Tveit, Butz, Butler, Hart, Wopat Lead Shaiman & Wittman's CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, Premieres at Seattle's 5th Ave in July '09

Casting of principals and the company of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, the new musical based on the hit DreamWorks film, was announced today.

Adapted from the screenplay by Jeff Nathanson and the book written by Frank Abagnale Jr. and Stan Redding, the original musical boasts a book by four-time Tony Award-winner Terrence McNally, who joins forces with the collaborative team behind the hit musical Hairspray (which also premiered at the 5th), including five-time Tony Award-winning director Jack O'Brien, Tony Award-winning choreographer Jerry Mitchell, and Tony Award-winning composing team Marc Shaiman (music & lyrics) and Scott Wittman (lyrics).

Playing the role of FBI Fraud Agent Carl Hanratty, the man who tracks down clever con-man Frank Abagnale across several continents, is Norbert Leo Butz, most recently seen on Broadway in the revival of David Mamet's Speed the Plow, and last seen in Seattle on the national tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a performance that won him a Tony, as well as awards from Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and the Drama League. Other notable productions include originating the role of Fiyero in Wicked and performing in the original cast production of Rent, while more recent productions have included Is He Dead? and The Last Five Years.

Playing the role of Frank, the silver-tongued con-man who impersonated an airline pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor and made off with millions before his 21st birthday, is Aaron Tveit, most recently seen in Hairspray and Wicked on Broadway, and who will take up the role of Gabe in the upcoming Broadway production of Next to Normal.

Tom Wopat, whose musical career includes City of Angels, Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters and most recently his Tony-nominated performance (his second) in A Catered Affair will play the part of Frank Sr., whose troubles with the IRS start his son on his criminal career. (Wopat's extensive experience in musicals hasn't quite dimmed his original fame as Luke Duke on the original Dukes of Hazzard.)

Returning to Seattle after premiering the hit musical Hairspray here at the 5th are Kerry Butler as Frank's enticingly innocent girlfriend Brenda and Linda Hart as Carol, Brenda's mother. In addition to originating the role of Penny Pingleton in that show, Butler has starred in Bat Boy: the Musical, the first on-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, and the Tony-nominated role of Cleo, the roller-skating Muse, in the recent hit musical Xanadu. Hart was the original Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray and her stage career includes the seminal 1987 revival of Anything Goes, the revue Sid Caesar and Company, and Livin' Dolls, which won her an LA Theatre Award.

The rest of the company is a collection of Broadway, regional, and Seattle talent, including Rachel deBenedet, Matt Wolfe, Timothy Piggee, Tod Branton, Clarke Thorell, Brandon Wardell, Angie Schworer, Romelda Benjamin, Anastica McClesky, Taryn Darr, Shanna Palmer, Jillana Laufer, Kyle Vaughn, Mo Brady, Jason Kappus, Karl Warden, Nick Wyman, Nikki Long, and Joey Pizzi.

Speaking about the cast, composer and co-lyricist Marc Shaiman says, "Scott, myself and the entire team are absolutely over the moon about the cast for Catch Me If You Can. That performers of this caliber have agreed to set up home in Seattle for the summer to take on these roles makes us very proud and excited." 

The show has a limited three-week engagement from July 23 - August 16, 2009.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is the unbelievable yet true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a sexy young con artist who posed, and was employed, as a doctor, lawyer and Pan Am pilot all before he was 21. Carl Hanratty, a middle-aged bored FBI agent, comes alive when assigned to catch this charming swindler whose check-forging skills have netted him more than $2.8 million. The battle of wills intensifies as they become curious about one another and begin to question what they're each chasing in their own lives. With a score soaked in the jazzy, swingin' '60s jet-set culture, the game of cat and mouse has never been so stylish.

The scenic design for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is by Tony Nominee David Rockwell (Hairspray, Legally Blonde), costume design is by Bob Mackie (Minnelli on Minnelli, "The Carol Burnett Show") and lighting design is by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray). The music director will be John McDaniel. 

Season subscriptions are available over the phone by calling 206-625-1900 / toll-free 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849), or in person at the box office at 1308 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle's premier musical theater. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater for the cultural enrichment of the Northwest community. The 5th Avenue Theatre maintains a subscription audience of over 25,000 and an annual attendance of more than 287,000. It ranks among the nation's largest and most respected musical theater companies. The Theatre is committed to encouraging the next generation of theatergoers through its Educational Outreach Program which includes: The Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company, The 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Student Matinee Program and Spotlight Nights. Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, the exquisite theater opened in 1926 as a venue for vaudeville and film. Today, under the leadership of Managing Director Marilynn Sheldon and Producing Artistic Director David Armstrong, The 5th Avenue Theatre continues to achieve the highest standards in all aspects of artistic endeavors and facility operations, while preserving its artistic, architectural and historic legacy.

For more information and complete season schedule visit, www.5thavenue.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.