan T. Nelson is the Music Director and this is a show that I suggest you “catch while you can”!