Tveit and Butz Reveal 'CATCH ME' Casting, Musical Premieres at Seattle's 5th Ave 7/23-8/14

Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz and Aaron Tveit announced at last night's MCC MISCAST2009 benefit that they indeed will be playing the leading roles in the upcoming Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Tveit will portray young con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. while Butz will play FBI agent Carl Hanratty, his tireless pursuer.

The musical is scheduled to premiere at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle July 23rd thru August 14th, with Jack O'Brien serving as director, and Jerry Mitchell choreographing, the same duties both filled for "Hairspray".

It was recently announced that Kerry Butler has been cast in the the upcoming musical adaptation of "Catch Me if You Can," by Shaiman and Wittman, the team behind "Hairspray."

An excited Butler confirmed to BroadwayWorld last month that she's been signed to play the role of Brenda, originally played in the movie by Amy Adams. Tom Wopat is also expected to play a role in the production.

Variety reported earlier this year that Shaiman and Wittman first considered setting Spielberg's movie as a musical after spotting the published script in a bookshop. "The emotional life of its characters are rich and moving, lending themselves to the kind of expression so right for a musical with heart and soul," Shaiman told the entertainment daily.

The musical had a reading in 2005, directed by Jack O'Brien, with Nathan Lane, Tom Wopat, and Matthew Morrison, private workshops were held in July 2007, O'Brien was again director, with Nathan Lane and Christian Borle portraying the leading roles.

Catch Me If You Can, with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Terrence McNally is based on the 2002 film, about a young con artist's pursuit by an FBI agent, that featured a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson, based on the book by Frank Abagnale Jr., and was directed by Steven Speilberg. Leonardo DiCaprio co-starred with Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken.

Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz recently completed performances in the acclaimed Broadway production of David Mamet's SPEED-THE-PLOW.

Norbert Leo Butz, recently hailed as "one of the finest American stage stars of (his) generation" by Ben Brantley of the New York Times, has starred on Broadway in Is He Dead?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Drama League award winner, Best Actor, Musical), Wicked (original cast, Fiyero), Thou Shalt Not (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics nominations) and Rent (original cast, Broadway debut). He most recently appeared Off-Broadway in the acclaimed production of Fifty Words (Manhattan Class Company)

Aaron Tveit is currently starring on Broadway in WICKED in the leading role of Fiyero, he will next be seen in the upcoming Broadway mounting of Next to Normal.

Tveit recently appeared in the Arena Stage production of Next to Normal in Washington DC. He recreated the role he portrayed in the off-Broadway mounting, for which he was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor.

He was seen last season in Saved at Playwrights Horizons. He also co-starred in the New York workshop of the upcoming Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can. Aaron has appeared as Link in Hairspray on Broadway, a role he also performed in the show's first national tour. Other credits include the first national tour of Rent (Roger), the New England premiere of The Three Musketeers (D'Artagnan), Calvin Berger at Barrington Stage Company. Aaron recently shot the pilot for "The Verdict" and can be seen in the DreamWorks film Ghost Town. He just joined the tv series GOSSIP GIRL.