Man On The Run

High-flying musical chronicles life of extraordinary impostor

The musical “Catch Me If You Can” is based on the 2002 movie of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg and the earlier autobiography written by Frank Abagnale Jr. The musical explores Abagnale’s time as a notorious check forger and fake airline pilot.
The musical “Catch Me If You Can” is based on the 2002 movie of the same name directed by Steven Spielberg and the earlier autobiography written by Frank Abagnale Jr. The musical explores Abagnale’s time as a notorious check forger and fake airline pilot.

In one of the pivotal scenes of the musical “Catch Me If You Can,” an FBI agent meets with Frank Abagnale Sr. His son, the agent Carl Hanratty tells him, is wanted for forgery and bilking Pan Am Airlines out of millions while posing as a pilot.

Give him up, the agent tells the impostor’s father, and he won’t be hurt.

The elder Abagnale refuses, then attempts to guide the investigator off the trail.

“It’s a show about family,” says Dominic Fortuna, who plays Abagnale Sr. in the touring version of “Catch Me If You Can” that passes through Fayetteville for an eight-show run starting Tuesday.

It’s something that Fortuna, the father of two young boys, understands. And it’s something he discerned when he met with the real Frank Abagnale Jr., the impostor and con artist who was later arrested for his crimes. The younger Abagnale would later find work as a security consultant after spending time in prison.

But he would also co-write his autobiography, “Catch Me If You Can,” which would later become an acclaimed movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

That led to the Broadway version, which debuted in 2011 and earned four Tony Award nominations.

In the movie, Frank Sr.

is portrayed as a failing businessman, with hints he may also be in legal trouble.

But, says Fortuna, he’s also a human being who cares about his family.

“It’s a little deeper than I originally thought,” Fortuna says. “Everyone knows someone like him. He’s a veryproud father, and a G.I. He’s trying to keep face, but his world is kind of falling around him.”

During his meeting with Abagnale Jr., Fortuna learned much about the humanity Abagnale saw in his father.

“‘My dad was really a kind and loving man,’” Abagnale told him.

Both in real life and in the fictionalized version now on stage, the younger Abagnale tried to reunite his parents as he darted around the world, assuming identities such as a doctor and lawyer along the way.

Even though the storytranslated well as a film version - one void of songs - Fortuna says the musical version perhaps even more accurately summarizesAbagnale’s noteworthy and bizarre life.

“This show will sneak up on you,” Fortuna says. “This musical has everything.”

Whats Up, Pages 13 on 01/04/2013

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