MAINSTAGE

September 28-October 1 & October 5-8, 2017 McCallum Arts Center

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Don’t miss this big-hearted musical adventure based on an astonishing real-life story of being young, in love…and in deep, deep trouble!

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, Catch Me If You Can is the high-flying, splashy new Broadway musical that tells the story of Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., a teenager who runs away from home in search of the glamorous life. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged checks, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer—living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams.

STORY

What Is the Story of Catch Me If You Can?
Catch Me If You Can follows the adventures of Frank Abagnale Jr., a suburban kid in the early 1960s who leaves home before graduating from high school and parlays a gift for telling tall tales and forging checks into an around-the-world spree. Doggedly pursued by FBI agent Carl Hanratty, Frank manages to pose as an airline pilot, an emergency room doctor and a lawyer, winning the heart of nurse Brenda Strong along the way. The charming young con artist is greatly influenced by his father (who has his own brushes with the law) and forges an unlikely friendship with Hanratty.

SHOULD I SEE IT?

 What Is Catch Me If You Can Like?
This bright and bouncy show features a topnotch cast and a sixties-influenced score by the Hairspray team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Narrated by Frank as if his story is a television special, Catch Me draws audiences in to his web of relationships with his parents, FBI agent Hanratty and eventually his girlfriend and her parents. The show manages to walk the fine line of making Frank likeable in spite of his crimes. (From the show’s first scene, we know he’ll eventually pay for his misdeeds.) Whether or not you’ve seen Steven Spielberg’s hit movie based the same subject matter, if you enjoy a comic caper, Catch Me If You Can is the musical to see.

Is Catch Me If You Can Good for Kids?
Although Catch Me If You Can is not a classic "family show," there is nothing objectionable in the script and songs, and the musical's peppy vibe will appeal to school-age kids.

November 9-12, 2017 Fine Arts Building Theatre

ACT ONE

Growing up in an impoverished immigrant family in the Bronx, Moss Hart dreamed of being part of the glamorous, magical world of show business- someday, somehow. From dropping out of school to becoming the toast of the town, his autobiography Act One recounts the making of a Broadway legend.

In an article in New York Magazine, Frank Rich calls Act One, "The greatest showbiz book ever written."

February 1-4 & 8-11, 2018 McCallum Arts Center

WEST SIDE STORY

From the first notes to the final breath, West Side Story is one of the most memorable musicals and greatest love stories of all time. Arthur Laurents' book remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as one of the best ever written. The world's greatest love story takes to the streets in this landmark Broadway musical that is one of the theatre's finest accomplishments.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is transported to modern-day New York City as two young, idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the "American" Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas of our time.

May 17-20, 2017 Fine Arts Building Theatre

44 PLAYS FOR 44 PRESIDENTS

MacTheatre is about CREATING a movement: the ART of a Revolution. Join us. Think and question with us. Create a movement with us. All are welcome.

44 Plays For 44 Presidents is a chronological, biographical survey of the lives and presidencies of each of the 44 men who have held the office so far. Their mistakes and successes are celebrated by a company of actors who take turns donning a star-spangled coat that symbolizes the presidency. Beginning with George Washington's almost Eden-like perfection, the scenes shift frequently between the comic and the tragic, from Ben Franklin giving Thomas Jefferson a Borscht Belt-style roast, to the frank portrayal of William Henry Harrison's life as an "Indian slayer," and later the grim onset of the Civil War. Act II starts off the twentieth century with the assassination of William McKinley, moves through a Nixon-praising dance number, a George Bush Sr. mini-musical about dirty campaigning and arrives at a polarized America in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama plays. Audience members consider their role in shaping the history they've just witnessed, as they are left to ponder where the presidency has gone since its fall from paradise...and where it will go next.