CATCH ME PRE-PDF€¦ · chronicles the early life of Frank Abagnale, Jr., dropping out of high...
Transcript of CATCH ME PRE-PDF€¦ · chronicles the early life of Frank Abagnale, Jr., dropping out of high...
FLYINGTHEMUSICALSKIES:AaronTveit(center)&thecastofthemusicaladaptationofCatchMeIfYouCan.Photo:JoanMarcus
Theater Review
Catch Me If You Can never quite takes off
CATCHMEIFYOUCANBookbyTerrenceMcNallyMusicbyMarkShaiman
LyricsbyScottWittmanandMarcShaimanChoreographybyJerryMitchellDirectedbyJackO'Brien
TheNeilSimonTheatre250W.52ndStreet.(877‐250‐2929),www.catchmethemusical.com
ByDavidNouNou
Themind‐bogglingquestionhereishowdoesoneexpecttotakeaclassic,multifaceted,fast‐pacedcrimecaperthatisconstantlyonthemoveandturnitintoamusical?Theansweris,simple:Youcannot,asthematerialdoesnotlenditselftothestage‐musicalformat.Instead,yougetadull,slow‐paced,one‐dimensionalmusical.Basedonthebrilliant2002StevenSpielbergmovieofthesamenamewithLeonardoDiCaprioandTomHanks,CatchMeIfYouCanchroniclestheearlylifeofFrankAbagnale,Jr.,droppingoutofhighschoolatage16and,throughdifferentdisguises,howhemanagedtoforgeover$2milliondollarsinfraudulentchecksthroughvariousprofessions.Thestorymadethefilmandwhatthisyoungmanachievedisanunforgettableandinterestingexperience.Onthescreen,itisathrillingcat‐and‐mousechasebetweenFrankandhispursuer,AgentCarlHanratty,muchlikeVictorHugo'sLesMisérables,inwhichInspectorJavertisinendlesspursuitofJeanValjean,thethief.Butthenagain,whowouldhaveeverdreamedorsuspectedbackinthe1980sthatLesMiz,asitbecameinternationallyknown,couldbeturnedintoastagemusicalandendupbeingoneofthemostsuccessfulmusicalsofalltime,aroundtheworld?ThesamecreativeteamthatfashionedJohnWaters?1988cultfilmHairsprayintoa
wonderfullyjoyful,deliriousmusicalwithsubstancehadtherightmaterialthatlentitselftobeturnedintoaBroadwaymusicalandwoneightTonyAwards,includingBestMusicalin2003.(Afterall,Mr.WatersbasedHairsprayonareal‐lifeTVdanceshowinBaltimoreintheearly1960s.)Unfortunatelyforthisshow,thereisnoroomformusicalnumbersanddancesequences.Theylookforced,silly,andoutofplace.Insteadofmovingtheactionforward,thesongsbringittoascreechinghalt.Itbecomesa"musicalbythenumbers”:insertsonghere,insertdancenumberthere,andthesupposedproductionnumbersfeelevenmoreoutofplace.ThebookbythevenerableTerrenceMcNallytriestokeeptothescriptofthemovie,butsomehowthedialoguehereistriteandbanal.ThescorebyMarcShaimanandScottWittman,bothofwhomdidabrilliantjobwithHairspray,issounmemorableandforced.Eventhesongsthatsupposedlyhavethe"razzledazzle"arelistlessandcumbersome.ThepremisenowisthatFrankJr.(AaronTveit)isrecreatinghislifeofcrime,afterthebreak‐upofhisparentsasamade‐for‐TVextravaganza,repletewithshowgirls,singinganddancing.Abadideafromtheonset.ThereareacoupleofbrightthingsintheshowandtheirnamesareBroadwayveteransNorbertLeoButz(CarlHanratty)andKerryButler(BrendaStrong).Mr.Butzhasbeenasaviortomanyashow.Hewasbrilliantinlastyear'sEnron,butunfortunatelyitclosedwaytooprematurely.Heistheonerealthinghere.Hisshow‐stoppingnumber"Don'tBreakTheRules"istheonesparklingmomentintheshow.Heactuallyistheoxygentothischokingmusical.Ms.Butler(lastseenonBroadwayinherTony‐nominatedroleinXanadu,andabriefstintinthehitjukeboxmusicalRockofAges)doesherearnestbesttobringBrenda(Frank'sgirlfriend)tolife.Unfortunately,sheentersinthesecondact,butbythenitistoolatetoresuscitatethismoribundshow.Mr.Tveit,extremelytalentedandattractive,hasagoodvoiceasheprovedinNextToNormalin2009.However,heplaysFrankJr.asacute,one‐dimensionalcharacter.Hedoesnotgivethecharacteranyshading.Inthemovie,yourootedforMr.DiCaprio'sFranktoneverbecaughtbythefeds,butinthisBroadwayshow,youarerootingforMr.Butz'sHanrattytocaptureFrankandgetthewholethingoverwith.Obviously,whenoneisrootingforthefedsinsteadofthehero,thedynamicshavechangedandthepowers‐that‐beshouldhaveknownthatsomethingwasterriblywronghere.ThetempoandenergythatJackO'BrieninfusedinhisdirectionofHairspray(heiscertainlyoneofBroadway'sbestandmostimaginativedirectors)istotallymissinghere.Insteadofbuildingthecharactersandoverseeingtheproductiontomoveswiftly,Mr.O'BrienjustreliedonMr.Tveit'sgoodlookstodothework.Mr.Tveitisevenforcedtodisrobegratuitouslyintwoscenes.AddingfurtherinsulttoinjuryisJerryMitchell'slacklusterchoreography,whichiswoodenandlifelessandslowsdowntheproceedingsevenmore.Thetalentandpedigreetobringinanothersmashhitwasallhere.However,thecreatorschosethewrongpropertytotrytheirluckwith,
andthefinalresultisatepidBroadwaymusicaladaptationofCatchMeIfYouCan,anair‐travel‐themedthrillerthatneverquitetakesoff.
PublishedApril15,2011ReviewedatpressperformanceonApril14,2011
Editor's Note: www.StageZine.com, celebrating our 1-Year Anniversary on the Internet. We want to express our gratitude to all the theater PR professionals, industry organizations, and, most of all, our readers, followers and fans for their continued support and kind words throughout the past year, helping make www.StageZine.com a success.
Broadway Listings NouNouOnBroadwayBroadwayCapsuleReviewsbyDavidNouNou
ORIGINALMUSICALS
FASTENYOURSEATBELTS:AaronTveit(center)andtheleggyflightattendantsofmusicaladaptationofCatchMeIfYouCan.Photo:JoanMarcus
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Believeitornot,IwasreallylookingforwardtoCatchMeIfYouCanandwantedsomuchtoloveitorevenlikeit,oratleastbeindifferenttoit,becauseitis,afterall,bythesamecreatorswhogaveusthewonderfulBroadwaymusicaladaptationofJohnWaters'Hairspray.ThedifferenceisthatHairspraylentitselftoberevampedintoastagemusical,whileCatchMehadnobusinessbeingturnedintooneinthefirstplace.Withasluggishbook,unmemorablescore,unimaginativedirection,andsluggish,dulldancing,thismusicalisnotthefast‐paced,nonstopthrill‐a‐thonbasedonthe2002StevenSpielbergmovieofthesamename.Musicalnumbersanddancesequencesdonotbelonginacapersuchasthis,fortheyonlybringthingstoascreechinghalt.AaronTveitasFrankAbagnale.Jr.,issupposedtobethehero,buthislackofshadingforsucha
complexcharacterismissing,andallweendupwithisahandsomeconartistwithawinningsmile.TherealperformerisNorbertLeoButzasCarlHanratty,theFBIagentinpursuitofFrankJr.,andMr.Butzisthesolelifelinetotheshow.WhateverlifetheshowhasisdueinlargeparttoMr.Butz.Thesadpartisthecreativeteamconsistsofaverytalentedgroupofmen.However,theymadeapoorchoiceintryingtoadaptCatchMeIfYouCanintoaBroadwaymusical.
NEILSIMONTHEATRE,252West52ndStreet,(212‐239‐6200).www.catchmethemusical.com
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www.StageZine.com, celebrating our 1-Year Anniversary on the Internet