After being postponed, the spring musical staff were ready for the production of “Catch Me if You Can” on March 28 and 29.

Once again, Mrs. Ibnabdeljalil and Mrs. Morgan teamed up as the directors of the musical. Students spent long hours rehearsing since December and over spring break. The week prior to the musical, students rehearsed from 4:30-9:30 pm. Several students were ready to show everyone their acting skills and encouraged many of their fellow students to come and witness their moment of stardom.

Prior to the show, the auditorium stage was completely covered with decorations and props done by the volunteer backstage staff. The show opens in 1960’s America with sophomore Joshua Mayfield playing Frank Jr., a young con man who takes after his father, Frank Sr., played by Julian Bowens, freshman. Frank Jr. is caught at the Miami Airport by the Chief of the FBI Agent, Carl Hanratty, played by Junior Henry Braeske. Frank Jr. was at the airport trying to meet back up with his love interest. The story begins at this point and then traces his life as a con man.

As soon as he read the first line, Mayfield was interested in the musical and wanted to continue.
“‘Catch Me if You Can’-that phrase just caught my eye and since I am a big fan of Theater Arts, I decided to try out,” said Mayfield. “I was very surprised when I got one of the major roles.”
As the musical approached, numerous performers experienced anxiety about going on stage and remembering their lines.

“I get nervous when it gets closer and closer to the date of the musical. I am afraid I will forget my lines and say something completely different from the original  lines, because in this musical we have to sing and dance,” said Mayfield. “My biggest fear is to freeze up on the stage and get embarrassed.”

While rehearsing, the actors were advised to use improvising as a strategy to get over anxiety if they are on stage and forget their lines.

After attending the fall play, sophomore Taylor Bass thought it was amazing and had no doubts that the spring musical would dazzle viewers.

“U. City is known for its arts programs; we excel in performing arts,” said Bass. “Putting music, art, dancing and acting together to make a musical are a challenge, but as we have done it before I know we can do it again.”

After performing in the fall play, freshman Johanna Hill played Cheryl Ann in the musical.
“The musical is much bigger than the fall and it is way more intense because there are so many elements,” said Hill. “In a play, you focus just on acting, but in a musical, you focus not only on acting, but also dancing and singing.”

According to Hill, “Catch Me if You Can” is a complicated musical because the plot is really involved and it moves really fast.

“It really was awesome,” said Hill. “The cast was small and we were all close. The energy was really intense which is important to a successful show.”

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