By Alec Clayton
Published in the Weekly Volcano, April 19, 2018
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| FBI agent Carl Hanratty, center, with the ensemble cast of “Catch Me If You Can,” photo by Kat Dollarhide |
Catch Me If You Can at Tacoma
Musical Playhouse is simply a lot of fun, from the opening song, “Live in
Living Color” to wonderfully surprising twists at the end. Based on the film of
the same title starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, this musical romp
tells the tale of true-life con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. (Jake Atwood), who
successfully conned people out of millions of dollars while getting away with
pretending to be an airline pilot, a doctor and a prosecuting attorney, all
before his 20th birthday.
Atwood, a Playhouse favorite
from musicals such as Footloose and The Addams Family, plays Abagnale as a
1960s playboy in the Frank Sinatra-Dean Martin mold. He is slick, smooth,
expressive in his movement, and exudes an air of supreme confidence. Plus, he
can sing and dance like nobody’s business.
Abagnale’s cons are so transparent
(probably because they had to be simplified for the play) that it’s amazing
anyone fell for them; yet in real life they did, over and over. And why did he
do it? For fun, for riches, for women, and mostly to please his father, Frank
Sr. (Jonathan Bill, also of Addams Family
fame), who was himself a failed con man and a cad in an unhappy marriage to a
woman he met in France while serving in the war. Early in the play, Frank Jr.
catches his mother in an affair with his father’s best friend, and shortly after
that his parents get divorced, and Frank Jr. runs away to begin his life of
crime.
The play is kept simple and
lighthearted throughout the first act with catchy show tunes like “The
Pinstripes Are All They See,” a duet with Frank Jr. and Sr. in which the father
explains to the son how women are attracted to a uniform; i.e., how appearances
are all that matter. (The title comes from the ludicrous but funny notion that
the Yankees are a winning team because of their pinstripe uniforms.)
Meanwhile, FBI Agent Carl
Hanratty (John Miller) is hot on Frank’s trail, pursuing him as obsessively as
Javert after Valjean.
In the second act, the story and
the characters become much deeper and more layered, beginning when father and
son meet in a bar and air their differences, a scene with a great duet on the
song, “Little Boy Be a Man.”
It’s tempting to say that Atwood
carries the show on his shoulders with his great stage presence and exuberance,
but that would be to ignore other outstanding performances by the likes of
Miller as Hanratty, who is like a slightly less frenetic John Belushi on a
mission from God. Claire Barton is down-to-earth and lovely as Frank’s fiancée,
Brenda. Her solo ballad “Fly, Fly Away” is show-stopping and heartbreaking.
Bill underplays the senior Abagnale with heart, and he sings with mellow
resonance. He might be a terrible father and husband, but audiences can’t help
but like him. Michele Greenwood Bettinger is terrifically funny as Brenda’s
mother. Three other actors who stand out wonderfully in supporting roles are
Josh Anderman, Nicholas Bray and Cameron Waters as the trio of Hanratty’s
underling FBI agents. And I can’t overlook the marvelous chorus of leggy
showgirls in costumes by Jocelyne Fowler. I wish I could name them all; they are
that good.
The story is resolved with more
than one surprise ending and none of the feel-good ballyhoo expected of a stage
musical. It is a satisfactory and believable ending, as it should since it is a
true story.
The set by Blake York is a stunning
‘60s modernist, art nouveau-inspired airport lounge in sparkling silver with
purple and blue lighting by lighting master John Chenault.
Catch Me If You Can, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 2
p.m., through April 29, Tacoma Musical Playhouse at The Narrows Theatre, 7116
Sixth Ave., Tacoma, $22-$31,
253-565-6867, http://www.tmp.org
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