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“Catch Me if You Can” is the spring musical presented by the Oswego High School drama department, the Standing O Theatre Company, and is the follow up production to the underwhelming “Skits and Giggles” that hit the stage a few months ago. This play had a very different approach, as it was a version of the Broadway play and movie of the same name. This was a good selection for the Standing O, because the plot was very interesting and the roles were played well by the students.

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Standing O really bounced back with this performance. Veterans in the drama club department such as Parker Abrell (Senior), Ryan Sendef (Senior), Josie Corrao (Senior) and others really made their presence known in this production, portraying main characters with great acting. The audience could really tell that the actors spent a lot of time to get “into” their roles. One of the best parts of this musical was the solo song by Parker Abrell, “Don’t Break The Rules.” The catchy lyrics combined with the jazzy instrumental made this tune the best performance of the production, and it showed with the round of applause that followed afterwards. The way the actors played their characters really felt like they were actually embodying those people. The plot was easy to follow with a very interesting story.

“Catch Me if You Can” is about the journey of 16-year-old Frank Jr., who traveled the U.S. while writing fake checks and forging IDs after family issues. He deals with the stress of his parents separating while trying to get a lot of money so they can get back together.

This play was presented very well, with scenery and props that made it seem like the actors were really in the show’s settings. There were realistic costumes and room decor. The musical ran about two hours and 30 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission about halfway through. Although the play did seem to take up a long amount of time, it went by fast because we were so into it.

One of the best parts of this musical was the music itself, as the band provided live instrumentation for the songs, which made everything seem more authentic. The music set the scene for each part of the musical, like mentioned earlier during Abrell’s solo song. The way they put the music into the scenes made us more intrigued, because we kept on wondering what was going to happen and how the story would develop.

Overall, this musical from the Standing O was definitely worth seeing, with the theater company making a straight comeback from its last performance. The great character depictions and the amazing live band combined to make a fantastic production. Anyone who has never seen a production from the Standing O should definitely look into attending their next show. If you didn’t have a chance to go see this, you really missed out on a great show.