[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of The Colony Theatre’s Catch Me If You Can, the Broadway musical directed by Michael Donovan, choreography by Natalie Iscovich, musical director Brent Crayon, and running through October 18.
The Colony Theatre seems unable to put a foot wrong! Catch Me If You Can is another brilliant production following on the Heels of The Wedding Singer earlier this year, with Michael Donovan directing once again and a cast of absolutely wonderful actors, singers and dancers. There is also a superb band to support this fantastic show, and the result of all this star power is an incredible Broadway level show in beautiful downtown Burbank.
For those very few of you who do not know this true story, a young man, Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., runs away from his home. Disillusioned with his parents and primed by his father to charm, steal and lie his way through life, he steals a book of checks and moves to New York. He has no plan. But this is the 60s and people actually cashed checks back then! But as his checks run out and his luck dwindles, he happens upon a hotel full of air stewardesses and finagles his way into life as a pilot. Without ever stepping foot in the cockpit, he manages to get on Pan Am payroll, fly from city to city, staying in hotels and living the life of a commercial pilot. But the bad checks pique the interest of an FBI agent determined to rid the streets of freeloading menaces. Over the years, they added up to almost two million dollars in fact, and the chase begins…
Catch Me If You Can is a brilliant story and the actors that play all these characters are utterly riveting.
And then there are the numbers!! Fabulous choreography, soaring voices and Blake Jenner as Frank Jr., sweet, believable, creative, fearless and incredibly talented as the center of the show.
But then everyone is excellent and the relationships between Frank and his father and mother are nuanced, heartfelt and real. Actors make the show, and even though this show is wonderfully written and the songs are memorable and very fun, without the talents of the cast it would never work.
The Colony is blessed by this production and the entire cast, who give a thousand percent from start to finish and are phenomenal. We all need some fun and some hope in this increasingly uncertain world. The theatre has always provided that. Faithfully connecting us to each other as well as living art remade every night by deeply committed and gifted artists whose only motivation is to please an audience.
Musical theatre is joyful, magical and the healing we always need…now especially! So go to the Colony Theatre and immerse yourself in this glorious show!!!
Tickets:
https://www.colonytheatre.org/catch-me-if-you-can
Where:
The Colony Theatre
555 N 3rd St, Burbank
When:
September 17 – October 18
Fridays at 8pm
Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm
Sundays at 3pm
The Catch Me If You Can Cast
The cast will feature Blake Jenner (Glee, What/If, The Edge of Seventeen), Joe Abraham (The Little Mermaid and Hairspray on Broadway), Kevin Bailey (original Broadway casts of The Lion King and Annie Get Your Gun 1999 revival), Leslie Stevens (original Broadway cast of La Cage Aux Folles and Victor/Victoria on Broadway), Gabbie Adner (Sweeney Todd at La Mirada, Peril in the Alps at Laguna Playhouse), Brad Griffith (Anouilh’s Antigone off-Broadway), and Whitney Kathleen Vigil (The Wedding Singer and Millennials Are Killing Musicals at The Colony). The ensemble includes (in alphabetical order) Leonel Ayala, Matthew Mason Baker, Johnisa Breault, Luc Clopton, Sophie Liu David, Spencer Del Carmen, Jesse Graham, Anne Hart, Caleb Kocsis, Samantha Lawrence-Mata, Almand Martin Jr., and Lucy Schene.
The Team
Scenic design is by Molly Cornell, lighting design is by Luke Moyer, costume design is by Jennifer Deck, sound design is by Robert Arturo Ramirez, projections design is by Gabrieal Griego, properties design is by John McElveney, and wig design is by Leland Stephens. Assistant director is Coby Rogers. Director of operations for The Colony is Brenda Ramirez-Kalcoff, general manager is Matthew Herrmann, and artistic coordinator for The Colony is Katie Woerner. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA.