Casting Announced For Sydney Premiere of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

The producer who brought you Cry-Baby, High Fidelity and Rent, Lauren Peters, is thrilled to announce the stellar cast of the upcoming adventurous, inquisitive and ingeniously criminal musical Catch Me If You Can. Based on the biographical hit film of the same name, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, Catch Me If You Can will play from 19 July at the Hayes Theatre Co. Tickets are on sale now from www.hayestheatre.com.au.

In the role of Frank Abagnale Jr is Jake Speer making his Hayes debut. Speer spent the first three years after graduating from NIDA, playing the role of series regular Oscar Maguire in Home and Away. His stage credits include Kinky Boots, Marjorie Prime, Barefoot in the Park and Hand to God. The role of FBI agent Carl Hanratty, as made famous by Tom Hanks, is stage and screen star Tim Draxl. Draxl has an extensive list of television and film credits including series regular Henry Fox in Foxtel's A Place to Call Home and was most recently on stage at the Hayes Theatre in Evie May. Draxl will soon present his one-man cabaret Love is a Drag as part of the inaugural Sydney Cabaret Festival. The role of Frank Abagnale Sr is being played by legend of stage and screen Simon Burke AO. Burke has appeared in over 130 stage productions in Australia and the UK, most recently Mary Stuart for Sydney Theatre Company, as well as countless film and TV performances.

In the role of Brenda Strong, Frank Jr's romantic interest, and also making her Hayes debut is Jessica Di Costa (Mamma Mia, Grease), and as Paula Abagnale, Frank's mother, is esteemed triple threat performer Penny Martin (Dirty Dancing, Chicago). The glamourous female ensemble comprises Monique Salle (RENT), Hannah McInerney (Dogfight), newcomer Stacey Thomsett and Erica Stubbs (Saturday Night Fever) while the dapper male ensemble features Jordan Angelides (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Jarrod Draper (Mimma!) and Riley Sutton (Dream Lover).

Award-winning choreographer Cameron Mitchell, who is directing his first major musical, said, "I am thrilled with the cast we managed to assemble. It is so important with this story that we got the right combination of performers, especially with three leading men. Jake is a perfect Frank Abagnale Jnr and pairing him with Tim and Simon is really exciting."

Truth is stranger than fiction. Catch Me If You Can captures the astonishing true story of Frank Abagnale Jr, a precocious teenager seeking fame and fortune who runs away from home to begin an unforgettable adventure. With nothing more than his boyish charm, a big imagination and millions of dollars in forged cheques, Frank successfully poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer - living the high life and winning the girl of his dreams. When Frank's lies catch the attention of FBI agent Carl Hanratty though, Carl pursues Frank in a jet-setting, cat-and-mouse chase across the US to make him pay for his crimes.

Catch Me If You Can is the high-flying musical comedy about chasing your dreams and not getting caught. Nominated for four Tony awards including Best Musical, this delightfully entertaining show was created by a Tony Award-winning "dream team", with a book by Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Ragtime) and a swinging score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Disney's Mary Poppins Returns).

The Sydney Premiere of Catch Me If You Can boasts an impressive Australian creative team comprising director/ choreographer Cameron Mitchell (Cry-Baby, Calamity Jane), musical supervisor Stephen Kreamer (Evie May, Assassins), musical director Anthony Cutrupi (Les Misérables), sound designer David Bergman (STC's A Cheery Soul, The Wharf Revue) , set designer Caroline Hudson and costume designer Christine Mutton.

Tickets for Catch Me If You Can are available now at www.hayestheatre.com.au or by calling the Hayes Theatre Co box office during business hours on (02) 8065 7337.

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