CATCH ME IF YOU CAN A musical in 2 acts: libretto by Terrence McNally; music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman based on the film of the same name. 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle - July 28 - August 16, 2009 Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway - 10 April, - 4 September, 2011 (170 perfs - 32 previews) SYNOPSIS ACT I In the 1960s, Frank Abagnale, Jr., a young con man, is cornered at the Miami International Airport by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty and his team. Hanratty asserts that there's no use in running, as his men are trained to shoot. Before his arrest, Frank pleads Hanratty to allow him to inform the people in the airport why they're shooting at him, though Hanratty only wants to know how he passed the bar exam in New Orleans to pose as a lawyer. Frank promises he will tell him all his secrets if they allow him to tell his story. A reluctant Hanratty agrees. In a home in New Rochelle, New York, Frank lived with his parents Frank Abagnale, Sr., and Paula Abagnale. He explains that his parents met in Paris, France, during World War II. Paula was performing at a dinner, and noticed Frank, Sr. among the soldiers in the audience marrying him soon after. Due to money shortages, Frank is unable to attend private school, nonetheless wearing his school jacket to public school. He is taunted there as looking like a substitute teacher, which gives Frank an idea; a few days later, the principal informs his parents that Frank has been teaching French class at the school while their teacher is absent. One day, Frank walks home from school to find his mother dancing with one of Frank, Sr.'s friends. She pleads him not to tell Frank, Sr., but a distraught Frank is soon in court, with Paula and Frank, Sr. fighting over custody of him. Frank decides to run away. He soon learns how to create fake cheques, cashing them at banks across the country and successfully conning millions of dollars. While entering a New York City hotel, Frank notices several attractive women, all of them stewardesses; he decides to become a pilot. After creating a fake ID card, he finds a co-pilot job at Pan American World Airways. The workers express the joys of a life in the skies. Hanratty finds several fake cheques on his desk in Washington, D. C.; he and Agents Branton, Dollar, and Cod assigned to track down the writer of these fake cheques. Frank is enjoying his pilot job, remembering how his dad always said that "women love a man in uniform". Feeling homesick, he goes to visit Frank, Sr., upset to find out that he had to close his store to save money. Frank offers him several cheques to improve his financial situation, but Frank, Sr. disagrees, believing that Frank should be happy with his success and not worry about him. Meanwhile, Hanratty sorts through leftover items from the hotel Frank had just stayed at, looking for clues as to his whereabouts. Frank attends a holiday party for the airport staff but ultimately feels lonely, calling Hanratty on a pay phone for comfort. Hanratty, realising the culprit is just a kid, reveals that he, too, has no one to spend Christmas with. ACT II Frank comes across another staff party, this time for a hospital. When asked what his job is by one of the doctors, Frank lies that he is a paediatrician at the Death Valley Children's Hospital, working with "snotnosed kids" and calling himself "Dr. Connors". Feeling sorry for him, the doctor finds him a job at the Atlanta General Hospital, surrounded by nurses. Hanratty is still searching for Frank, going through missing person reports. He eventually finds the house of
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