CATCH ME IF YOU CAN Dashes into Starlight Next Week

Based on the hit DreamWorks film and the incredible true story that inspired it, the first national tour of the high-flying Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can will land in Kansas City at Starlight Theatre June 11-16.

Catch Me If You Can captures the astonishing true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr., a world-class con artist who passed himself off as a doctor, a lawyer, and a jet pilot-all before the age of 21. With straight-arrow FBI agent Carl Hanratty on Frank's trail, we're off on a jet-setting, cat-and-mouse chase, as a jazzy, swinging-sixties score keeps this adventure in constant motion. In the end, Agent Hanratty learns he and Frank aren't so very different after all, and Frank finds out what happens when love catches up to a man on the run.

This engagement follows hot on the heels of the recent Broadway run, where the show received considerable acclaim. The New York Times exclaims, "Hot diggity! This portrait of the con artist as a young man comes to ecstatic life." WOR Radio calls it "absolutely marvelous" and proclaims Catch Me If You Can "A real BROADWAY musical with showstoppers to enthrall just about everyone." And Vanity Fair says "Catch Me will move you to live life to the fullest and dance past anything standing in your way," and urges "Get your seats now!"

Catch Me If You Can is based on Frank Abagnale's New York Times bestselling autobiography, published by Broadway Paperbacks, and the hit 2002 film of the same name was directed by Steven Spielberg with screenplay by Jeff Nathanson and book by Frank Abagnale, Jr.

"I remember watching Frank Abagnale, Jr. on the 'Johnny Carson Show in the late '70s,'" said Denton Yockey, President and Executive Producer of Starlight Theatre. "His stories were the kind you think can only be written by a fiction writer, but these were real life. When his life story, Catch Me If You Can, came out in 1980, it quickly became and still remains one of my all-time favorite books.

"The film and musical of Frank Abagnale, Jr.'s life deviate a little from his autobiography, but they still are the same great, fun story," Yockey said. "I had the privilege of meeting Frank Abagnale, Jr. on Broadway when the musical first opened. He has a winning smile. He's gregarious. He's immediately your friend. Maybe that's why he was such a good con man."

Nominated for four Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN features a Tony Award-winning creative team, with a book by Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Ragtime), an irresistible score by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman (Hairspray), choreography by Jerry Mitchell (Hairspray, Legally Blonde) and direction by Jack O'Brien (Hairspray, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels).

Scenic design for CATCH ME IF YOU CAN is by David Rockwell (Hairspray), costumes based on the original design by five-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long (The Producers), lighting design is by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner (Wicked) and sound design is by Peter McBoyle.

Tickets to Catch Me If You Can are now on sale for $10 - $85. Season ticket holders can save up to 36 percent off the price of a single ticket to Catch Me If You Can plus receive exclusive discounts including free parking, concession stand and shopping discounts, and free exchanges. Tickets are available at kcstarlight.com, by calling 816-363-STAR (7827) or in person at Starlight Theatre, 4600 Starlight Road. Box Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Discounted ticket prices for groups of 15 or more can be ordered by contacting Stacey Million, Starlight's group sales manager, at groups@kcstarlight.com or 816-997-1137.

All performances begin at 8 p.m. Dining options for Catch Me If You Can include pre-show dining in the VIP Club catered by Plaza Catering that includes hot buffet items, extensive salad selections, a veggie garden bar, upscale desserts, children's menu and Bistro fare items such as salads and sandwiches. Reservations may be made in advance; walk-ups are also welcome. The menu for Catch Me If You Can is posted at www.kcstarlight.com. Other dining options include concession stand favorites and pre-packagEd Salads and sandwiches on the Encore Deck provided by ARAMARK.

Pre-show tours of the stage, Starlight's Walk of Stars, gardens and fountains are offered nightly along with pre-show performances at the Starlight Square stage. Free nightly, behind-the-scenes tours with information about Starlight and its rich history begin at 6:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 7 p.m. at the top of the theatre behind Terrace Section 1. The Ovation Gift Store is open from 6 p.m. through end of show. Accessible parking and guest assistance getting in and out of the theater are available. For information about other Starlight services, visit kcstarlight.com.

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