TO CATCH A THIEF to be Adapted Into a New Musical

Perry Street Theatricals has announced plans for a new musical, To Catch a Thief, which hopes to arrive on the London or New York stage sometime in the 2026-27 season. The new musical will be composed by Kevin Purcell (Rebecca: The Musical and The Stranger of Seville), with a book and lyrics by Peter Sham (Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical and Sherlock Holmes and the Great Royal Goose Chase!).

To Catch a Thief is David Dodge's most famous novel, and rightly so, Alfred Hitchcock firmly cinched its place in the annals of crime fiction by adapting it into an Academy Award-winning film starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Set on the French Riviera, the story centers on John Robie, an American expatriate and skilled gymnast, who once upon a time was "Le Chat," the famous and elusive cat burglar who worked the South of France. The legend of Le Chat grew with each crime. Following the war, Robie retires to a quiet life in France and vows to leave his past behind. His retirement is shattered when a copycat burglar commits a string of robberies that puts the police on Le Chat's trail again. Robie must catch the phony Le Chat before the police catch him.

"When I was asked to direct the musical version of TO CATCH A THIEF, I knew only the Hitchcock film. Reading David Dodge's 1952 novel opened up a much more interesting narrative as well as much more complete characters. I turned the last page of the novel and jumped at the opportunity to work with the team on creating this show! It's both a great crime caper story and a quirky romantic show set on the French Riviera!" Director, Martin Platt

Helming the project will be celebrated director & Tony Award Winning producer Martin Platt. A native of Beverly Hills, CA, Platt was the founding Artistic Director of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (1972-1989); General Director Birmingham Opera Theatre (1989-90); Artistic Director New Mexico Repertory Theatre; Founder/Artistic Director Santa Fe Stages International Performing Art Festival. Co-Director Fifth Amendment Ltd (UK), producing over 50 international tours and West End Productions (1991-2001); Directed numerous productions throughout the U.S., as well as at the Bienale de Flamenco in Sevilla; Vienna English Theatre; Barbican Center (London); Birmingham Repertory Theatre (UK); Riverside Studios (London); West Yorkshire Playhouse (UK). As a Producer in the West End: Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical, Nixon's Nixon, Gumboots, and A Woman in Waiting. In New York, off-Broadway Bedlam's Hamlet & St. Joan, Here Lies Jenny, In the Continuum, An Oak Tree, and Treason. On Broadway, Vanya and Sonja and Masha and Spike (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, NY Theatre Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle); and Dames at Sea. Martin is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.

STAŚ KMIEĆ

will take on the musical staging and choreography for this exciting new project. Staś has directed/choreographed multiple productions of Fiddler on the Roof throughout the world, including the new production in Yiddish that was a surprise hit on the New York theater scene ("Best Musical Revival 2019" -- Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, New York Drama Critics' Circle, Off-Broadway Alliance Awards). Other works include: Finding Madame Curie (NYC), My Antonia (LA), Best Little Whorehouse (Ireland), Me and My Girl tour, The Elephant Man, Don Giovanni, L'elisir d'amore, Die Fledermaus, Nutcracker, Films: The Comedian, Trust the Man. Artistic Director: Ballet Western-Reserve, Lubliniacy Folk Ensemble, Sarabande Repertory Ensemble. Awards include New York Musical Festival's "Excellence in Choreography for The Mapmaker's Opera, Poland's Oskar Kolberg. He is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actors Equity, Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA, and American Guild of Musical Artists.

Peter Sham

(book & lyrics) As a writer, he is best known for his work as bookwriter/lyricist for Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical and Sherlock Holmes and the Great Royal Goose Chase! (with Brad Carroll, composer). Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical was nominated for a 2011 Olivier Award, received 13 BroadwayWorld.com 2011 West End Award nominations, including "Best Musical," and was the winner of The Critic's Choice Award for "Best Theatrical Event." He is also the author of the musicals Blue Collar Quintet (with Brandon Scott Grayson), Toyland, and It's a Dog's Life: Man's Best Musical, and the plays, A Christmas Carol: On the Air (also written with Brad Carroll), its sequel Frankenstein: On the Air, Shakespeare's Moby Dick, a classical adaptation of Herman Melville's American novel, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane, adapted with William Peter Blatty (The Exorcist), from his Globe Award-winning Best Screenplay. Most recently, Peter wrote and directed his first feature film, Far Remote, which garnered an Honorable Mention at the 2021 HorrorFest International Film Festival. Peter is currently at work on an eight-episode television series with the author of the musical series, The Marvelous Wonderettes and many more, Roger Bean. A regional actor/director for over 35 years, Peter is currently producing artistic director for Buffalo Theatre Company, hosted at the world-famous Egyptian Theater in Park City, UT. Peter holds an MFA in Acting from the University of Delaware's Professional Theatre Training Program. As an educator, Peter has served as professor of theatre at Southern Utah University for 17 years. His awards include a 2-time Thunderbird Award winner for Professor of the Year (2007 & 2011) & Scholar of the Year winner (2012-13), and he is the recipient of SUU's highest honor, The Board of Trustees Award for Excellence (2011-12). Peter also received national recognition in 2013 as the recipient of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's Excellence in Education Award.

KEVIN PURCELL

(composer) is one of Australia's most distinguished and awarded orchestral and opera conductors, servings as a musical director and conductor for opera, classical music, and musical theatre for over 35 years in the USA, Europe, and Australia. As a composer of musical theatre, in collaboration with Victor Kazan (Book & Lyrics), Kevin has scored three musicals to date: Rebecca, The Stranger from Seville (2013 New York Music Theatre Festival Grand Jury Selection; 2018 2nd Florida Festival of New Musicals) and Castle Gillian. Castle Gillian will be launched in 2023 as the world's first fully interactive VR musical. Kevin also serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Australian Discovery Orchestra, the country's most innovative professional symphony orchestra, comprising an exceptional roster of sixty-five players drawn from across Australia. As a musical director, Kevin has previously been the musical director of the original production of Cats (1995-96) at the New London Theatre as well as for the South Korean Premiere production (2003). More recently, Kevin has conducted Wicked at London's Apollo Victoria theatre and was the originating musical director for the first national UK/Eire tour (2013). As an arranger and orchestrator, Kevin's work has been performed by leading orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra (Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), New York City Opera, New York Pops, Boston Pops, and by artists including Marvin Hamlisch, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, and more. He holds two doctoral degrees in Producing with XR Technologies and Music, respectively. Kevin originally studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory (USSR), with subsequent graduate conducting studies at the Janáček Academy of Music (CZ), culminating in a master's degree in orchestral conducting at Bard College (USA). Awards include GOI-IES Scholarship (Ireland, 2021); Australian Music Foundation in London Sir Charles Mackerras Conductor Prize (1994 & 1995); Tait Memorial Trust Award (London 1996); Opera Australia Willem van Otterloo Scholarship (1993) and Bellhouse Conducting Prize (1993).

PERRY STREET THEATRICALS

is an award-winning, independent theatrical producing and general management company in New York City, offering Management and Consulting services for plays and musicals and/or act as Executive Producers, casting directors, and theatre owners both in NYC and in London.