Atlanta Lyric makes the most of ‘Catch Me If You Can’

Through March 1. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; 2 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 28 only). $30-$55. Jennie T. Anderson Theatre (at the Cobb Civic Center), 548 S. Marietta Parkway, Marietta. 404-377-9948, www.atlantalyrictheatre.com.

Bottom line: A lively take on mediocre material.

For a show that literally sings the praises of making butter out of cream — as in, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade — it’s unfortunate that no amount of churning or razzle-dazzle can fully overcome the inherent limitations of “Catch Me If You Can.”

The 2011 Broadway musical boasts an undeniably impeccable pedigree: The script is by Terrence McNally (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”); the songs are by Marc Shaiman (“Hairspray”); and it’s based on a 2002 Steven Spielberg movie, the true story of a dashing young con man who forges his way, so to speak, into the high life of the swinging 1960s, posing as everything from a pilot to a doctor to a Secret Service agent.

Atlanta Lyric Theatre artistic director Brandt Blocker is no slouch, either. His current rendering of “Catch Me If You Can” is filled with several lavish and energetic production numbers, affectionately conceived in the style of an old TV variety show. Two large video screens flank the stage, occasionally providing live feeds of all the singing and dancing action, in “living color” and close-ups, and heavy on the spotlights.

A major drawback of Shaiman’s score is that too many of his songs sound alike. “Live in Living Color,” “Someone Else’s Skin” and “Jet Set” are melodically interchangeable, differentiated only by the elaborate costume changes (credited to William Ivey Long, who designed them for the original Broadway version) and variations in Cindy Reiser’s flashy choreography (rousingly executed by a 12-member chorus).

Like any other musical episode on an old TV variety show, the numbers stand alone entertainingly enough, but they don’t really seem to satisfy or serve a greater purpose. While variety shows may thrive in bits and pieces, most full-fledged stage musicals are more of a whole.

McNally’s sketchy script makes it difficult to connect with the main character. That could be expected, at first (after all, the guy is a manipulative scam artist); but when he eventually finds true love and wants to come clean with his past, it’s too little too late to matter much.

That’s not to say the role isn’t marvelously performed here by Chase Peacock, a veritable triple threat on all counts (acting, singing, dancing). Blocker casts Lyric favorites Jeff McKerley and an especially splendid Alan Kilpatrick in other principal roles, as a flustered FBI agent who’s on the trail and as the con man’s disillusioned father, respectively.

Their duet, “Little Boy, Be a Man,” is among a few song highlights in the show’s second act, which finally settles down and improves a bit. Others include “Fly, Fly Away,” a solo ballad belted out admirably by Alison Brannon Wilhoit (as the girlfriend); “Don’t Be a Stranger,” a duet between Kilpatrick and Courtenay Collins (laying it on thick with a French accent as the ex-wife and mother); and Peacock’s closing solo, “Goodbye.”

Under the music direction of B.J. Brown and guest conductor Logan Denninghoff, the Lyric’s nine-piece orchestra is, as always, superb.

It’s just too bad that all that glitters is not gold.