LINZ. There was a lot of applause and standing ovations on Saturday, December 3, at the premiere of “Catch me if you can” in the Linz Music Theater.
The musical Catch Me If You Can tells the true story of teenage con man and check fraudster Frank Abagnale Jr. In his early 20s, he posed as a pilot without ever having had a flight lesson. Apparently, his Pan-Am uniform made such an impression that he was able to fly halfway across the world on free flights and support his lavish lifestyle with fake credit cards. When he threatened to be caught, he switched professions: With the specialist vocabulary he had learned in TV series, he now succeeded as a doctor and lawyer and almost drove the FBI agents who were hot on his heels to madness. It took years for him to be caught – and this is exactly where the musical begins.
At the airport, Gernot Romic’s handcuffs click as Frank Abagnale Jr., but before he goes to jail, he dares to tell his story in a sympathetic and humorous way. Accompanied by the big band sound of the Bruckner Orchestra, he takes you back to his childhood, when his father soon taught him that most people only see what they want. “The uniform is what counts.” So Frank tricked his way through as a substitute teacher for a week while he was still at school. Eventually he perfected manipulating people. But “always in style”.
Until the FBI finds out regarding him. Karsten Kenzel slips into the role of his opponent, Agent Carl Hanratty. With what is at times an unbelievable speed of speech and his failure manner – he has neither wife nor children and works even at Christmas – he quickly wins the sympathy of the audience – and that of Frank. The audience experiences with a lot of feeling how a kind of father-son relationship develops between the hunter and the hunted.
Overall, the musical is a fast-paced game of cat and mouse, but it often has its quiet moments as well. A special highlight is the solo performance by Celina dos Santos as the amiable nurse. Nicolas Tenerani shines in the roles of Frank’s parents as Frank Abagnale senior and audience favorite Daniela Dett as Paula Abagnale. Hanratty’s group of agents, consisting of Lukas Sandmann, Christian Fröhlich and Joel Parnis, is always good for a laugh.
“Catch me if you can” is staged by Ulrich Wiggers, the musical direction is in the hands of Juheon Han.
