Catch Me if You Can . Excited ?

It needs a huge overhaul. The Seattle production was rocky at best. Butz and Tviet were great though. If they can focus on those 2, reduce many of the needless bits of comedy (that weren't even funny), cut the extraneous non-plot driven numbers, and smarten up McNally's lazy, cliche driven book, they'll have a hit.

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^ Well the whole show was brought together on a budget of about $4 million.

The set was the least of my problems with that production. I can't remember much of it actually. LCD screen mostly. I'm sure they'll improve that for Broadway. I hope the naughty nurse number and the accordion driven audience sing-along are gone too.

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I just think many are expecting the next Hairpray. And going off the demos. The songs out of context are fine. But I left Catch Me wondering if Shaiman writes to further the plot or if he merely is really good at writing the musical theatre equivalent to a pop-song from the era. It sort of felt like he took a greatest hits CD of the era and wrote his own version of each track. I feel this to a lesser extent in Hairspray but it had a superb book. McNally's book for Catch Me made his book for The Rink look like high art. And I didn't feel O'Brien and Mitchell's work was innovative enough to make the back and forth between the 2 characters work.

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Updated On: 7/12/10 at 09:46 PM