Catch it before it closes

Catch Me If You Can. I may not have mentioned it yet, but I absolutely love this show. As of recently, I have scene it six times. SIX. And I must admit, it should be seven. Because I had gotten selected for Catch Me's blogger night on the 18th- a small contest for two free tickets to the show. I, however, was going to be on a plane at the time, so I couldn't go.

Still, the last times I saw the phenomenal show, I had the pleasure of seeing it with the understudy for Brenda, Alex Ellis, and Carl Hanratty, Joe Cassidy. Both amazing.

Joe Cassidy.
Let's just say Joe Cassidy really has some big shoes to fill. Norbert Leo Butz is a bit of a legend (to put it lightly) and won a Tony for this role, I'd be a nervous wreck if I were Joe- not to mention I saw him his first night on as Agent Hanratty. He was an absolutely wonderful performer, one of the things that was a bit off from the average "Norbert-esque" just because when Butz was talking about the role in an interview, he said it to be not one for singing and dancing. I don't imagine Agent Hanratty to be a good singer or dancer, I think of him to be this shlumpy, short, quirky, uncoordinated, lonely guy. Joe Cassidy was a bit too good on his feet, a bit too coordinated, not to mention tall. Then again, I must mention the "Don't Break The Rules" number with this guy. Truly great. Still, the dynamic was thrown off because they were missing one male ensemble member so, especially in the beginning, there was a gaping hole in the choreography. Still, another thing worth mentioning, the chemistry between Aaron Tveit and Norbert Leo Butz is like nothing I have seen before. The energy that they give off from each other, the authenticity that you feel when you see them perform together is incredible. In all the shows that I have seen in the past months (14 to be exact), I haven't experienced something like this. And this is the final reason that Norbert's shoes are so hard to fill, and unsurprisingly- Joe didn't quite fill them.

Alex Ellis.

Aaron Tveit as Frank Abagnale, Jr. and Alex Ellis as Brenda Strong

Well, since I first heard she was the understudy for Brenda, I had been dying to see her perform. I really always liked Alex from all the Catch Me vlogs, and I had also seen a video of her performing Fly Fly Away, in which I thought she was brilliant. Needless to say, she definitely lived up to that in her performance as Brenda. Though Kerry Butler is absolutely amazing, I found that Alex Ellis has a very similar atmosphere to her. The only thing that I really missed about Kerry was the joke about the other nurses being so very tall. Unfortunately, Alex couldn't make that joke because she was just as tall as the rest of them.
Also, thought I'd not that when she and Aaron were singing Seven Wonders, Alex nearly fell off of the bed. Ah- I live for those moments in live theatre.

Finally, in all the Catch Me performances I've seen I've never had the pleasure of seeing Jay Armstrong Johnson, who I've heard such great things about. Hopefully one day in the near future, I'll have the pleasure of having that experience.

Another thing worth noting, in the most recent performance I saw, Norbert completely smacked Aaron in the face with his tie during Strange But True, and the reaction of everyone on stage (especially Aaron) once again reminded me why Broadway is brilliant.

You can CATCH ME at Macy's (pun intended)

Okay, so I don't know if I've mentioned it but I'm sort of a huge Catch Me If You Can fan. So much so in fact, that it has now reached my most played album on iTunes, ahead of Next to Normal and Spring Awakening. Needless to say I follow the Catch Me facebook page and twitter, just to keep myself up to date on the show and such. But of course, I found out that today they had a mini performance at Macy's on 34th street. I obviously went. I took videos of all the songs, it was a really short performance, but Kerry Butler, Tom Wopat and Aaron Tveit were there so it was obviously amazing. Here are the videos:

Tom Wopat singing "Fifty Checks",

the bonus track from the Catch Me original soundtrack

Kerry Butler singing "Fly Fly Away"

Aaron Tveit singing "Goodbye"

Enjoy! And sorry the sound quality isn't great, all the more reason to buy the CD!

And yes, I am aware that almost every one of my posts pertains to Aaron Tveit or Daniel Radcliffe, but I assure you, it won't be that way for long.

Catch Me If You Can.

Used to be my favorite movie and now it's my favorite current Broadway musical. Honestly, it astounds me that critics have anything other to say than "simply amazing", but all are entitled to their opinion. In all the reviews you'll hear about the leggy dancers and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's jaw-dropping score and especially the show-stopping number "Don't Break the Rules" performed by Norbert Leo Butz. I'm not just going to rephrase all the reviews about how wonderful all these things are (they really are amazing), but seriously, there should be more raves about Aaron Tveit (plays Frank Abagnale Jr.)

I have seen the show three times in the two months that it's been on Broadway and he is one of the main reasons I keep coming back. He's on stage for nearly the entirety of the show, singing and dancing his way through these phenomenal 60s TV show-esque numbers, while, when called for, really breaks down and conveys that he's truly just a kid that got mixed up in this game. His presence is amazing. Every time he walks on stage it's impossible to take your eyes off him, you continue to root for him, and even pity him, and you truly get lost in the story. The fact that he didn't even get nominated for a Tony this year is complete bullshit (excuse my language, no words can describe my anger).

Even after that seemingly exhausting show, Aaron comes right out, puts on a smile and goes from person to person letting them talk to him and take a few pictures.

Aaron Tveit

Kerry Butler singing Fly Fly Away
Pictures from Broadway.com

The second person who deserves more recognition is Kerry Butler. Though she isn't the show for very long, her solo "Fly Fly Away" is chilling. She has such a beautiful voice, she's and amazing actress and the context of that song is truly heartbreaking.

There were a few moments when, even in this, for the most part, up-beat, feel good musical, I was shaded by truly emotional, and even sometimes relatable story. The first is when Frank is asked to choose between his parents, I doubt there's a worse decision a child could possibly have to make. Second is when Frank is lonely at all the motels calling anyone, even room service, just to hear someones voice, and third, when Frank Sr. doesn't live up to his fatherly duty to tell Frank Jr. to stop conning people. The last though, and most emotional, is when Carl Hanratty tell Frank of his father's death. That moment of Tveit's sobbing, just he and Butz, on a black stage with just a spotlight on them.

Beneath all the glam, colorful lights, terrific numbers, it's really just a story of a confused kid who ran away from home in a time of despair, something I think all of us have wanted to do, at some point in our lives, and can truly relate to.