A carnival atmosphere reigns in the spirited adaptation and world premiere of Catch Me If You Can, playing at the 5th Avenue Theatre downtown. With a majority of the cast from the Broadway production of Hairspray, the energy and musical talent are top-notch.

Based on the true story of con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr., the play follows a young man’s exploits as he cashes $25 million in fraudulent checks. Broadway luminary Aaron Tveit captures Abagnale’s youthful vivacity as he masterfully poses as a Pan Am pilot, doctor and lawyer – all before his 21st birthday.

On a stage set with a dynamic orchestra and in costumes that exhibit the high fashion of the ‘60s, the drama unfolds in a hysterical manner.

The show begins with a bang, featuring “Live in Living Color!” – a high-intensity dance number with a doo-wop rhythm reminiscent of Grease-era music. The representation of the era wouldn’t be complete without the ‘60s swag: popped collars, bow ties and women’s neckties.

Family drama punctuates the rollicking fun as Abagnale’s parents split soon after his father gives him 50 checks for Christmas. Set to a swanky jazz tune about the value of money, the song “Fifty Checks” shows how the seeds of avarice are planted in young Abagnale’s mind. These seeds are cultivated by the volatile combination of his overactive libido and the plummeting fortunes of his father.

In “The Jet Set,” Abagnale begins his unsavory career as a swindler. When he glimpses the respect and admiration – particularly from females – that pilots inspire, the con man sets his sights on the skies and launches a career hoaxing pilots and coaxing stewardesses.

Sporting a fedora, Norbert Leo Butz leads a motley crew of FBI agents hot on Abagnale’s trail in “Here I Am (To Save the Day),” “Breaking All the Rules,” “Needle in a Haystack” and “The Man Inside the Clues.” Much of the play’s comic relief is owed to Butz’s ability to play a bumbling dope with an obsessive-compulsive work ethic; his role as the antagonist puts a spin on the themes of good versus evil presented in the traditional musical. The audience can relate better to Abagnale and the song “Breaking All the Rules,” which encourages abiding by the law, but it is ironically set to a sinister tune with somber dancing.

No musical would be complete without its share of romance, but this one goes to the extreme of flagrant promiscuity. As in Chicago, hardly a song-and-dance routine is bereft of scantily clad females. Abagnale flirts with flight attendants and cajoles nurses as he assumes the roles of co-pilot and doctor. However, he stumbles upon his Achilles heel when he meets an absentminded southern belle named Brenda.

The climax consists of an accordion number with versatile actress Linda Hart as Brenda’s mother, an escape scene and a run-in with the FBI at the airport.

Throughout the performance, the energy is high and the tale rings true. It only seems appropriate that Abagnale’s story should find its way to the musical theater stage, as his life and work were a series of theatrics befitting Broadway.

Reach reporter Sara Grimes at arts@dailyuw.com.