Catch Me if You Can to arrive on Broadway 7 Mar 2010

The new musical Catch Me If You Can will open on Broadway on 10 Apr 2011, following previews from 7 Mar 2011, at a theatre to be announced.

Catch Me If You Can features music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, choreography by Jerry Mitchell, and direction by Jack O'Brien. This is the same Tony Award winning team that created the Broadway hit musical 'Hairspray.'

The musical features a book by four time Tony Awar-winner Terrence McNally (Ragtime, Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!).

Casting and additional design team will be announced shortly.

Catch Me If You Can is based on the book and 2002 DreamWorks film of the same name directed by Stephen Spielberg with screenplay by Jeff Nathanson and book by Frank Abagnale, Jr.

Catch Me If You Can captures the astonishing true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a world-class con artist who passed himself off as a doctor, a lawyer, and a jet pilot?all before the age of 21. With straiight-arrow FBI agent Carl Hanratty on Frank's trail, we're off on a jet-setting, cat-and-mouse chase, as a jazzy, swinging-sixties score keeps this adventure in constant motion. In the end, Agent Hanratty learns he and Frank aren't so very different after all, and Frank finds out what happens when love catches up to a man on the run.

Catch Me If You Can is produced by Margo Lion and Hal Luftig.

The musical had its world premiere at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre, where it played a limited engagement from 23 Jul - 14 Aug 2009.

In the press release Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman give the following brief history of the musical.

We were at The Drama Book Shop researching an idea for another show when a new book about the film "Catch Me If You Can" caught our eye. "We'd rather make a musical of THAT" we said in tandem and promptly arranged a meeting with Stephen Spielberg. Our idea was to musicalize "CATCH ME" with a score that would use as its inspiration the idea of a classic Ed Sullivan Show (since that was the time you might see and hear Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Judy Garland and Aretha Franklin all on one evening's entertainment) and he said yes right away! We began devouring the book the film had been based on, the true life story of the incredibly young con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr.

As we began writing, we immediately involved our favorite collaborators Jack O'Brien & Jerry Mitchell, who made the exciting suggestion of inviting Terrence McNally in, as well. As we wrote, we presented the work to the Broadway producers we had strong emotional connections with; luckily for us, Margo Lion and Hal Luftig found themselves attracted to the project and for the same reasons we were - a chance to create a "business man's musical" featuring beautiful long-legged girls in swinging mid-60's fashions combined with a soulful look at the bond between fathers and sons, whether related by blood or discovered. A Musical For Men -- and the women who love them! Writing a musical about a real live living person is daunting, but getting to meet the actual Frank Abagnale Jr. (at least, we THINK that was him!) made the experience incredibly fulfilling. His story of learning what is really true in life - and how he learned it - is a fascinating, actual tall tale. A true story of a brilliant young man's joy and heartbreak as he searches for someone to tell him to do what's right, "Catch Me If You Can" caught us right in the heart and we are truly excited to share it on Broadway, with a great big orchestra!

Bios:

Terrence Mcnally (Book) has won four Tony Awards for his plays 'Love! Valour! Compassion!' and 'Master Class' and his musical books for 'Kiss Of The Spider Woman' and 'Ragtime.' Recent Broadway credits include the revivals of his plays 'The Ritz' and 'Frankie and Johnny In The Clair De Lune.' His other plays include 'A Perfect Ganesh,' 'Corpus Christi,' 'Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams,' 'The Stendhal Syndrome,' 'Lips Together, Teeth Apart' and 'It's Only A Play.'

Marc Shaiman (Music and Lyrics) won Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards for composing the music and co-writing the lyrics for 'Hairspray' with Scott Wittman. Other Broadway credits include 'Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me,' 'The Odd Couple,' 'Patti LuPone on Broadway,' 'An Evening with Harry Connick Jr. and His Orchestra,' 'Leader of the Pack,' 'André DeShield's Harlem Nocturne,' 'Bette! Divine Madness,' and 'Up in One.' Shaiman is currently collaborating with Scott Wittman on a new musical of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with director Sam Mendes.

Scott Wittman (Lyrics) has received the Tony, a Grammy, and an Olivier Award for his work on 'Hairspray.' He conceived, co -wrote, as well as directed 'Martin Short in Fame Becomes Me' on Broadway. For the Broadway stage he has created two shows for Patti LuPone as well as theatrical concerts for Christine Ebersole, Sarah Jessica Parker and Nathan Lane. Wittman is currently collaborating with Marc Shaiman on a new musical of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with director Sam Mendes.

Jerry Mitchell (Choreography) is currently making his West End debut as director with the new musical, 'Legally Blonde,' for which he also served as Choreographer there and on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for his choreography. He also choreographed the current West End production of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to his 'Phantom of the Opera,' titled 'Love Never Dies.' Mitchell received a Tony Award for his choreography created for the 2005 Tony Award winning Best Revival of 'La Cage Aux Folles,' having also been nominated for the Tony Award in the same category for the musical, 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.' Previously, Jerry had received Olivier and Toyn Award nominations for choreographing 'Hairspray' and a Tony nomination for choreographing 'The Full Monty,' both shows having been directed by Jack O'Brien.

Jack O'Brien (Director) won Tony Awards for'The Coast of Utopia,' 'Henry IV' and 'Hairspray.' He was nominated for Tony's for 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,' 'The Full Monty,' 'The Invention of Love,' 'Two Shakespearean Actors' and 'Porgy and Bess.' He directed the current West End production of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to his 'Phantom of the Opera,' titled 'Love Never Dies.'

Scene from Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre production