Jerry Mitchell on Board to Choreograph McNally-Shaiman-Wittman Catch Me If You Can

By Robert Simonson
20 Oct 2005

Jerry Mitchell
Jerry Mitchell
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

The new Terrence McNally-Scott Wittman-Marc Shaiman musical Catch Me If You Can will have the same director and choreographer and Shaiman and Wittman's Hairspray: Jack O'Brien and Jerry Mitchell.

Mitchell was nominated for a Tony Award for his work on Hairspray. He has also been nommed for The Full Monty, Never Gonna Dance and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. He won the award for La Cage aux Folles.

The show's future production path is still begin worked out and no official announcement has been made about Mitchell's involvement.

Catch Me If You Can, which is based on the Stephen Spielberg film of the same name, had a reading on Sept. 25. The film told the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a compulsive young con man and Hanratty, the federal agent who pursues him over many years. Starring in the picture were Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, as well as Christopher Walken as the father of the DiCaprio character.

The recent reading featured Matthew Morrison at Frank Abagnale, Jr; Nathan Lane as Hanratty; Tom Wopat as Frank Abagnale, Sr; Christine Ebersole as Paula Abagnale; Celia Keenan-Bolger as Brenda and Sara Gettelfinger as Cheryl Ann. The ensemble included Chester Gregory, Shayna Steele, Luther Creek and Melinda Hull.

The songlist at the reading included:

"The Real Truth Lies"
"Fifty Checks"
"Last December in Montrichard"
"Someone Else's Skin"
"Jet Set"
"I Don't Get It"
"You Gotta Pay for Love"
"The Man Inside the Clues"
"Butter Outta Cream"
"My Favorite Time of Year"
"Don't Be A Stranger"
"Doctor's Orders"
"Seven Wonders"
"Breaking All the Rules"
"Bury Me Beside the One I Love"
"Fly, Fly Away"
"Running Together, Never Apart "
"Butter Outta Cream Reprise"

The picture takes place in the 1960s, a period the writers feel comfortable in, having just worked on the 1962-set Hairspray.