The latest production at Kelsey Theater on MCCC’s West Windsor campus, was the musical comedy, Catch Me If You Can presented by The Pennington Players.
Based on a true story, the play centers around a young man, Frank Abagnale, Jr., who uses his winning personality to scam his way into various identities which he uses to gain both prestige and money. He impersonates a pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor without ever stepping foot in the proper school for any of these practices.
The lively and entertaining production was directed by Laurie Gougher who has been a musical director for various productions at Kelsey Theatre and has performed in some.
She explains her vision for the show saying, “It should feel like a show within a show. Frank is telling his story to the audience in real-time.’’
The production begins by grabbing the audience’s attention with a busy ensemble, hustling, and bustling at a train station in which Frank is attempting to escape from FBI detectives. Once caught he pleads with the detectives to tell let him tell his side of the story. He is essentially telling it to the audience.
The interaction between the performers and the audience is what Gougher explains is the importance of live theater versus other forms of entertainment.
She says, “It’s important to experience something. First of all, there’s the connection. When you’re watching TV they don’t hear you, they can’t see you, they can’t feel your energy. There’s a real connection between the audience and the performers when you’re seeing a show live. And there’s that excitement of never knowing what’s going to happen. No two performances are exactly the same.”
Live theater leaves room for surprises, one of which came after the first few scenes of the Sunday, October 27 show when a voice-over asked for the audience’s patience as the lights went up and EMTs came in to take get an older audience member who had taken ill.
Despite the interruption, the show went on. The performers kept their focus and energy high and got the audience reengaged despite the break in the middle of the scene.
Frank went on to describe his dream for excitement and a better life for him and his family. Frank’s relationship with his father is central and we can see how it leads him into some of his choices.
The spectacle of energetic dance numbers and songs, combined with a live band kept the pace moving, but the larger themes of how father figures and male role models can influence a person’s life gave the show its center.
Frank ultimately ends up developing a kind of relationship with the detective, Agent Carl Hanratty, who is investigating him and determined to catch him.
Scott Silagy, a first-semester student at MCCC, plays Frank Abagnale. This is Silagy’s first performance at Kelsey. He says one of the highlights of the show was the other people he got to work with.
He said of his co-star, Thomas “TC” Coppolecchia, who plays Agent Carl Hanratty, “TC was great…he made sure I was ready to do anything.”
The chemistry between the two characters is brought to life by the performers in an intriguing way. Agent Hanratty understands that Frank is just a boy making some bad choices. He’s determined to catch Frank, but there is a kind of sympathy there and in the end, he’s the one who gives Frank an actual role in life, realizing he can be a great asset to the FBI in helping prevent frauds and scams.
Coppolecchia, who has had many other roles on stage says of his experience, “It’s an escape from reality…It’s nice for a couple of hours to just sit there, just let it all go.”
The show concludes back at the first scene in the train station in which Frank is caught by Agent Hanratty and then the busy crowd slowly fades away leaving only the two main characters on stage telling the story of the real Frank Abagnale Jr.
They explain how he went on to work with the FBI to catch scammers and investigate fraud, then opening up his own security company.
From the cast to the production team, to the orchestra, to even the audience members, the show definitely created a riveting world to be a part of for a few hours.
