ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
April 9, 10 and 11, the true story of a man conning his way across the country, all while staying one step ahead of the FBI, will come to life on the stage of Seward County Community College’s Showcase Theater.
“Catch Me If You Can,” co-director Jamie Francis said, is a high-energy show featuring the thrilling adventures of Frank Abagnale Jr. and is inspired by the film of the same name.
“He comes from a harder background, and he decides school isn’t really for him,” she said. “He gets to where he cons people. He ends up getting involved with the airline, pretending to be a pilot and cashing all of these checks. There’s an agent who’s after him. That’s the plot – looking at how they’re chasing him and how he keeps getting away with things.”
“Catch Me If You Can” is packed with catchy music, big dance numbers and plenty of charm, and Francis said this fast-paced production is a night of entertainment theater enthusiasts will not want to miss. All of this, she said, was what made the story a good choice for this year’s spring musical at SCCC.
“I thought it would be something fun to do that’s a little upbeat,” she said. “It provides a lot of opportunities for our students. We could have a bigger cast if we had the people audition for it. It’s something a little more fun and upbeat this year.”
SCCC currently does not have a full-time drama teacher, and Francis has now directed a few musicals at the school. This year, she is co-directing the production with Maddy Sander, a longtime member of the local community theater group Rainbow Players.
Francis said though every show has its own challenges, she is enjoying working with Sander as a director for this year’s musical.
“Last year, she was in the show,” Francis said. “I was the director, and she was an actor. This year, we’re co-directing. That’s been a different turn for this show.”
An SCCC student is directing choreography for this year’s production, and Francis said this lightens the work load somewhat for her and Sander.
“It’s thrown in the reliance on somebody else instead of you’re doing everything,” Francis said. “It’s been a nice in a way, but it adds stress as well with everything getting done. Luckily, it’s been pretty great.”
SCCC’s production of “Catch Me If You Can” features a mix of new and seasoned actors, and Francis said it is fun working with the new talent, adding working with veteran talent is easy too.
“Everybody’s been willing to make choices,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun watching them bring the characters to life.”
One of the newer cast members is a Liberal High School student, and Francis said even this young actor has some experience elsewhere. She said she sees success in the youth’s future as well.
“I’m expecting at some point, she’ll move on to a four-year school as well,” she said.
Included in the seasoned actor category are Rainbow Players veterans Gary Collins and Kayla Knudsen. Francis said casting for “Catch Me If You Can” was somewhat difficult due to the many great auditions for the parts.
“They’re all working really well together, and what we ended up doing with casting ended up perfect,” she said. “Their comedic timing is really great.”
With SCCC being just a two-year school, talent is constantly lost and replaced, and this at times leads to the need to rely on talent from outside the college. Francis said while bigger schools with bigger drama departments have more talent to rely on, she sees what takes place at SCCC as somewhat of an advantage for the school.
“That’s something that’s super great about us being a smaller community,” she said. “We’re a community college where we get to involve the community in these things. It allows our students to be connected to the community. They get to make those connections they wouldn’t necessarily get to otherwise. Hopefully, that draws them back at some point after they graduate with their four-year degree because they realize how great the community is here in Liberal.”
Without a theater instructor, Francis said SCCC’s program has been in somewhat of a decline since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There hasn’t been a big draw for people in the programs,” she said. “The people just do it because they love it. There’s always been a draw for the community in it. Back before I worked here, I was a community member involved in the shows because I loved it. I don’t think it creates competition for our students. There’s not as many as students coming here for that, but the ones who are in it are in it because they do love it.”
As with most productions, Francis said this year’s has had the challenges of dealing with sickness and other issues as the cast continues to prepare for opening night.
“There’s been semi-consistency where people are showing up,” she said. They’ve been fun.”
Francis said individual practices have taken place for elements such as choreography and music to be the focus, and while cast members do not seem to know some of the songs, she has not found one completely unfamiliar to actors. She added everyone involved has been quite receptive to taking direction.
“They’re willing to make those choices,” she said. “It makes it fun because they get to have ownership of the show.”
While she believes the cast of “Catch Me If You Can” will be ready to take the stage, Francis said she is thankful for the extra time to prepare, and she said having spring break away from school allowed many the time to memorize lines.
“When we come back from spring break, they’re supposed to start being off book,” she said. “I think we still need those weeks.”
“Catch Me If You Can” will be presented April 9, 10 and 11 in the Showcase Theater. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the show will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. SCCC students with a current student ID get in free.
More information can be found at www.sccc.edu or by contacting Francis at 620-417-1103 or e-mail at
Francis said she is excited about the upcoming SCCC spring musical.
“This is a really fun show with lots of upbeat numbers,” she said. “I’ve been excited about all of them, but it’s a new excitement. It definitely satisfies that part of my heart that loves making art.”
