"Catch Me If You Can" was a hit movie a few years back and was then turned into a Broadway musical. Now it’s found its way to the Woodlawn Theater.
The Woodlawn Theater’s Greg Hinojosa, who directs the production, said the central character of the show is a lying, conniving, thieving person who spent “millions of dollars in forged checks, and managed to pass himself off as a doctor, a lawyer and a jet pilot, all before the age of 21.”
"Catch Me If You Can" is the fictionalized story of the real-life Frank Abagnale. A fascinating story, but I asked Hinojosa what suggests it’s good fodder for a musical?
“It really captures the whole nostalgic era of the sixties in terms of the music and the dancing and the choreography," he said. "It’s sort of a cat 'n' mouse kind of game between Frank and the detectives and their inability to capture him while he’s on the run."
Hinojosa said the music that’s so much a part of the production will come from the stage itself.
“We’re going to have a nine-piece orchestra that will be onstage and they kind of act like a character in the play,” he said.
As to the scope of the production, he said it’s a big one:
“We actually have a cast of 21 actors, singers and dancers," he said. "They’re young and energetic, which is what you need for a musical like this.”
He said the 1960s was a far more innocent era and theatergoers of 2014 may have to suspend their disbelief.
“Someone like Frank Abagnale would never be able to get away with passing himself off as a doctor or a lawyer or a pilot now,” Hinojosa said.
But you can see it happen live onstage from April 11-May 11 at the Woodlawn.
- For more on the show visit: woodlawntheatre.org/catch-me-if-you-can
View the preview of the Broadway production:
