CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at The Marriott Theatre is a Groovy, Far Out Nod to 60's Pop Culture
Based on the autobiographical novel and 2002 film, Catch Me If You Can opened on Broadway in 2011. The original production ran for 170 performances and starred Aaron Tveit and St. Louis’ Norbert Leo Butz. It was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Leading Actor in a Musical, Sound Design, and Orchestrations. Butz won his second Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for playing the FBI Agent Carl Hanratty.
Catch Me If You Can was Shaiman and Wittman’s follow up to their Tony and Olivier winning smash hit Hairspray. Nominated for 13 Tony awards, Hairspray won eight Tonys including Best Musical and Best Score for Shaiman and Wittman. Catch Me if You can did not achieve the same long running commercial success as its predecessor, and it is rarely revived in regional theatres. It is a bit of a headscratcher as to why the musical version of Catch Me If You Can didn’t find a wider audience, especially after seeing Jessica Fisch’s electrifying and immersive in-the-round production of Catch Me If You Can at the Marriott Theatre.
It is cliché, and a bit all-to-common, to call a show must-see, but Fisch’s colorful, cartoonish, high-energy Catch Me If You Can is groovy, far-out, and damn good. She, choreographer Diedre Goodwin, scenic designers Andrew Boyce and Lauren M. Nichols, Costume Designer Sully Ratke, wig and make-up designer Miguel A. Armstrong, and video/projections designer Anthony Churchill have created a cheeky nod to all things 1960’s pop culture. Fisch and company’s Catch Me If You Can is a playful explosion of campy storytelling reminiscent of the counterculture era with its peace symbolled, short-skirted, hippie movement that tossed away sexual repression for overt expression. It’s a six-decade old time capsule unearthed with extreme hilarity and near-perfect musical theater storytelling.
Fisch’s, her creative team, and her beyond-sublime cast take the audience on young con man Frank Abagnale, Jr.’s journey paying psychedelic homage to the bygone days. The imagery invokes memories of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in, Pan-Am Flight Attendants with their tailored uniforms and Jackie Kennedy pillbox hats, The Playboy Club, The Pony (the dance, not the hairstyle), Batman, James Bond, pop-art, short skirts, and more. It is one smile inducing pop culture reference after another. The nods just keep coming, adding to the production’s levity, frivolity, and playfulness.
While the work of all the creative team is first rate it is the mood created by Anthony Churchill’s video projections that is literally scene stealing. His vibrant kaleidoscopic ring of visual art, suspended from the ceiling, is a character unto itself. It must be seen to be believed and it’s nearly impossible to pull your eyes away from his scene setting illustrations. Churchill creates indelible images on a blank canvas to romanticizes famous landscapes and the seven wonders of the world as Frank croons to his new-found love Brenda. It takes a charming musical moment, adds another 60’s nod to the etch-a-sketch, and makes a simple song an enduring and unforgettable theatrical memory.
Getting back to the beyond-sublime cast. There aren’t enough superlatives in the dictionary to hurl at the extraordinary ensemble of actors that Fisch has cast. It is a troupe of exceptionally gifted actors fearlessly losing themselves into exaggerated frisky, coy and flirtatious characterizations. Every tongue-in-cheek portrayal is a wink to the past. Vocally the cast is first-rate. Credit music director Ryan T. Nelson, conductor Christoper Sargent, and his orchestra for their noteworthy, pun intended, accompaniment.
JJ Niemann (Frank Abagnale, Jr.) is a star. His boyish charm and matinee idol looks wow. His confident and beguiling portrayal of the young con man creates a magnetic antihero. Niemann has magnificent musicality in voice and movement. He executes Goodwin’s fanciful choreography with magnificent ease. It is easy to comprehend why millions follow Niemann on social media and why he’s developing throngs of musical theater fans. He is a suave and debonair leading man. It seems the role of Frank Abagnale, Jr. was written for him.
Nathaniel Stampley (Carl Hanratty) plays the gruff, committed and frustrated FBI agent who is always a step behind the slick con man. He’s the straight man to Niemann and the other FBI agents clowning. His stoic restraint and detective-like composure is part Mickey Spillane private eye with a bit of James Bond debonair. His deadpan portrayal of the hard-boiled crime fighter, coupled with his resonant baritone, make his Hanratty unforgettable.
Mariah Lyttle (Betty Strong) received a robust ovation with a near showstopping vocal performance of “Fly, Fly Away.” Her Betty is a winsome and loveable ingenue with a heart as big as her voice. Her Gidget-like naivete wins over Frank, Jr. and the audience.
James Earl Jones II (Roger Strong) and Alexis J. Roston (Carol Strong) delight as Betty’s suspicious father and overjoyed mother. Their lead on the New Orleans inspired “(Our) Family Tree” is a musical highlight. Roston is a comedic gem with her physicality and timing. She’s also featured in memorable bit parts as Principal Owens and the Bank Teller, garnering big laughs every time she’s on stage.
Sean Fortunato (Frank Abagnale, Sr.) conjures images of an inebriated Dean Martin, harkening back to the crooner’s days of his self-titled variety show on NBC. Fortunato serenades with his velvety smooth “Butter Outta Cream,” “Don’t Be a Stranger,” and his other songs. He caresses the lyrics and melody with tender vocals. His alcoholic Frank, Sr. teeters on the edge where just one more drink could mean his demise. He’s a tragic man who has a misplaced and hubristic pride in his son’s success as a con.
Marriott Theater’s production of Catch Me If You Can works on every level. It is funny and ridiculously entertaining. The cast has immense chemistry, and their execution of the material is next level. It’s a Broadway quality production and is as close to musical theater perfection as a show can be. It could easily be transferred from Chicago to New York’s Circle in the Square as is, and it would likely outperform the original Broadway run. It is just that good.
Stopping short of using the must see cliché that was mentioned earlier, its highly recommended that if you are within a five-hour drive of Chicago, that you buy a ticket, jump in your car, make the drive and see this absolute gem of a show. It will likely be the among the best musicals you will see this year.
