Sunday, April 10, 2011

Broadway: Reviews for "Catch Me If You Can"


"Nobody’s going for a long con here. They’re all just looking to get you through the night, and this they achieve (“in style,” as Frank promises) with flying colors and a few bonus miles left over.  Seized by the acrobatic nostalgia of Jerry Mitchell’s excellent choreography, (the female chorus) uncurl like newborn butterflies who’ve been doing nonstop Pilates in the chrysalis.  By the time the orchestra goes silent and things get dark for swingin’ Frank, their relationship feels a lot more earned than I’d ever expected. Maybe I got conned. If so, I didn’t mind." - NY Magazine

"Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman again prove themselves an ace songwriting team. Their score evokes cocktail lounges, glitzy floorshows, Rat Pack suaveness, mellow jazz and energized go-go, all wrapped up in Shaiman and Larry Blank's silky-smooth ‘60s-styled orchestrations. Jerry Mitchell's choreography puts a vigorous period-appropriate spin on every number. As Hanratty, Butz (a Tony winner for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) does nuanced work balancing the jaded, paunchy slob with the wisecracking professional, driven in his quest to catch Frank. The boyishly handsome Tveit, who turned heads in Next to Normal, graduates to a lead role with sparkling self-assurance, strong pipes and natural charm." - The Hollywood Reporter/Reuters

"Mr. Butz so completely takes on the stoop, shuffle, mumble and pallor of an overworked, middle-aged man, stopped the show with “Don’t Break the Rules,” a number about how Carl got into police work.  Holding on to his character’s sad sack mannerisms, and leading with his convex belly, Mr. Butz works the friction between Carl’s dumpy, arthritic form and the jivey spiritedness of the song to create a witty portrait of the passion that pulses within one gray, weary soul." - NY Times

"Conductor John McDaniel presides from a perch in the stage right corner, bobbing along to swinging orchestrations by Shaiman and Larry Blank. That musical sound and the perfs from Butz and Tveit (with assists from the briefly seen Butler and Hart) offer considerable entertainment value." - Variety

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