CATCH ME IF YOU CAN to Open on Broadway April 10; Previews March 7, 2011

Lead producers Margo Lion and Hal Luftig announced today that the new musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN will open on Broadway Sunday, April 10, 2011 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced. This new musical, created by a team of Tony winners, features a book by Terrence McNally, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, choreography by Jerry Mitchell and is directed by Jack O'Brien. Previews begin March 7, 2011. Casting and additional design team will be announced shortly.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is based on the book and hit 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 straight-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.

A BRIEF HISTORY BY SHAIMAN & WITTMAN:

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!

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is produced by Margo Lion and Hal Luftig.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN opened at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre for a limited engagement from July 23 - August 14, 2009.

Ticket information, including on sale date and point of purchase, will be announced at a later date.

CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES

Terrence McNally (Book) has won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! (as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play and the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Play) 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 (Drama Desk Award Best New Play) and It's Only A Play. Earlier stage works include Bad Habits (Obie Award Best Play), Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone?, ...And Things That Go Bump In The Night and Next. He also wrote the books for the musicals The Full Monty, The Rink, and A Man of No Importance. The San Francisco Opera presented Dead Man Walking with McNally's libretto and music by Jake Heggie. McNally has written a number of TV scripts, including Andre's Mother for which he won an Emmy Award. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Dramatists Guild since 1970 and is twice the recipient of the Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play. His most recent play, Unusual Acts of Devotion, was seen last season at La Jolla Playhouse after opening the season at Philadelphia Theatre Company. In August, the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle presented the world premiere of his musical adaptation of Catch Me If You Can with a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. This season, the Kennedy Center will produce three of his plays under the title Terrence McNally's Nights At The Opera: Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata and the world premiere of Golden Age. Other recent work includes his musical adaptation of The Visit at Arlington's Signature Theatre, his play Deuce on Broadway and his play Some Men at Philadelphia Theatre Company and off-Broadway's Second Stage.

Marc Shaiman (Music and Lyrics) enjoyed composing the music and co-writing the lyrics for Hairspray with Scott Wittman. For their score, the pair won the Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards. Their next Broadway score was for Martin Short-Fame Becomes Me, for which they won absolutely nothing. As a composer and arranger, Marc's film credits date back to the silents and include When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, Misery, City Slickers, The Addams Family, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, The American President, George of the Jungle, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and The Bucket List. He has been nominated five times for an Oscar and lost every time. Marc is currently Emmy nominated (for Musical Directing and co-writing this years The Oscars), was Emmy-nominated for writing on Saturday Night Live (the Sweeney Sisters) and an actual Emmy Award winner for co-writing Billy Crystal's medleys for The Academy Awards. His arrangements for Harry Connick, Jr. resulted in two Grammy nominations, as did the Hairspray soundtrack. He has worked with many artists, including Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Eric Clapton, Kristen Chenoweth, Jennifer Holliday, Jenifer Lewis, Patti LuPone, John Mayer, Barbra Streisand, Rob Thomas, Raquel Welch although not all at the same time. As her music director and co-producer, Marc brought his long time partner, Bette Midler, the Grammy-winning songs, "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From A Distance", but it is their collaboration on her Emmy Award-winning performance for Johnny Carson's penultimate Tonight Show that will always remain a dream. He auditioned but was not chosen to play himself on her sitcom. Marc's Internet sensation, PROP 8-The Musical, had been viewed over 4 million times (@funnieordie.com) and won a Webbie Award, whatever that is. Marc and Scott are currently co-writing an original Broadway musical based on Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (to be directed by Sam Mendes) as well as collaborating with Steven Spielberg on a new scripted series for SHOWTIME about the goings-on behind the scenes of the creation of a Broadway musical. Yes, that's right, an actual scripted television show. How old school!

Scott Wittman (Lyrics) has received the Tony, a Grammy, the Drama Desk, 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. Scott has co-written with and for Billy Crystal on the Oscars and Neil Patrick Harris on the Tonys and the Emmys. He was recently nominated for a writing Emmy for the Oscars with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. He is currently collaborating with Marc Shaiman on a new musical of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with director Sam Mendes as well as an original series for Showtime with producer Steven Spielberg. He was also an executive producer on Hairspray, the movie.

Jerry Mitchell (Choreography) is currently making his West End debut as director with the new hit musical, Legally Blonde, for which he also served as Choreographer there and on Broadway and was nominated for both the Tony and Drama Desks Awards for his choreography and the Drama Desk Award for his Broadway direction. 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, heading for Broadway later this year. Jerry received Broadway's Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics' Circle Awards for his dazzling 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 smash hit musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Previously, Jerry had received Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Astaire Award nominations for choreographing Hairspray and Tony, Drama Desk and Astaire Award nominations for choreographing The Full Monty, both shows having been directed by his cherished collaborator, Jack O'Brien. Jerry began his choreographic career as associate choreographer to Michael Bennett on Scandal and Jerome Robbins on Jerome Robbins Broadway. Emmy-nominated for choreographing The Drew Carey Show, his memorable film work includes In and Out; Camp; Drop Dead Gorgeous and Scent of a Woman. For Broadway, Jerry also choreographed the hit revival of Gypsy, starring Bernadette Peters, which combined his own work with his recreation of Jerome Robbins' original, as well as Never Gonna Dance, the first and only Broadway musical based on an Astaire/Rogers film, making him one of the only choreographers to ever have three Broadway musicals running simultaneously (a distinction which occurred yet again in 2005 with the simultaneous runs of Hairspray; La Cage Aux Folles and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). Prior to those productions, Jerry choreographed the Broadway revivals of The Rocky Horror Show (Drama Desk nomination) You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Hedwig and the Angry Inch (on stage and film); the national tour of Jekyll & Hyde and Paper Mill Playhouse's critically acclaimed Follies, featuring Ann Miller. Jerry proudly conceives, directs and choreographs Broadway Bares, a comedy burlesque performed annually for the charity Broadway Cares. Most recently, he directed and choreographed Peepshow, a Las Vegas extravaganza production show. Currently, he is supervising the writing of Broadway musicals based on the films, Mad Hot Ballroom, Kinky Boots and Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, all of which he will direct and choreograph for Broadway.

Jack O'Brien (Director). Broadway: Impressionism; The Coast of Utopia (Tony Awards® 2007, Best Director and Play); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony nominations 2005, Best Director and Musical); Henry IV (Tony Awards® 2004, Best Director and Play Revival); Hairspray (Tony Awards® 2003 and Drama Desk Awards, Best Director and Musical); Imaginary Friends; The Invention of Love (Tony nominations, Best Director and Play; Drama Desk Award, Best Director); The Full Monty (Tony nominations, Best Director and Musical); More to Love; Getting Away With Murder; Pride's Crossing; The Little Foxes; Hapgood (Lucille Lortel Award, Best Director); Damn Yankees (Tony nomination, Best Musical Revival); Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony nominations, Best Director and Play); Porgy and Bess (Tony Award®, Most Innovative Revival; Best Director nomination); St. Louis Woman; The Most Happy Fella. For the Metropolitan Opera, Il Trittico, 2007. London: Love Never Dies, Spring 2010; Hairspray (Olivier Award Nominations, Best Director and Musical); His Girl Friday. Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, from 1981-2007. Six movies for PBS's "American Playhouse." Awards: Artserve Michigan 2008 International Achievement Award; 2008 Theatre Hall of Fame Inductee; National Theatre Conference 2007 Person of the Year; 2005 John Houseman Award; 2007 and 2001 Joan Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity, 2004 Thomas Degaetani Award (USITT), 2002 "Mr. Abbott" Award (SDCF); 2001 Joe A. Callaway Award (SDCF); the Drama League's 2001 Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing. Member, College of Fellows of the American Theatre; Honorary Doctorate, University of San Diego; Honorary Doctorate, University of Michigan. Film (as an actor): Sex and the City: 2.