“Catch Me If You Can,” through Nov. 29, Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Dr., West Valley City (801-984-9000 or hct.org)
WEST VALLEY CITY — “Catch Me If You Can” is based on a true story, but Frank Abagnale Jr. was a genuine phony.
The teenage swindler extraordinaire forged $2.8 million in checks while posing successfully as an airline pilot, pediatric doctor and lawyer during the 1960s, and it could be argued he reversed the maxim that crime doesn’t pay. Though he served time in Club Fed, Abagnale was later on the FBI payroll working with agents who had doggedly pursued him, and he wrote an autobiography that was followed by a hit Steven Spielberg movie in 2002.
A musical adaptation of the story opened on Broadway in 2011 with a score by “Hairspray” creators Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a libretto by the acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally, but it received mixed reviews and closed after six months.
Hale Centre Theatre’s production of “Catch Me If You Can” has twists and turns to relate the intriguing story. Like the Pan Am motifs the show employs, there is a pleasing glossy exterior. But it can be a bit of a bumpy flight.
Andrew Robertson, playing the role of Frank Abagnale Jr., is a confident actor and has a pleasing onstage demeanor. With diffident vocal strength, however, Robertson at times has trouble with a leading man role that requires forceful presence through his solos.
Playing Abagnale’s ever-obsessed nemesis, FBI agent Carl Hanratty, is David Tinney, a thoughtful actor who clearly shows a calculated attraction to the role. He works to establish vital chemistry with Robertson and projects vivid sentiments in “The Man Inside the Clues,” where he oscillates between feeling sympathy for Abagnale and seeking justice for the crimes he committed. But his energy is notably low — most especially in “Don’t Break the Rules,” which should be a showstopper.
As Paula Abagnale and Frank Abagnale Sr., Michelle Blake and John J. Sweeney demonstrate how veteran character actors can command juicy roles. Sweeney’s “The Pinstripes Are All That They See” is smashing, as is their duet, “Don’t Be a Stranger.” These are top-notch performers who easily jet to the clouds.
Though her character doesn’t make her entrance until the second act, Kelly Coombs is delightful as the love interest, Brenda Strong. It’s a role that suits Coombs well, and her genuine appeal in “Fly, Fly Away” may catch audiences off guard in the best possible way.
Director Chris Clark is credited in the Hale playbill for getting “Catch Me If You Can” airborne, though he has done so in a way that's disappointingly straightforward with modest attention to the heightened reality the show requires.
Though their names were omitted from the audience's playbill, choreographer Jennifer Hill Barlow, music director Kelly DeHaan, set designer/technical director Kacey Udy and other members of the slick production team deserve credit for their vibrant work in this show. However, the choreography is unhinged by some ragged dancing, and there’s no apparent intent to illustrate the sentiment through the dancing of “Doctor’s Orders” (with one verse apparently eliminated), making the song meaningless to the show. And a few sweetened, prerecorded ensemble vocals and crescendo-added sound op reverberations in solos detract from DeHaan’s contributions.